“Bah” The Copperband Butterfly, still kicking since April 2020

[Glenner’sreef]

Sad to hear that Copperband Butterflies (CBB) don’t make it in some of our tanks. Bah is now a two year resident in my tank.
I had one about a year prior to Bah. It died after just a few months. The difference was simple……daily multiple feedings. In addition to that, keep your flow down while feeding. They aren’t the most agile feeders. There good but other fish will outcompete.

1. what is your CBB success story?

Bah, just a week after purchase.

 

[blaxsun]

"Bah" - great name. I still plan to try a copperband at some point - I'm just waiting for my LFS to get a smart one (one that's eating before I take it home).

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

"Bah" - great name. I still plan to try a copperband at some point - I'm just waiting for my LFS to get a smart one (one that's eating before I take it home).

I've bought a few CBB eaters (usually mysis) and they still croak, usually in weeks. Hell I was even buying live blackworms for one and it croaked after a month. Its like a holy grail fish. I have a good coworker/reefing friend that stuffs them in his 60 cube and they thrive for years. It drives me mad!

 

[blaxsun]

I've bought a few CBB eaters (usually mysis) and they still croak, usually in weeks. Hell I was even buying live blackworms for one and it croaked after a month. Its like a holy grail fish. I have a good coworker/reefing friend that stuffs them in his 60 cube and they thrive for years. It drives me mad!

Maybe I'll stick with wrasses, lol.

 

[i cant think]

My CBB has been with me for just over two years now, bought him in January of 2020. He resides with me still to this day and actually my experience contradicts to what you say about them needing low flow to feed. In fact, my guy is in with some boisterous eaters yet he eats more than the others. Those boisterous eaters are; Twin Spot Bristletooth Tang, Magnificent Foxface, Spot Breast Angelfish, Jade Wrasse, Radiant Wrasse.

I still haven’t given him a name, last time I gave a fish a name, it died within a few months (The fish in my profile - Hoplolatilus chlupatyi). The flow he’s in is moderate to high and he will still fight it, even play in it with the others. Sometimes what he’ll do is swim against the flow then “give up” and go gliding back, he often repeats this several times then goes back to grazing and pecking.

 

[blaxsun]

^ This is what I want for a copperband!

 

[i cant think]

My CBB has been with me for just over two years now, bought him in January of 2020. He resides with me still to this day and actually my experience contradicts to what you say about them needing low flow to feed. In fact, my guy is in with some boisterous eaters yet he eats more than the others. Those boisterous eaters are; Twin Spot Bristletooth Tang, Magnificent Foxface, Spot Breast Angelfish, Jade Wrasse, Radiant Wrasse.

I still haven’t given him a name, last time I gave a fish a name, it died within a few months (The fish in my profile - Hoplolatilus chlupatyi). The flow he’s in is moderate to high and he will still fight it, even play in it with the others. Sometimes what he’ll do is swim against the flow then “give up” and go gliding back, he often repeats this several times then goes back to grazing and pecking.

I’ll also mention how when there’s a new addition, out of everyone in the tank he shows the most dominance. Also been coral and anemone safe for the most part so I’m hoping I can keep my deresa in the long run and he won’t bother a 6-7 inch deresa (If it does grow to triple its size in the first year in my max nano). Here’s a photo of the CBB this morning;

 

[blaxsun]

My dominant fish is a bicolor cleaner wrasse, if you can believe it. And people think their sixlines are evil incarnate...

 

[i cant think]

My dominant fish is a bicolor cleaner wrasse, if you can believe it. And people think their sixlines are evil incarnate...

Oh wow - I never thought a labroides would be the most dominant!
Then again, nobody expects a CBB to come out on top, especially when there’s a tang with him!

 

[blaxsun]

Oh wow - I never thought a labroides would be the most dominant!
Then again, nobody expects a CBB to come out on top, especially when there’s a tang with him!

Yes, it killed our new valentini puffer a few weeks back and was harassing the new lubbockk's fairy wrasse that I introduced today. I had to hang a mirror back up on the side of the tank to distract it.

 

[Glenner’sreef]

My CBB has been with me for just over two years now, bought him in January of 2020. He resides with me still to this day and actually my experience contradicts to what you say about them needing low flow to feed. In fact, my guy is in with some boisterous eaters yet he eats more than the others. Those boisterous eaters are; Twin Spot Bristletooth Tang, Magnificent Foxface, Spot Breast Angelfish, Jade Wrasse, Radiant Wrasse.

I still haven’t given him a name, last time I gave a fish a name, it died within a few months (The fish in my profile - Hoplolatilus chlupatyi). The flow he’s in is moderate to high and he will still fight it, even play in it with the others. Sometimes what he’ll do is swim against the flow then “give up” and go gliding back, he often repeats this several times then goes back to grazing and pecking.

Great fish!!! A couple factors play into this as well. (And it looks like you’re on it!) “Broadcast” feeding vs spot feeding. And secondly, Moderated-heavy feeding vs light. If a hobbyist when feeding was rinsing his food and spot feeding the fish say in one area so as to keep both nutrient levels and nitrates low. He/she may have a tougher time keeping their CBB healthy. Also I’d say for every 10 pieces of food my Tangs and Wrasses eat, Bah gets 5. You’d also mentioned picking and grazing. Thriving live rock seriously helps as well.

 

[i cant think]

Great fish!!! A couple factors play into this as well. (And it looks like you’re on it!) “Broadcast” feeding vs spot feeding. And secondly, Moderated-heavy feeding vs light. If a hobbyist when feeding was rinsing his food and spot feeding the fish say in one area so as to keep both nutrient levels and nitrates low. He/she may have a tougher time keeping their CBB healthy. Also I’d say for every 10 pieces of food my Tangs and Wrasses eat, Bah gets 5. You’d also mentioned picking and grazing. Thriving live rock seriously helps as well.

