Fish questions..reef capability

Sleepy22

Member
I Definitley want to buy a copperband butterfly but I have clams in a mixed reef(sps mostly with some lps)....anyone know how good they are with them?


Also I been thinking about adding a dwarf lion but not too sure if it will grub on neon gobies
 
Dwarf Lion will eat pretty much anything he can catch and fit in his mouth. They are not super fast but neon goby ' s tend to get up close and personal. I looked at getting one but after a little research I Decided against it.

On the copper band front I do have quite a bit of experience. 1st off they are super hard to keep. I know some members who have been trying for a long time. If you have plenty of worms and aptasia for them to snack on while getting used to your tank and food supply then you have a leg up. But even then the mortality rate is less than %20. In terms of the clams it's a very small number of copper bands who will actually feed on a healthy specimen. But it is a possibility. I have been told 1 in 10 will go after a live clam. But have seen quite a few copper bands in tanks with clams and no adverse effects.

One outlet for copper bands I have found is exotic aquarium. The owner Nelson will put a copper band in one of the large reef tanks for about a month to see how it does. I actually purchased one of them from him and it would eat mysis right out of your hand. He charges about $10-$15 more than normal for these guys but I feel it's way more than worth it. Especially if you price one out of divers den. I ended up selling him to another member here for the same reason you started this post. Another Lfs guy told me he definitely would decimate my ultra maxima clams. A month later I see this guy with 2 CBB ' S in the tank with his maximas. His story changed to Maybe he will eat them. You just never really know. But I love clams and am waiting for Nelson to get another one of these pre acclimated cbb's going in the big tank so I can finally replace the last one.

Sorry for long reply but this topic hits a nerve for me.
 
thanx a lot for your feedback...I used to own a copperband in a fish only tank and I owned it for a year before my haddoni stung it

as for the dwarf then im not sure then since I really like having the neon gobies...those little guys have personality
 
I had a copperband that was fine with squamosa or durasa but had a thing for blue clams like blue maximas or blue crocea. If the clam wasn't blue, it was OK, but blue was picked on ( would have to shoo the fish constantly away or build a cage around the clam and he try to find ways to bypass it to the clam). I guess it depends on individual fish.
 
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