CBB ON STRIKE!

[PhilT]

I’ve had copperbands that never touch apitasia! One that was not eating for awhile went crazy when I found live blackworms. After that he started eating everything . Google for a live source if you can. Were the clams you tried live? If you can get them fresh from the seafood section of a good seafood grocery store. I’ve read though best to freeze them first to kill any germs in them.

 

[OrionN]

i guess you cant force feed a fish...

You actually can. There was a thread somewhere that he. At h the fish and rice feed it every day with a syringe and a tube into the stomach. It got the fish better.
It was one of the larger Angel. It was on ReefCentral.com.

 

[primalpete]

I got one from Dr. Reef on Friday. Couldn’t get him to eat anything until yesterday. Even tried live blood worms. I got some live mussels, froze them, broke in half and hung from algae clip where he was swimming. He seems to like that so far. Mine also stays at the top of the tank. My mimic tang did like him at first and I think he spooked him the first day. Seems to be swimming lower ever day though.

 

[blazn]

Just to make sure, you do have aptasia in your tank correct. And what did the ppl. that QT'd the CBB say it at with them. Also how old is your reef, just for reference. Did you start with dry rock, live rock?
I think the thing that gets me is, if you just bought this fish fresh out of the ocean I can see maybe that there would be a non-eating situation. But you got this fish from someone who QT'd it, so it had to be eating, you would think. Just trying to isolate the factors that are different between before it got to you and now. Another point, what is this company’s QT protocols?

I've gone thru the misery of purchasing a pre-QT CBB that never would eat (live black & live white worms, clams, frozen, etc) beyond some Masstick and perished in 3 weeks. Another had posted on R2R just last week of going thru the same process with the same result. We all thought that by having the CBB survive thru the QT process, they'd be eating at least frozen mysis in the water column, which is what they supposedly were fed during the QT process. For whatever reason, these pre-QT CBBs never would start eating enough to survive. I highly recommend for anyone that wants a CBB to wait until you can observe them eating frozen at a LFS, as that worked for me.

 

[Badblackdog]

I heard you need to QT these guys for best chance of survival.
While its in QT you then try to get it to eat without competition, and you can flip all sorts of food.

I assume you just dropped in your main DT, which maybe difficult.

I so want a CBB, but i know i would most likely kill it. Its like when i look at powder blue tangs, and achilies tangs. I know i'll get a ich explosion even after i QT'd, just because i have the worst luck with fishes, so as much as i want one, i will probably never own one.

Anyhow GL on your CBB, they are beautiful fishes... that and the Moorish Idol have always been something i wanted, but know id gaurentee kill them.

The Moorish Idol is my dream fish but I am not ready for that level.

 

[smitten with ocean life]

thank you! i would love to go that route but we have one LFS and it is very limited in what they have

 

[Naekuh]

thank you! i would love to go that route but we have one LFS and it is very limited in what they have

agree, lfs's do not want to take that gamble either of having one of those, only to not have it sell before they wither away and die.

So its very difficult to find a healthy one.

At least you confirmed one thing for me...
I don't care who says they QT, to me it seems all BS.

Ive read too many horror stories from places that say they QT.
To me, it seems they have a different level of QT.

I just hope you can get some recourse out of this.
At the very least find out what they fed during QT, and if its not eatting what they stated, id call it a fake QT.
If the fish came fat and happy after QT, it should eat whatever they been feeding it during QT.

This is why everyone who has kept these guys successfully said they QT them, and give them ample sources to pick at for food, to find out what they will eat, before they drop them in DT.

Its not only to see if the fish is sick, but to give it a chance to sample everything and decide what it wants to eat, before you get tangs and other aggressive fish taking away all the food.

 

[ttnguyen98]

i tried to get live worms, but unfortunately the LFS didnt have any. thanks everyone for the tips!

How many fish are there in your tank when u first introduce the QT ccb? Any food competition among them?

 

[smitten with ocean life]

i have 3 tangs and a damsel. no one pesters CBB unless its after i go to bed. he has his side of the tank he usually hangs out at. i feed the tangs first on the opposite side and then feed the butterfly. he gets all excited, but i cant catch him eating. ive also put him in an isolation box a couple of times and tried just piping his food in there for him. he swims around and looks fine today is a week though....

 

[smitten with ocean life]

well he died now i got to figure out whether to try again or forget it.....

 

[OutColdCRNA]

I've gone thru the misery of purchasing a pre-QT CBB that never would eat (live black & live white worms, clams, frozen, etc) beyond some Masstick and perished in 3 weeks. Another had posted on R2R just last week of going thru the same process with the same result. We all thought that by having the CBB survive thru the QT process, they'd be eating at least frozen mysis in the water column, which is what they supposedly were fed during the QT process. For whatever reason, these pre-QT CBBs never would start eating enough to survive. I highly recommend for anyone that wants a CBB to wait until you can observe them eating frozen at a LFS, as that worked for me.

I believe that was probably my thread you are referring to. OP it definitely sucks, I spent more, in preparation for the ensuing battle to get the CBB to eat, than the fish cost. Mine perished. Never ate a bite. I tried everything. And I mean everything. I got one as well pre conditioned. I will definitely not be trying again with a CBB. May actually try a long nose, as I have heard they aren’t as finicky. Good luck with whatever you choose.

 

[kindafun]

Very sad.

I've been following this and getting a CBB next week.

At the same time we have this poll currently running, "Caring for your picky eaters: What do you feed your finicky fish?"

 

[smitten with ocean life]

really? ah man... some people seem to have luck with them

 

[smitten with ocean life]

Very sad.

I've been following this and getting a CBB next week.

At the same time we have this poll currently running, "Caring for your picky eaters: What do you feed your finicky fish?"

yeah, ive been reading that too, believe me! i think i tried everything on that list

 

[kindafun]

It is interesting and strange. My son got one from an online QT fish seller. He didn't see it eat for several weeks and it was getting thin. He got some frozen blood worms, soaked them in garlic, and it became voracious. Now it eats fine on bloodworms, mysis and brine shrimp and he no longer soaks the food in garlic.

 

[smitten with ocean life]

like chopped fresh garlic?

 

[InvictusReef]

got him delivered late thursday. have tried clam on the have shell, frozen bloodworms, mysis, brine shrimp with garlic. he seems very chill and happy. nobody is bothering him. i know they are finicky and just wondered when to panic

I started mine in a QT but it ate the 2nd day and by day 5 he was eating like a tang. Everything is site. Have you trie Mastick on a rock yet?

 

[smitten with ocean life]

no. i had ordered it, but it didnt come in time

 

[kindafun]

He used this. But I know some who make their own food use fresh garlic.

 

[Naekuh]

well he died now i got to figure out whether to try again or forget it.....

I wouldnt bother unless you can do the QT yourself and you can see it eat something, or at the very least have them record a video of it eatting something, if they will go that far for you.

But like i said earilier in the thread, the most successful scenarios i have seen with CBB's is they did the QT themselves and nuked the tank with just about every food possible to see what the CBB would eat.

And then once it got acustomed to eatting that, they would put it in the DT.

Lastly, i would not trust the QT of the vendor you bought from.
Unless it was harrassed til no ends in your tank a pre QT CBB should eat whatever it was QT'd on.

To me it sounds like they didn't QT, and probably just charged you extra for it.