Copperband Butterfly fish

[masonicman]

I was thinking about getting a Copperband butterfly fish. I read to keep with caution in a reef tank. Does anyone have this fish in a reef tank with no problems.?

I currently have the following corals

assorted shrooms
assorted ricordias
leathers
torches
sea whip
candy
hammmer
trumpet
star
colony poloyps
pearl bubble
brain
xenia
clams
small BTA
cloves

[Paul B]

I have always kept them in a reef with no problems but they do best if you feed them live worms a few times a week.
That is their main diet although they will usually eat mysis, clams and other things. They will not eat flakes or pellets.

[masonicman]

bump

anymore experiences?????

[LOTUS50GOD]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13789230#post13789230 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Paul B
I have always kept them in a reef with no problems but they do best if you feed them live worms a few times a week.
That is their main diet although they will usually eat mysis, clams and other things. They will not eat flakes or pellets.

Paul, Not to go against you because we normally agree on most topics, but mine is a complete PIG. Will eat anything. Mysis, flakes, pellets, aptasia, clam, squid, roe, whitefish, etc..

I have had mine for 3+ years...
He doenst bother corals at all, but my tank is mostly SPS, so I cant say much about softies.

The key is to have enough room for it to swim. IMO tanks smaller than 90 are not suitable for this fish.

[jdieck]

From the list of things in your tank, there is a high chance that it will go after the clams.

[LOTUS50GOD]

oh... mine also eats turbo grazer snails that flip over..LOL

[Paul B]

OK I should have said "most" do not eat flakes and pellets. Out of the twenty or so I had I think 2 ate flakes but they are built to eat worms so if you can, don't give them flakes as flakes are mostly vegetable origin and copperbands are not into that.
But as Lotus said all that other meaty foods they will (sometimes) eat.
Copperbands are unlike most fish in that they have a definate personality and you can't tell what it will eat until you get it in your home. Many of them will eat nothing.

[jeffhaag]

I've had 2 over the years in my tanks which were softies/LPS dominated. Never had any issues with them other then they always clear out all the feather dusters.

[Theguyfromnj]

I have one in my 90 mixed reef for over 8 months now, and haven't had a problem with him bothering my zoas, or my clams.

[hyperfocal]

The problem I've had is finding one's that don't die in the first week or so.

[Paul B]

The problem I've had is finding one's that don't die in the first week or so.

I can't keep them for 10 or 15 years myself but they should live at least 6 or 7.
I always seem to have an accident after so many years especially with copperbands and they are a little more delicate than many fish.

[hyperfocal]

Wow. I consider myself lucky that my *kids* have lasted more than 6 or 7 years let alone anything in my tank.

[freetareef]

mine ate all the tube worms and apstasia in the tank so i'm happy. i read that they are constant grazers and their digestive track is not ment for the once a day feeding and need to be fed several times during the day.

[freetareef]

i love my cbb....

[freetareef]

his name is oscar...

[badpvtdan]

Mine mowed down all of my ricordia. He didn't touch anything else....that ended up being the main problem.

[trilinearmipmap]

Mine stole all the mysis out of my bubble and pearl bubble corals whenever I tried to feed the corals. After a year or so the the bubble and pearl bubble corals withered away and died. You will also find the Copperband decimates a lot of the small life in you tank - pods, bristleworms etc. These are amazing fish but IMO they have a big downside in terms of their effect on your tank's ecosystem.

[rutz81]

I can not get mine to eat either mysis or brine so far?!?!? Any thoughts/ideas to get mine to eat? I just go him 3 days ago.

Thanks,
Dave

[crvz]

In my experience, this is a fish best left in the ocean. From what I read, their acclimation and shipping records are pretty rotten, and the three I've tried have never taken to prepared food. Surely there are some who've had success, but I'm not one of them.

[plyle02]

I had one that ate like a pig, loved aptasia, and never touched any of my 3 clams, sps, or zoos. I agree with above, no feather dusters, a constant picker of the liverock. My experiences were positive, but have heard negative stories as well....Good luck!

[Paul B]

I don't have many problems with them but their diet is worms and that is what they should be fed.

[rutz81]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13804702#post13804702 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Paul B
I don't have many problems with them but their diet is worms and that is what they should be fed.
What kind of "worms"??

[Paul B]

Live black worms. Copperbands will eat all sorts of meaty food like mysis but mysis is not their natural food and is full of shell. Copperbands are built to eat worms and they should eat them a few times a day. I feed them live black worms at least once a day and if I don't have an access to those worms, I don't get a copperband.
I have followed them in the sea and worms is what they eat.
It is never the fishes fault if we can't give them the diet that they should have and they die.

[rutz81]

Are these what you are referring to?

Black Worms (http://aquaticfoods.com/worms.html)

[cur10u5g30rg3]

I give mine a steady diet of live clams. He seems to like and be doing well feeding on these. I will be looking into the black worms though as I like to keep them as healthy and well feed as possible. My current fish will not touch frozen food although he did at the LFS, go figure. I had one a while back that ate everything that hit the tank so it is hit or miss. Sometime the smaller one seems to adjust there diet because they are collected younger. So far no issue with nipping at corals either.

[Paul B]

Are these what you are referring to?

Yes thats them. Unfortunalely I have learned that they are not available in many places in the US. Here in NY almost all pet shops sell them in small cups on the counter for less than $2.00
I would not buy large quantities of them unless you can split them with a lot of people. I keep them in a shallow tray with airation and I feed them.
They only live for maybe 10 seconds in saltwater.