xcreonx
02/17/2006, 12:39 AM
Because I see the questions so much, I wanted to share my experiences with the Copperband Butterfly (CBB) and getting them to eat prepared foods.
At the store:
I purchased a CBB several years ago from a very reputable reef store in Tampa, FL. I knew the reputation of this store to be of the highest regard, and I knew their livestock was top notch and always healthy. On one of many trips over a 10 - 11 month search for a healthy CBB, I found one that fit my criteria:
1. Eating frozen mysis in the store. This is key. If they don't eat at the store, good luck getting them to eat at home.
2. Was not afraid of me when I approached the tank. In fact, he came right to the front of the glass and 'greeted' me. I don't think they necessarily have to be this bold at the store, but they shouldn't freak out when you come close. That being said, approach the tank he's in slowly and carefully. These fish can be timid, so be cautious.
3. Showed no signs of being picked on, no fins nipped, no spots or wounds.
4. No signs of parasites.
5. The store had him in QT for 3 weeks before he was put into the display tank just to make sure he was healthy and eating.
These characteristics were exactly what I was looking for. I would not consider anything less.
When we got home
I acclimated him normally to a prepared QT tank that was hooked to my main system. It's basically a refugium. I was more concerned with this fish eating than I was with parasites. So, in he goes. He's alone in the tank, roughly 50gallons, with a deep sand bed, tons of pods and live mysis living free from predation. He was somewhat skittish for the first night, but in the morning he was out and about. I could see he was picking at the live plankton in the tank, so I took this as a good sign. I fed a small amount of frozen mysis just to check. He ate a piece or two. Good news.
Into the main tank
After spending almost 2 weeks in the fuge, eating frozen mysis, live mysis and pods, and the occassional aiptasia, I decided it was time to release him into his new home, a 180g mixed reef.
My only concern was my Yellow Tang, who was clearly the boss of the tank. He was roughly the same sized as the CBB, which I hadn't taken into account at the time of purchase, but I later found out meant some trouble. The Tang picked on him like you wouldn't believe. Over the course of 3 - 4 days, there was a strange power struggle between these two. The tang pushed him around, but the CBB stopped giving in and bolting around the rocks. Instead he stood his ground and flared his spikes. This seemed to calm the tang down, i guess, and they got used to each other pretty quickly. Now they are great pals, along with a female swallow-tail angel, and they allswim the length of the tank together. Adorable.
Eating problems
Now, the CBB was eating frozen mysis in the store and in the refugium just fine, but add into the mix a yellow tang, a swallowtail angel, 2 damsels, a clown, and 2 cardinals, and you've got one nervous fish. He stopped eating. He wouldn't touch anything. He would look at the food fall in front of him, even land on him, but was not interested. I got really worried here. Luckily, he took a liking to the few aiptasias I had, and completely took care of them in 2 days flat. So what to do?
Clams
I'd heard of some people having good luck getting their CBB to eat with little-neck clams from the grocery store. They are live at the seafood counter, and around .40 each. They also have middle-neck clams sometimes, which are bigger, for a modest price increase.
I bought a dozen and took them home. I promptly cracked a clam open and dropped it in the tank. Immediately, the CBB attacked the clam. Success! He ripped every bit of the poor clam apart. This was great news! So, I stuck the rest of the clams in the freezer and pull one out when needed.
Feeding
When I feed the tank, here's what works for me: I feed two cubes of food for the other fish. This gets them occupied, however the CBB is not interested in that. I take a frozen clam out, rinse it well, crack it open, and drop it in the tank. The CBB goes right for it as aggressively as I've ever seen. The other fish take interest in the clam, but mostly eat the cubed food. The Angel does eat the clam with the CBB, but he doesn't seem to mind.
I do notice some timidity when everyone is hovering around the clam. As you'll see in the video, when everyone moves around him, the CBB pauses his eating, but promptly goes about it again.
Here's a short clip (7 megs) in quicktime format: Video of my Copperband eating a clam (http://goodmorningheartache.com/video/cbbsmall.mov)
As you can see in the video, the CBB is aggressively going after the clam. And even when the Angel comes in for a bite, he stills stands his ground and eats aggressively.
Conclusion
In my experience, Copperbands can be kept successfully and can be trained to eat prepared foods. However, there are several factors that come into play beforehand: Are they eating at the store? Are they healthy? Are your tankmates appropriate? Etc. etc.
Clams may be a good way to get these beautiful fish to live happily in your tank.
