Copperbanded Butterfly Fish

[Paul B]

Copperbands have some similarities to moorish Idols in the way they eat, or don't eat. Every copperband has a definate personality, unlike damsels which will eat anything. Some cbbs will even eat flakes. I have never seen one that did not eat live black worms and I know a lot of them nip at corals but out of the two dozen or so that I had, none ate corals (that I remember. As Terry mentioned, it may have something to do with where they were collected.
Paul

 

[MORAY]

I've had my CBB for over 3 years now and it is a great fish to have. But, you have to feed them and I feed every day. Initially, I would feed 2 week old live brine to get him sort of trained because he was not eating any frozen food. Shortly after he started eating anything I put in the tank, but I have to hold some food (mainly mysis) between my fingers so he can get enough. Just isn't an efficient eater, especially compared to my hippo tang. It did take a little while for him to go after aiptasia but I can't find any in the main tank. He cleaned out the feather dusters too. Never seen him or my flame angel pick at any coral, but he did nip at a clam the other day. That's the first time I've seen him do that so I'm not sure if there was something he went after near the clam. I haven't seen him do it again or any signs of nips on the clam. For the most part it seems that when fish are well fed they don't go after corals or clams, and often the people that talk about that feed less often.

Anyway, for what it's worth I think it's a geat fish to have and I hope it lives forever.

 

[Steve Atkins]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6938918#post6938918 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MORAY
.........nip at a clam the other day. That's the first time I've seen him do that so I'm not sure if there was something he went after near the clam. I haven't seen him do it again or any signs of nips on the clam.

Possibly right. I had a coral beauty that used to pick stuff off the shell of a clam and the first time I saw it happen I thought it was the clam it was after. Over time the clam seemed to get used to it and mostly stayed open even when the fish visited.

Steve

 

[highquality]

copperband butterfly

copperband butterfly

yes, i have had my copper band healthy for a year. After he ate all aptasia, he just eats mysis shrimp. Most like mysis over any other shrimp. By the way, you need to feed him mysis while he is taking care of your aptasia problem too. He will mostly scour the rocks for aptasia at night. Still needs food during day to be healthiest.

 

[highquality]

Ive never actually had a problem with him eating corals and I have evrything in my tank. A lot of the time you see them picking they are not actually eating the coral, but attracted to excess waste or excess food from coral or etc

 

[highquality]

The main problem you will have is introducing the cbb in to a tank with established tangs or so on. Its likely your cb will be harassed to death within a day of intro. They are very fragile like that. I lost two before I had to take out the resident powder blue. Powder Blues are great also, just add them last so you wont have bully problems

 

[Freed]

I plan on suspending an acrylic "cage" with holes drilled in it in the tank to put the CBB in for a few weeks while my hippo tang gets used to it before I plunge it in in the hopes he won't be harassed or bullied to death.

 

[raddogz]

Well, as my luck would turn out......coral nipper.

We just had our tank tour yesterday, and the tank is nice clean. The copperband has a slight case of ich, and is slowly getting better (new uv bulb and quartz sleeve is on the way). It finally began to eat, but will mostly eat frozen bloodworms and some mysis.

A fellow club member is the first to show up, and we start talking and sure enough the darn butterfly aka Merlin (so named cuz if I could get it to eat it was going be darn magical) starts sampling the sps in front of us.

It could very well be sampling the slime, but I have a stag horn's tips that are flesh free within the last week.

 

[allstar.h2o]

I just got my CBB a month ago and all it will eat is live blackworms so I feed it 30 or so throughout the day. Won't eat clams, clams with mysis in it, occasionally eats live brine shrimp but not frozen. Hasn't touched any corals though or even feather dusters. What a PICKY EATER! Are blackworms a complete enough diet for long term survival?

 

[highquality]

in my experience, the cbb will in time become aquanted with aquarium feeding and be more likely to eat brine,mysis worms and even high quality flake food added here and there for all the good stuff it has.

