Training a copperbanded butterfly to eat

crvz

crvz

Team RC
Well, i got a copperbanded butterfly fish last week, even AFTER i read up on them for about a month. A local store got 6 of them in stock, and after 2 weeks two of them were still at the store. I asked to see them eat, and the owner put freeze dried krill in the tank, which they both heartily chowed down. So now, about 6 days later, i still have not seen him take the flake (formula 1 and 2) or frozen (mysis and pygmy angel) food i'm offering. I want to do whatever i can to help train him on the food that i offer, but i'm not sure the best way to do so. I've though of isolating him in his own quarantine (he's in with a foxface lo and a six-line wrasse right now), but i dont want to add stress to him if that's part of the problem. Can someone with long-term success with these guys help me out? What food would you recommend, how often should it be offered, and are there any good tricks to entice them to eat? Thanks!
 
I have been feeding mine frozen bloodworm, I put it in with the other frozen food that the other fish eat and I hold the brine shrimp he will eat right out of the net it also help to make sure he get his fair share of food
 
When I got mine, I had it in a 10g QT. It didn't take any food the first several days.

I went out and bought fresh mussels, clams and scallops. First, I tried the mussell. I cracked it open, dripped extreme garlic on it and dropped it in when all the lights were off. This is key because they are very timid at first. They have great sense of smell so don't worry about it not finding the food.

Then next morning, the mussel was almost all gone.

I slowly would incorporate mysis into the mussel so he would it that and eventually, took mysis exclusively. He also ate the clam and scallops during this time period.

Remeber to stay on top of water changes because this food is messy and can foul up your water.

Good luck.
 
I'll have to try that, TCU Reefer. I have a 20 gallon empty on the counter awaiting this occupant. I tried to use garlic gaurd today, but he didnt eat any. He seemed to look around for something when i dropped the food in, but i dont think he quite understands what to do with it. I have a lot of flow in the tank he's in right now, so maybe isolating him in a still tank will help teach him to eat.

Question, though. Where is a good place to get mussels? I went to Randalls today, but they only had scallops and clams, but nothin in a shell. I need to check the krogers near by.
 
the foxface is going to bully the copperband...i can almost guarrantee it in a 58 G tank...and your bioload is going ot be large

however that is not what you are asking....

What TCU said works-----here are the methods i used...i had my CBB for 2 years until 2 days ago when he decided to take a swim into the Tunze

I used all foods...squid, cyclopeeze, fresh freshwater mussels, clam, krill, bloodworms, brine, form 1 and 2, form 2 flake, cyclopeeze flake....none of these worked....i soaked all of them for an hour in Seachem Garlic Guard, Zoe and Selcon...none worked....alot of people say the fresh mussel training works and i believe it but get freshwater if at all possible to avoid parasites...


how i did it after all that failed...lo and behold...2 things....live brine shrimp(couple of minutes in RO to get rid of parasites) he ate this but you dont want to do it over a long run....it wont sustain him long at all

and PISCENE ENERGETICS MYSIS(ALL OTHER MYSIS ARE PRETENDERS) this has 69% protein and is FRESHWATER very healthy.....i enriched with garlic and zoe(once they eat a few times drop the garlic it fouls your tank)

what you can do is introduce live brine to get a FEEDING RESPONSE...once the fish has that response and starts eating the live brine...introduce the PISCENE ENERGETICS MYSIS(i mean THIS BRAND, others wont sustain over long run either) enriched to associate that feeding response you get from the live brine and over a few times he will nail the mysis and love it if not on the first try.....

after he starts eating...feed the hell out of him for a few days to get him nourished and used to EATING(keep that response in the back of his brain!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

I swear this WILL work...but keep up with weekly WC's because you are going to foul your water in this process...good luck keeping up with that bioload as you have it(you will be fine if no SPS) drop the garlic after initiating the eating and the response is engrained...


KEEP UP AND SUPPLEMENT/ ENRICH HIS FOOD WITH SELCON OR ZOE EVERY TIME THIS REALLY HELPS HIS COLORATION AND DURABILITY UNDER STRESS

THEY LOVE CLEANER SHRIMP BY THE WAY

THE CBB IS VERY FINICKY, TIMID AND EASILY INTIMIDATED BY OTHER FISH LIKE FOXFACE,,,, BE WARY THEY HAVE SIMILAR ATTRIBUTES AND THE FOXFACE IS LIKELY TO BULLY HIM INTO A CORNER IN WHICH CASE HE WILL NOT EVER EAT

-i sustained my Cbb 2 years before the powerhead incident just on enriched every time PISCENE ENERGETICS MYSIS (i emphasize this)

ALSO YOU ENHANCE YOUR SUCCESS CHANCES AND EXTEND HIS VIABILITY WITH A LOADED FISHLESS REFUGIUM----he will receive mysis and amphipods from this alone to supplement the frozen foods...i think this contributed greatly to my success and many others with the CBB

also...you can get mussels at nice grocery stores like Fresh Markey, Whole Foods.....premium food stores...kroger might have it but yada yada

finally and very imporatantly----the CBB gets stressed very easily....moving him around from tank to tank will cause problems getting him to eat...they also dont like confined quarters like a 20 G...i would AXE the idea of a QT feeding tank as i think it has the possibility to hinder your success....put him in the display and teach him to eat in the display---REMEMBER THAT NEUROLOGICAL FEEDING RESPONSE.....ASSOCIATION....EATING ....AND THE ENVIRONMENT HE IS IN..you need to get that ASSOCIATON

I HOPE THIS LONG WINDED ADVICE HELPS
 
I failed two times for keeping them. One of the LFS told me to keep two at least for them to be more comfortable in the tank. I bought two from LFS and feeding them with frozen blood worms. Now they are with me for one year and eat everything including the pallets. Good water parameter with natural ambiance is the most important to success for keeping difficult fish. Good luck
 
Wow, thanks for the repsonses. In terms of being bullied, right now those 2 guys (cbb and foxface) are hanging out with each other, swimming together, etc. I've got a 150 on order, and they are both small now, so for the next 4 or 5 months they should be fine. I'll try some of these tricks. Thanks again!
 
Also, to curb some of your concerns, Serioussnaps, i have a Euro-Reef CS250 skimmer on that tank and i've been doing 15+ gallon weekly water changes over the last 6 months (as part of a hair algae removal process), so i'm not too worried about over-feeding. Hopefully by the time the 150 comes around i'll be able to tune back some of the intense maintanence i'm in the habit of without sacrficing any water quality.
 
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