My Copperband Butterfly

Blazer88

Blazer88

Premium Member
I picked this guy up last week and love him so far. Here are a few shots that I've gotten of him. The close-up pic is a bit bright (body), but it's the best one that I got that's close. Enjoy.

Copperband.jpg


Copperband3.jpg
 
I forgot to mention the only time he was still enough to get a good picture of was when he made a stop to the cleaner shrimp. Here is the original un-edited pic of the first shot. (notice the shrimp?)
000_0706_original.jpg
 
Gorgeous fish and a very nice shots.
thumbs.gif

I miss mine something terrible but won't be getting a new one anytime soon, just too much hit or miss with them. The ones at the LFS always look like they are on the last leg and I'm not keen on buying fish online. :)
 
Mine was eating Mysis like no other at the LFS. I told myself I was going to wait as long as needed to find one that was eating before I took it home....it took a whole two days, lol.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7127305#post7127305 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Blazer88
Mine was eating Mysis like no other at the LFS. I told myself I was going to wait as long as needed to find one that was eating before I took it home....it took a whole two days, lol.
Click to expand...

That's the right way to shop for a fish. :)

The store I go to has them some times but like I said, they just look on a death row and won't eat. Maybe some day... ;)
 
Nice pictures.

It looks like you're keeping the Copperband in your mixed reef tank. Any trouble with it nipping at inverts or corals?

I've wanted to add one to my reef but have been reluctant because of the general Butterfly family reputation for nipping. And in particular with the Copperband, anemones and feather dusters...I have both in my tank and would prefer they not get pecked to death!
 
Nope, no problems yet. There is only one aptasia in my tank and he hasn't even touched that yet. I don't have any feather dusters and my RBTA is about 8" across, I don't suspect he will nip at that :) I have heard there is a slight possibility he may nip at zoa's, which I have plenty of, but I haven't seen anything yet. He does "study" the rocks very closely but I haven't witnessed him nipping at anything he shouldn't be.
 
That gives me some hope. Try adding some feather dusters...let me know how that goes ;)

As for the aptasia, I know Copperbands are supposed to be very good at getting rid of them. I used Peppermint Shrimp instead...my fear of the nipping butterfly got the best of me.

But if the behavior of the shrimp is any indication, your Copperband will eventually dispatch with that nasty aptasia...my shrimp ignored them for several weeks but now they're all gone.
 
I bought him since I've always wanted one and feel they are the coolest looking fish and I was willing to accept the risks. I wouldn't have bought him for the sole purpose to control Aptasia (not that you would either, I was just saying) as some people do. I have another tank I can move my zoo's to if he decides to start picking at those but I think that is a pretty rare occurance.
 
I agree, the Copperband has long been my favorite fish...I wasn't suggesting that you would have purchased it strictly as a janitor, but it certainly is a nice added benefit.

I made the mistake many, many years ago of falling in love with the Copperband and buying one before I really knew what I was doing. Needless to say it didn't last. After that, and a few other failures with delicate fish, I stayed away from the tough ones like the Copperband for a long time.

But now that I have a reasonably established and stable reef, with its high water quality and lots of room for a fish like the Copperband to get comfortable, I'm once again tempted.

Unlike you though, if I put one in my tank, it's staying in there no matter what. I don't have a second tank to move it to and can't even imagine how I'd catch it to get it out in the first place!! A 225 gallon reef tank just has too many places for the fish to hide and I'm not willing to rip the whole thing apart just to capture one critter...so I need to be certain I'm prepared to endure the consequences before I take the plunge.
 
I would also be very careful what you add to your reef since it would be near impossible to remove anything if you needed to. I can easily move my zoo's to my 20G nano if he developes an appetite for them though the fish is in the tank to stay. Hopefully you can find a good specimen that is eating and give him a shot in your reef. Be sure to post some pictures if you do :)
 
Wonderful Pictures! One of my favorites, and you have captured him well.


Here is one shot I took of my brothers Copperband....


large.jpg



Johnny
 
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