This is a copperband right? If so, I’ve had the most luck with the following:
1) Starting it out in a calmer observation tank with some pieces of live rock (preferably with aptasia) and other little critters for it to pick at. I think this is what keeps them alive while you train them to eat other foods.
2) Feeding clams (not the freezer burned clams on a half shell from the LFS). I like the little neck or manila clams. I generally freeze them. Once you drop them in they slowly open which allows the copperband first dibs.
3) Once it’s eating clams, then I like to transition to masstick on the clam shell. I find the pre-mixed masstick that comes in the little metal container works best for this.
4) Once it’s regularly eating masstick, I try to mix in some mysis shrimp with the masstick.
5) Eventually the fish will learn how to eat out of the water column. Eating this way is completely unnatural for them…so it is a learned behavior. My current CBB prefers larger chunks of food like LRS and the big PE Mysis.
6) After a while they will eat out of your hand.
Some people swear by white/black worms. My current one wasn’t super interested in the black worms. You can get them online at Eastern Aquatics if you want to try it.
They are very methodical eaters. They inspect their food for a while and if something distracts them, they get all ADD and have to start over.
My current CBB took 4 or 5 days to start eating…
Hope this helps and hope you were talking about a copperband