I hope this may help someone. I did a lot of research before purchasing a Copperband, and I advise everyone to do the same. This is just my experience, and what has worked for me. It is promising none the less, and I hope it will work for you. By the way, my Copperband's name is Achilles.:rollface:
At the store:
I purchased a CBB several years ago from a very reputable reef store in Tampa, FL. I knew the reputation of this store to be of the highest regard, and I knew their livestock was top notch and always healthy. On one of many trips over a 10 - 11 month search for a healthy CBB, I found one that fit my criteria:
1. Eating frozen mysis in the store. This is key. If they don't eat at the store, good luck getting them to eat at home.
2. Was not afraid of me when I approached the tank. In fact, he came right to the front of the glass and 'greeted' me. I don't think they necessarily have to be this bold at the store, but they shouldn't freak out when you come close. That being said, approach the tank he's in slowly and carefully. These fish can be timid, so be cautious.
3. Showed no signs of being picked on, no fins nipped, no spots or wounds.
4. No signs of parasites.
5. The store had him in QT for 3 weeks before he was put into the display tank just to make sure he was healthy and eating.
These characteristics were exactly what I was looking for. I would not consider anything less.
When we got home
I acclimated him normally to a prepared QT tank that was hooked to my main system. It's basically a refugium. I was more concerned with this fish eating than I was with parasites. So, in he goes. He's alone in the tank, roughly 50gallons, with a deep sand bed, tons of pods and live mysis living free from predation. He was somewhat skittish for the first night, but in the morning he was out and about. I could see he was picking at the live plankton in the tank, so I took this as a good sign. I fed a small amount of frozen mysis just to check. He ate a piece or two. Good news.
Into the main tank
After spending almost 2 weeks in the fuge, eating frozen mysis, live mysis and pods, and the occassional aiptasia, I decided it was time to release him into his new home, a 180g mixed reef.
My only concern was my Yellow Tang, who was clearly the boss of the tank. He was roughly the same sized as the CBB, which I hadn't taken into account at the time of purchase, but I later found out meant some trouble. The Tang picked on him like you wouldn't believe. Over the course of 3 - 4 days, there was a strange power struggle between these two. The tang pushed him around, but the CBB stopped giving in and bolting around the rocks. Instead he stood his ground and flared his spikes. This seemed to calm the tang down, i guess, and they got used to each other pretty quickly. Now they are great pals, along with a female swallow-tail angel, and they allswim the length of the tank together. Adorable.
Eating problems
Now, the CBB was eating frozen mysis in the store and in the refugium just fine, but add into the mix a yellow tang, a swallowtail angel, 2 damsels, a clown, and 2 cardinals, and you've got one nervous fish. He stopped eating. He wouldn't touch anything. He would look at the food fall in front of him, even land on him, but was not interested. I got really worried here. Luckily, he took a liking to the few aiptasias I had, and completely took care of them in 2 days flat. So what to do?
Clams
I'd heard of some people having good luck getting their CBB to eat with little-neck clams from the grocery store. They are live at the seafood counter, and around .40 each. They also have middle-neck clams sometimes, which are bigger, for a modest price increase.
I bought a dozen and took them home. I promptly cracked a clam open and dropped it in the tank. Immediately, the CBB attacked the clam. Success! He ripped every bit of the poor clam apart. This was great news! So, I stuck the rest of the clams in the freezer and pull one out when needed.
Feeding
When I feed the tank, here's what works for me: I feed two cubes of food for the other fish. This gets them occupied, however the CBB is not interested in that. I take a frozen clam out, rinse it well, crack it open, and drop it in the tank. The CBB goes right for it as aggressively as I've ever seen. The other fish take interest in the clam, but mostly eat the cubed food. The Angel does eat the clam with the CBB, but he doesn't seem to mind.
I do notice some timidity when everyone is hovering around the clam. As you'll see in the video, when everyone moves around him, the CBB pauses his eating, but promptly goes about it again.
Here's a short clip (7 megs) in quicktime format: Video of my Copperband eating a clam (http://goodmorningheartache.com/video/cbbsmall.mov)
As you can see in the video, the CBB is aggressively going after the clam. And even when the Angel comes in for a bite, he stills stands his ground and eats aggressively.
Conclusion
In my experience, Copperbands can be kept successfully and can be trained to eat prepared foods. However, there are several factors that come into play beforehand: Are they eating at the store? Are they healthy? Are your tankmates appropriate? Etc. etc.
Clams may be a good way to get these beautiful fish to live happily in your tank.
I hope this may help someone. I did a lot of research before purchasing a Copperband, and I advise everyone to do the same. This is just my experience, and what has worked for me. It is promising none the less, and I hope it will work for you. By the way, my Copperband's name is Achilles.:rollface: