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

[Glenner’sreef]

This is one of the best threads I’ve seen this year

Agreed. Lol It’s definitely worth our time on this forum to analyze the lives and habits of our livestock and pass the data on to their benefit.

 

[inetjnky]

my first one ate Mysis and LRS from the water column when I broadcast my tank. It went missing while I was on my honeymoon while I had sitters watching my tank. New one I have now eats clams, salmon, and scallops. But all my fish are aggressive eaters and this CBB is very slow to eat and picks all day. So I made a pipe that’s closed on each end with holes drilled all over it that I stuff with it’s good and let it sit in the tank for a day or two before I replace it.

 

[Glenner’sreef]

my first one ate Mysis and LRS from the water column when I broadcast my tank. It went missing while I was on my honeymoon while I had sitters watching my tank. New one I have now eats clams, salmon, and scallops. But all my fish are aggressive eaters and this CBB is very slow to eat and picks all day. So I made a pipe that’s closed on each end with holes drilled all over it that I stuff with it’s good and let it sit in the tank for a day or two before I replace it.

That brilliant invention may drive your other fish crazy. Nice move.

 

[LaloJ]

Nice thread, I have been tempted to get a CBB, I would definitely do QT and although I'm concerned about the feeding issue, I'm just more concerned that my coral beauty angel would be waiting for him at the dt, he is an aggressive guy. I have always had the idea of making a dedicated butterflyfish tank and CBB would be on my list.

 

[Gobi-Wan]

I've had my CBB for a year and a half now. I had to do everything you can imagine to get him happy and healthy. I had killed a CBB in the past from inexperience and prepared as best as i could beforehand for this one. I created a live culture of blackworms in a 20L freshwater setup months beforehand. He did not accept them. I had masstick prepared, he did not accept that. He finally started eating a live clam that i busted open for him. I was able to keep him alive on those. He developed ich (or already had it) and 2 freshwater dips plus a therapeutic chelated copper treatment finally cured him of that. eventually i was able to get him to eat the blackworms out of a turkey baster and used this to safely add him to the display. (he would stick his beak all the way into the baster and i could target feed him without the other fish stealing everything) I transitioned the baster to Reef Frenzy and eventually created a feeder that he eats out of. I still feed all the fish from this feeder because the CBB eats what he wants and the rest floats out to the other fish as it thaws. It's pretty convenient for feeding frozen in general actually. I feel like I had the most difficult scenario, i often read about people whose copperbands eat frozen readily.

 

[Gobi-Wan]

Also worth noting- I had to stuff my CBB to the point of having a big fat belly for 4 months before it gained weight back to normal. Just seeing it eat isn't enough.

 

[((FORDTECH))]

Do you want to know the coolest thing about my copperband is that after about a month finally last night I watched him decimate aptasia tearing it apart shaking his head with it in his mouth this morning I wake up all the aptasia’s gone best darn Fish I’ve ever bought