Yeah, I add 3 bags of pods weekly (There’s Atleast 50 in each bag) for the past 2 years. I do actually broadcast feed and it’s rather heavy feeding (Although, when I had the tilefish it used to be totally gone, now I have no tilefish and there’s a ton that gets left over). Everyone crowds up in the top right corner when I lift my arms up and the lid is opened due to how I usually put a lot of food there (The wave maker is right next to the corner and throws the food across the tank), then if I have any food left in the pot I’ll spread it all across the centre of the tank.
I don’t believe these fish deserve the bad reputation they get, I personally think adding them in through drip acclimation for 30 minutes then right into the tank is best as it reduces stress, it’s also how I had success with my previous CBB (That was then murdered by a Scopas tang).

Bah’s a beautiful specimen! He seems to be loving the coral aswell haha, has he gone after anything yet?

 

[Tamberav]

I’ll also mention how when there’s a new addition, out of everyone in the tank he shows the most dominance. Also been coral and anemone safe for the most part so I’m hoping I can keep my deresa in the long run and he won’t bother a 6-7 inch deresa (If it does grow to triple its size in the first year in my max nano). Here’s a photo of the CBB this morning;

My CCB chase the yellow tang around and try to stab him with the pointy top fin.

 

[Glenner’sreef]

Yeah, I add 3 bags of pods weekly (There’s Atleast 50 in each bag) for the past 2 years. I do actually broadcast feed and it’s rather heavy feeding (Although, when I had the tilefish it used to be totally gone, now I have no tilefish and there’s a ton that gets left over). Everyone crowds up in the top right corner when I lift my arms up and the lid is opened due to how I usually put a lot of food there (The wave maker is right next to the corner and throws the food across the tank), then if I have any food left in the pot I’ll spread it all across the centre of the tank.
I don’t believe these fish deserve the bad reputation they get, I personally think adding them in through drip acclimation for 30 minutes then right into the tank is best as it reduces stress, it’s also how I had success with my previous CBB (That was then murdered by a Scopas tang).

Bah’s a beautiful specimen! He seems to be loving the coral aswell haha, has he gone after anything yet?

Agreed!!! CBB are great reef fish. And no Bah in 2 years has never messed with any corals. Not that long ago (couple of months) Bah took a nip at my Blue spot Derasa clam. I think Bah was just getting a pod or food????

 

[ying yang]

Think I've had mine about 6- 7 months so far,and he doing great.
Feed clams mainly 2- 3 times a day and always cut up/ dice/ slivers for the fishes and use tweezers to target feed cbb ( daughter named rusty) then he rips it from tweezers then all other fish swarm for it.
Mine is quite dominant also and often charges a few of the fish ,and after few times giving him clams ( sometimes oysters,scallops and occasionally mussels) then just let the flow take food all over the tank and he doesnt have any problem getting the food.
I would probably say he the dominant fish in my system, he biggest anyway ,got no tangs.

All round not found it that hard with this fish but I did do lots research first on most things about them,mainly on tips and tricks to get them to feed if they don't feed.
Mine doesn't take pellets nor frozen cubed food at all.

Good active interesting cool fish ^_^

 

[i cant think]

Agreed!!! CBB are great reef fish. And no Bah in 2 years has never messed with any corals. Not that long ago (couple of months) Bah took a nip at my Blue spot Derasa clam. I think Bah was just getting a pod or food????

That boosts my hopes in having a 4-6 inch deresa in with my guy!
In growing this guy out as a test run and building up for the hopes of one or two of the harder clams, fingers crossed in a year or so time when he gets too big for my max nano he won’t be CBB food

 

[i cant think]

Think I've had mine about 6- 7 months so far,and he doing great.
Feed clams mainly 2- 3 times a day and always cut up/ dice/ slivers for the fishes and use tweezers to target feed cbb ( daughter named rusty) then he rips it from tweezers then all other fish swarm for it.
Mine is quite dominant also and often charges a few of the fish ,and after few times giving him clams ( sometimes oysters,scallops and occasionally mussels) then just let the flow take food all over the tank and he doesnt have any problem getting the food.
I would probably say he the dominant fish in my system, he biggest anyway ,got no tangs.

All round not found it that hard with this fish but I did do lots research first on most things about them,mainly on tips and tricks to get them to feed if they don't feed.
Mine doesn't take pellets nor frozen cubed food at all.

Good active interesting cool fish ^_^

I agree that research is needed when preparing for these guys but if you know what you’re getting then they’re actually extremely hardy compared to what everyone says about them.

 

[Glenner’sreef]

That boosts my hopes in having a 4-6 inch deresa in with my guy!
In growing this guy out as a test run and building up for the hopes of one or two of the harder clams, fingers crossed in a year or so time when he gets too big for my max nano he won’t be CBB food

All is well. Bah really ignores it. Good luck.

 

[Bigdaddy05]

I have a 3 inch blue maxima and my copperband doesn't bother it. When I got mine he said it was from Malaysia and that their hardier and eat mysis no problem not sure if that's true but mines chunky

 

[i cant think]

I have a 3 inch blue maxima and my copperband doesn't bother it. When I got mine he said it was from Malaysia and that their hardier and eat mysis no problem not sure if that's true but mines chunky

Mine was from Australia and I have found those ones seem to be harder to get feeding, I say this as most CBBs that came in and weren’t eating at my LFS were part of an Australian shipment. The ones that did eat were often either extremely young specimens that had yet to have adapted to a wild diet or were from Malaysia/Indonesia.