 

[highquality]

that takes time tho. few months is hopeful estimate

 

[Flatlander]

As I prepare for my upcoming move, most of my livestock is now in holding tubs. Of course the copperband has been there for some time. I think now that its eating small fresh clams as discussed before, I may put some of my crocea,s from one tub into his tub and see how it goes.

I still dont see how he can tell the difference between eating clams & ornamental.

For those adding copperbands to tanks with established tangs, the only way we have been able to get away with it, is to add small copperbands. Guess the tangs dont see them as competion or a threat.

 

[bosborn1]

I have had problems adding the CBBs to my display I can maintain them in my QT I have had three that were not that hard to keep as long as they were in QT. Once I added them to the display they were either beaten until they died from stress(mainly by the Yellow tang and the Hippo tang) Or in the case of one he simply wouldn't eat in the display tank. I moved him back to the QT and got him eatting again then he unexplainly died. I am thinking about trying one again because I like them and there great aptasisa controllers. The only thing that sets me back it the fear of another one dying. I don't enjoy livestock in my care dying. The only thing that I can conclude is that the Tangs are too established for the CBB too gain a foothold on any territory. I noticed that the CBBs would always stay in one corner or nervously pace the upper areas of the tank. If I try one again I will remove my Yellow tang because he seems like the one that attacks the most. Aslo I tried different size CBBs each time to see if that made a diffence interesting enough the one that was a similar size to the tangs was the one that stopped eating after he was added to the display. In QT I have had luck feeding astasia,mysis,blackworms,clams(prepared in the food proccesor) and Prime Reef.

Scott

Scott

 

[MORAY]

My tangs really never bothered mine but I had him before my hippo tang. That hippo tang eats most of the food that gets in the tank though and Im conviced it will take a chunk out of my hand one day.

There is a company (Piscine energetics) that puts out a frozen mysis that is 69% protein and is basically all mysis. IMHO it's way better than any other frozen product I've used. I think I have that name correct.

 

[Serioussnaps]

MORAY IS RIGHT---------PISCINE ENERGETICS---------THE ****

 

[richard snyder]

my son-in-laws tank was completely over run with aptasias
I'm talking hundreds, every where you looked entire rocks covered with small baby aptasias
Tried joe's juice and it seemed to work for awhile
They came back even stronger
I found a copperband at a local FS and bought it for him
That was about a month ago
I stopped over the other day and was pleasantly surprised to see only a handfull of larger aptasias
thumbs up for the CB and aptasias
the jury is still out as far as what else he might like to eat

 

[logans_daddy]

wow....i must be very lucky. i have had my CBB for about 6 months. he competes everyday with a 4" Kole tang, 4" lunar wrasse, 3" dwarf angel, and a baby 1.5" picasso trigger. he has taken mysis from day one and loves san fran bay butterfly/angel cubes. i would never recommend this combination of fish but it works for me. all of the fish are very peaceful and the CBB definitely holds its one during dinner time.

shawn:bum:

 

[blenny90]

We have a copperband in a seahorse tank with macro, yellow polyps, sponges and such and he does very well. All aptasia are gone and we also believe he has controlled our brisle worm population as well.

 

[MPA]

my copperband

my copperband

I dont have the patience to read the forum.

I bought a baby CBB (1 inch big) the day he showed up at the LFS. I un packed him from the shipping box and took him straight home. no quarentine and put him right in.

He ate 100% of the aiptasia.

He now eats frozen brine shrimp cubes thawed.

As strange as it seems. the lionfish, clown, blenny and kole tang also eat the brine.

so try it. he will also eat little worms and crap you cant see.

cross your fingers.

mine is alive. but I have heard many die within months of their purchase.

He is going on 1 yr now.

 

[MORAY]

It seems the ones that die don't get fed enough or never get started on prepared foods so you're ahead of the game. Try the frozen mysis shrimp from Piscis or something like that. Very high protien without the water most have. All my tangs eat the shrimp too, but the tangs will have problems if that is all you feed. My Copperband eats anything I put in there, or at least he tries.