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Apachie
02/04/2008, 09:26 PM
I am planning a 120 gallon tank, and i want a butterfly fish. I have researched it ,and i get mixed information. i am wondering if i can keep it alive in a reef tank. i am planning on a sailfin tang also , are they compatible?

thanks.

NeilinNY
02/04/2008, 10:03 PM
I recently tried another copperband. I had the LFS feed it, and boy did it eat. Once in the tank the "yellow" tang flexed all over it. I thought I was going to see what it's tail barb could do. After a while I noticed the butterfly could turn 180* at top speed and the tang couldn't. The tang seemed to realize it couldn't get it and lost interest. I thought we were in the clear. Long story short the copperband was stressed to death in a few days. This is my experience, take it for what it's worth. I think sailfin and "yellow" tangs are very similar and see copperbands as a similar shape and color and want them out of there territory. I've selfishly tried to keep a copperband 4 times, I would advise against it. However, since you're in the planning stage you could plan for this fish if it's what you want to build your reef around.

kilmca
02/05/2008, 12:18 AM
When you find a Copperband Butterfly make sure it's eating at the lfs before you buy it.

Make sure to put the CBB in the tank before the Sailfin Tang and have a good amount of live rock.

I had a 120 gallon tank with a Sailfin Tang and CBB and they did well together. The Sailfin was aggressive towards the CBB on occasion but it never got out of hand. I added the CBB before the Sailfin to get rid of Aptasia and the CBB did an excellent job of getting rid of those pesty things.

Actually the Sailfin and CBB are now in my fathers 180 gallon tank with a Blue and Naso Tang. Still doing very well together.

http://photo.ringo.com/252/252731093RL834740901.jpg

http://photo.ringo.com/252/252731089RL270782955.jpg

Pirate@40
02/05/2008, 04:54 PM
I have a CBB and a Sailfin in the same tank together. The CBB was the first fish I added. It's been doing well for a year now. I would recommend live California blackworms to feed them.

Apachie
02/06/2008, 03:55 PM
do they eat coral or shrimp?

Pirate@40
02/06/2008, 05:49 PM
Something eats the tiny feather dusters that pop up on the rocks. My guess is it's the CBB. I've never seen him pick at any corals. I have seen him messing with a snail now and then, but not routinely. I've never gotten mine to eat shrimp, but I have heard of people having success with mysis. Mine has only eaten worms and clams on the half shell to my knowledge.

reef_doug
02/06/2008, 08:37 PM
I am thinking about adding one and did some research.

1. Australian origin specimens are more hardy (and prettier) vs. Indo Pacific
2. See them eat at a LFS before purchase
3. If finicky eaters, try blackworms and/or blood worms (red mosquito larvae)
4. For corals, they will have a tendency for Zoas rather than SPS.
5. They can be good for eradicating aptasia anemones and mini feather dusters.
6. Add them before tangs if possible

Good luck, let us know how you do. I'm looking for one also.

Pirate@40
02/06/2008, 10:54 PM
I agree Doug, although I have a lot of Zoas and he's never messed with them. Mine was Australian, I got it from liveaquaria.com and I had live brine, mysis, clams, and blackworms ready when he arrived. He immediately went after both the blackworms and clams. I've never had aiptasia in my main tank, but I have gotten it in my quarantine tank which was started with the same batch of live rock. Either the CBB or the four Peps I have must be consuming it before it ever becomes noticeable to me. I would recommend adding them to your tank first, before any other fish. Everything else I've added subsequently, including Tangs has left him alone.

TheCommersoni
02/07/2008, 01:45 AM
Make sure you have plenty of liverock to keep it grazing and you should be fine.

jda
02/07/2008, 09:50 AM
My 2 won't touch aips. One of them won't even eat mysis or other offered foods very often - it lives almost exclusively from the reef.

I would plan to have your reef sustain them through pods, worms and other fauna. If they do eat, then that is even better, but you are covered if they don't.

Avoid mandarin or other fish that feeds exclusively on the same fauna. Even if the copperband does eat mysis/etc. it could still deprive the mandarin of food with passive grazing.

It will help if you can get them agressively eating, or at least swimming, before you add them to your display. My recent 1.5" copperband was in my 75G isolation tank for 3 weeks until it got used to me, captivity and was eating mysis agressively. When I put it in the 125G, the purple, chrysurus and male lyretail put the normal treatment to butterfly, but it took the initiation and was fine. Even my one that won't eat mysis took the initiation after 3-4 weeks in a tank by it's self - it went on searching for pods an hour later.