Help! My copperband is not eating !!!

[BIGG D]

Ok...I have read a lot about CBB here on RC. I know they are picky eaters. I found one at a LFS that was eating mysis. He has been in my tank about 6 weeks and is currently happy and healthy and spends his day picking at the rocks. In fact...thats ALL he does. Thats his deal. He's a rock picker. My wife calls him dumb dumb. I put all kinds of great foods in front of him and all the fish around him go into a feeding frenzy. But dumb dumb just continues picking at the rock. Seeming unaware of anything around him. Absolutely beautiful fish!!!! I just love him.

I was in the final stages of upgrading my tank to a 175 gal. Tank is set up lots of live rock and corals for about 5 months. The only other fish at the time were chromis. I wanted the CBB in before I moved all the other livestock over and I hoped I could avoid quarantining and feed training since he is really the only fish in the tank (1st mistake probably).

So...he eats nothing I give him. Mysis, bloodworms, marine cuisine all soaked in garlic extreme...nothing. He is living off of pods. My LR is very live and full of pods. There was a small amount of aptaisia that he did not eat for the fist 2 weeks but he finally got around to it and it was gone in 48 hours. He seems to be very healthy and happy right now... but I fear pods alone will not sustain him. I may try and find some more aptasia to raise or something, but it would be nice if he would eat prepared food.

Anyone have any suggestions???
I dont want to lose this guy.

Thanks!!

 

[snorvich]

Blackworms will work. A difficult fish that often starves to death.

 

[SMOOTHIE]

+1 to blackworms. Also while feeding the other fish but a cube of mysis in a baby food jar and place it in the rock work for him. He will enjoy picking them out

 

[ReefJerk]

Which mysis are you using? I started mine on the small Hikari mysis and worked him up to PE mysis. Those are the only prepared foods he eats. Other than that, I keep a healthy supply of aiptasia in my fuge to "remind" him of what he's on this planet for

 

[64Ivy]

http://www.aquaticfoods.com/Blackworms.html

 

[The Reef Expert]

Maybe try providing some live nauplii, nori, or live mysis. If Dumb Dumb (lol) still will only eat pods, try nutramar live tigrio pods and maybe some nutramar ova. If you fear he still will not survive on pods, buy some small anemones; maybe that will entice him?

 

[Dustin1300]

+1 on the blackworms.....Good luck as they can sometimes be VERY picky!

 

[Dakota Reef]

I've always read that blackworms were a great first food for Copperbands but for some reason mine was the only fish in the tank that ignored them.

If blackworms don't work for you, I'd suggest going to the supermarket and getting a few of the smallest live clams you can find. Crack the shell a bit and and let your copperband find it while he's hunting through the rocks. Thats what worked for me. After getting him to eat clams, it was easy to stuff other foods into the empty clam shell and he was soon eating most of the standard aquarium fare.

Best of luck.

 

[BIGG D]

Just a little update.
One of the metro Atlanta LFS claimed to have live blackworms. I went across town to get them and...they had run out. I was bummed!

They did however have PE Mysis! I have fed my boys mysis before, but not this brand. The LFS suggested I try PE.

For whatever reason, the moment this PE mysis hit the water, Dumb Dumb jumped on it. This led to the introduction of other frozen goodies and he will now occationally accept a small food pellet or two.

Dumb Dumb is now a total PIG and is first in line when the buffet opens every day.

PE Mysis...its whats for dinner!:beer:
:bounce3::bounce2::bounce1:

 

[jdareef]

Have you tried Rod's food? It's a frozen food has about 30 different ingredients in it. My CBB will pick at certain chunks that dissolve in the water. Here are just a few examples of what's in it: oyster, mysis, pacific plankton, krill, red cyclops, nori, garlic, rotifers.
Best of luck!
-Joseph

 

[tp5056]

Congrats on your CB eating! Mine was picky at first also (had to feed it black and blood worms) but now it will eat PE mysis and Rod's food.

Unfortunately my CB also has developed a taste for clams ><

 

[JuliusJames]

Im happy to see many of you guys having success in keeping this beautiful fish. Im just waiting till I see one at a lfs eating prepared food

 

[nonimmigrant]

Best bet for CB's IMO is to go buy small clams from the fish market (1-1.5") and toss them into the freezer. Once frozen, take a couple put them into a small bowl and fill the bowl with boiling water. Once the clams open about 1/3" toss them into the tank near where the CB roams. The fact that the clam is only open wide enough for his beak to fit thru should entice him to go after it. Has worked for me on a multitude of CBs and is my large CB's favorite food. BTW, once the clam is open you can also add vitamin solutions etc for a good soaking.