Copperband butterfly

[tmc5983]

I hear it is quite difficult to keep a copperband butterfly. I just purchased him yesterday and he seems to be doing fine. just wondering what the first sign of distress is for these fish. Are they some precautions (other than great water quality) that i can take in order to ensure better longevity or are these pretty much doomed? it is such a gorgeous fish.

[Paul B]

They are not an extremely difficult fish but they have some requirments. They need to be fed every day and twice a day is better. They need small food preferably worms as that is what they eat in the sea. I always feed them live blackworms almost every day along with smal pieces of clam, or oyster along with mysis.
Paul

[tmc5983]

Thanks Paul B.
What else do you have in your tank? I hear different stories about having a copperband in a reef tank. Is it known to eat smaller crustaceans and anemones? How much are bloodworms anyway?

[Konadog]

Most people have problems getting them to eat, this is where the problems start. If yours is already eating, your 90% better off than most. You should be able to pick up blood worms at your LFS if they carry live food and shouldn't be more than a dollar or two per portion.

[Paul B]

Not bloodworms, blackworms. Bloodworms sold in pet shops are not really worms. They are the larval stage of an insect and I really don't know their nutritional statistics but blackworms, even though they are fresh water worms are great. I have gotten many fish to breed using blackworms. I buy the worms here in NY in any pet store or LFS. I feed the worms Selcon or some cheap coral food.
I have my copperband with a moorish Idol, a bangai cardinal and about 12 other smaller fish. I have had many copperbands and they are about my favorite fish. The only problem I find with them is that I can't get them to kive over about 6 or 7 years liks they should. All my other fish live at least ten years. With this copperband I am feeding other things that I never gave any others so maybe I will get ten years. Besides the worms he gets bananas, sponge and oysters. Most copperbands will not eat bananas but I started by mixing some banana with clam and oyster and now he eats it right along with everything else. He is not as crazy about bananas as clams but I figure, it can't hurt.
Paul

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/13094Dish_for_Idol_002.jpg
Of course he gets an occasional Bud once in a while. :lol:
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/13094Bud_can_and_copperband.jpg

[tmc5983]

Awesome photo Paul! I called three pet stores in town and no one carries blackworms. I'll try petco next. Bananas? Interesting. It certainly has become my favorite fish too. I would be happy if I could keep it around for 2-3 years. I tried mysis and brine . . .no luck.Are you using live clam meat?

[michaeldaly]

Mine loves to eat prawn, just cut a piece and secure it somewhere in your tank.

[Paul B]

Tmc5983 I get fresh clams, oysters and fish and freeze it. They like it better when it was frozen because it's softer. You can see that they have a hard time biting anything with that tiny mouth. It is designed to eat small worms and shrimp like mysis.
Paul

[lakehorse61]

i have had my butterfly(Penny) about a month. she ate all my feather dusters within 2 days in the reef but also eats aiptasia. i wish she would eat majano anemones but she wont touch them.

she also eats PE mysis easily from the first day. i guess i have been lucky with that.

[kokob007]

Mine started eating after i added some arctic pods with garlic. Now eats frozen brine.

[tmc5983]

Thanks to everyone who has replied to my questions regarding the copperband. I think I've spent about $50 in various foods for a $25 fish! Anyway, he has not eaten anything yet . . . I can't believe he's still alive! I'm trying a trick suggested be a fellow reefer. I'm smashing some food into a rock. after letting sit in the refrigerator overnight, I'll return the rock to the tank, hoping that copperband will pick at the rock. I'll let everyone know how it goes.

[tmc5983]

Thanks to everyone who has replied to my questions regarding the copperband. I think I've spent about $50 in various foods for a $25 fish! Anyway, he has not eaten anything yet . . . I can't believe he's still alive! I'm trying a trick suggested be a fellow reefer. I'm smashing some food, saturated in garlic juice, into a rock. after letting sit in the refrigerator overnight, I'll return the rock to the tank, hoping that the copperband will pick at the rock. I'll let everyone know how it goes.

[stevfam]

My copperband wouldn't eat at first. Mysis shrimp soaked in a couple drops of garlic extract finally did the trick after a couple of days. Eats out of my hand now... :)

[michaeldaly]

Try squashing some food into a sea-shell it's easier that rocks.

[jrandreassen]

Mine loves Mysis.
But pretty much anything goes.
The home-grown Shrimp/Scallop/Mussel small-chunk has been working well for a year.
It didn't like my Apthisa though :(, or bubbletip :)
JR

[The McReefersons]

Many copperbands unfortunetely die during this stage, they just never get eating like they should. Even down the road these fish tend to be very fragile. I know of many people keeping these fish (responsible reefkeepers), and while they get along fine for quite lenghty periods of time and appear healthy, one day they just stop eating, the next, they are dead. I have heard this story repeated time and again, and no reasonable explaination is usually to be found. It is a shame to see these beautiful fish for sale in every LFS you stop in as it is in the greater majority of reef tanks that they experience greatly shortened lifespans and perhaps much unnecessary suffering. This is not to say some people do not have great luck in caring for these animals, but I fear it is the larger majority of these fish that are sold that find a less fortunate fate in our captive reefs.

-Dave

[Paul B]

All fish but especially copperbands and moorish Idols should be seen eating before you buy them. If the store will not feed them, go somewhere else. I usually have luck with them for at least 6 or 8 years. I have had many of them over the years but I never had one live for 10 years which I think this fish should live. I may be wrong and it could be that their lifespan is only 7 years or so but I doubt it. Even small damsels live over 12 years.
Paul

[ceige]

what tank size is recommended for a CBB?

[bronxer]

My son bought a Copper Band Butterfly fish and put it in his 75 gallon tank full of aiptasia.

Unfortunately, his yellow tang didn't like the company and attacked it right off.

He came over to my house with the CBB but it didn't survive.

Now I have a yellow tang and some live rock with aiptasia. I am thinking about getting a CBB, but I'm afraid the yellow tang will kill it.

Does anyone have those two fish together living peacefully?

[ReefJerk]

I have a CBB with a Yellow Tang and Hippo Tang. The Yellow tends to be a little territorial but the CBB holds its own. The CBB was established after the Tangs were introduced. Try putting the Tang in QT for awhile, put in the CBB and rearrange the rockwork. The issue may be the tank size and not the fish combination. Mine started in a 90 and now are in a 180.

[bronxer]

Thanks for the ideas. My tang is about 5 " long - what kind of QT do you recommend for something that large, and how long do you leave it in QT?

[bronxer]

Hold on - stupid question (the first part) - I have a refugium which could work as a QT. Leave it in there for an hour or two while acclimating the CBB and rearrange the rocks.

Never mind. IT's 4 a.m. and my brain's not working too good. Takes me time to figure out stuff.

Thanks again for your input.