Cooperband butterfly question

[Jack Eskay]

I'll share my thoughts on this. They are finicky and fragile fish and finding a healthy one is tough. So start by looking for a healthy, plump cbb with good fins, no shredding. Don't settle, this can take months! He should be responsive and active.
Make sure you have a qt tank for him and keep him there while you train him to eat frozen and, if you are lucky, flake food. CBBs are slow to eat so the qt gives them a fighting chance to eat and learn.

Have some frozen blood worms handy, while not a good long-term food, it helps to get them eating. If that doesn't work, live black worms should be ordered.

Once he has a good appetite and has a healthy appearance, he's got a good chance in the main tank with other fish. I feed mine twice daily, they are grazers and eat constantly in the wild.

I trained mine to eat from a modified blackworm feeder which gives him a chance to feed without the more aggressive fish eating all the food.

It's also good to mention that after weeks of active feeding in qt, when I moved him to the dt he stopped eating for almost a week. They are that fragile.

I'll try and post a video tomorrow/Friday so you can see the feeder in action.

As of right now I only have 2 clowns in the tank so competition of feeding should not be a problem. I may skip the qt because there's only two fish in the tank and it will save on some extra stress. I plan to take as much time possible to find the perfect healthy on and will spend all my time possible making sure he'll eat and trying different foods for him. I also plan to feed him normally once a day but in the mornings I'll put a frozen clam on the bottom. Would all this work?

 

[Jack Eskay]

I don't have a big enough qt and my parents won't let me have another tank sitting around so would it be better and safer to buy the CBB now and acclimate him to the tank and get him eating in there before I add the clowns who are in my smaller 10 gallon qt? Would that be a smarter decision so I can ensure that he's eating and he'll also be adjusted to the tank!

 

[Lenny_S]

Great!! do yo I have a recommendation of where to buy one? I would prefer to buy in md but if ordering is my best option I'll try that! And thank you so much for the feedback this helped me a ton!

If you don't have a good local option, then I would recommend Live Aquaria's Divers Den. That is the only place I would order a fish from online.
http://m.liveaquaria.com/diversden/index.cfm

 

[eatbreakfast]

CBB is a fish I would strongly recommend to get when you can personally see it. Make sure it eats vigorously, it's swimming properly, not hiding or timid, no damaged fins or scales, or especially no damage on the snout.

Be incredibly patient. Wait for the tank to establish for at least six months.

 

[WillReef4Food]

Yes, add the clowns last. They can be aggressive for sure. My other concern would be if they are a breeding pair. In a tank that small they could easily harass the cbb to death.
I have a beautiful 4 year old deresa clam I had to put in my sump because the cbb started nipping it. I knew it was a chance but I had to make a choice between clam and fish. You may have to do the same between clowns and cbb. Keep that in mind.

 

[Jack Eskay]

Ok thank you all for your answers. Technically the tank itself is new but the rock and bacteria and everything i brought for my other set ups(combined them together) so the tank has plenty of good bacteria and copepods. I will keep the clowns in qt for as long as possible and start the search for the cbb! Thanks for all your help if I have any further questions I'll ask in here. Also does anyone recommend that I put a frozen clam on the bottom in the morning to help get them to eat?

 

[Pugfishluv3]

I had a cb for years (power out and tank crash) make sure it's eating at the lfs, get one at 3-4 inches as this size does best. Clam or mussel half shell will get them eating (may take a few days to a week) they will not eat flake or pellet. Min would eat vitamin infused mysis. So every mourning when I feed pellet or flake the cb would get a mussel. I did have mine with more aggressive fish, toby puffer and flame angel. Yes it shared it's mussel some but overy all did get. When you get the lfs to feed it watch to see what it's used to eating.

 

[eatbreakfast]

Ok thank you all for your answers. Technically the tank itself is new but the rock and bacteria and everything i brought for my other set ups(combined them together) so the tank has plenty of good bacteria and copepods. I will keep the clowns in qt for as long as possible and start the search for the cbb! Thanks for all your help if I have any further questions I'll ask in here. Also does anyone recommend that I put a frozen clam on the bottom in the morning to help get them to eat?

Even though you are using old rock, still allow the system to stabilize for at least six months. Different surface areas are exposed or concealed. Be patient, especially when contemplating a sensitive species.

 

[4FordFamily]

I would personally wait until after a year to add a CBB. A mature tank is far preferable to a "cycled" tank. Live blackworms can get the fish eating but keeping stress at s minimum is critical to success as they often won't eat even with minor stress. Even a few large fish that show no aggression can intimidate a CBB initially.

 

[MasterBacon]

I've been waiting for almost 3 years, and still haven't pulled the trigger!
#CBBLivesMatter ;)
The fewer that die from "not ready systems", the fewer harvested to fill the stores.
Just my . 02o_O

Before you say it I know! #AllFishLivesMatter :p

 

[Jack Eskay]

Ok then I might wait a bit before I get one but I'm just trying to think of the best way to keep one without causing stress and I think if I wait to long and add more fish when I add him he'll overcome too much stress from other fish and have to much competition to eat... I've gotten mixed opinions from everyone this is difficult lol. I'll keep everyone posted on what I do, maybe talk to a few of my local lfs and get their two cents.

Thanks all!!

 

[Jack Eskay]

Btw love the hashtags and your name @MasterBacon!!

 

[MasterBacon]

Ok then I might wait a bit before I get one but I'm just trying to think of the best way to keep one without causing stress and I think if I wait to long and add more fish when I add him he'll overcome too much stress from other fish and have to much competition to eat... I've gotten mixed opinions from everyone this is difficult lol. I'll keep everyone posted on what I do, maybe talk to a few of my local lfs and get their two cents.

Thanks all!!

Your LFS will side with their wallets be careful! We understand your fascination but we care about the fish and the impact on your young wallet. :)

 

[MasterBacon]

Btw love the hashtags and your name @MasterBacon!!

Thanks it's the name of my Food Truck :oops:

 

[Jack Eskay]

I would love to go to your food truck! And I realize many lfs do that but the one I usually go to will refuse to even sell me fish unless my nitrates and nitrites are zero. I think this is a bit excessive but their a good lfs

 

[Jack Eskay]

Thanks it's the name of my Food Truck :oops:

^^^^ forgot to quote you

 

[Paul B]

I have been keeping coperbands since 1972 as I can see it in my log book. Some of them can be picky but most of the time they are very big eaters and should be fed correctly. They usually will not eat anything dry and I would not feed any of that to my tank anyway. I always feed them live blackworms and clams with maybe some frozen Mysis. I have spent time with them in the sea and they live on worms that they pull from holes in the rock.
I have about 25 fish and my copperband is by far the biggest eater. Your tank is a little small as they get pretty big. About 7", but will stay much smaller in your tank. Your tank is also a little new. I would wait a year or two as for some reason a lot of people have trouble with them, especially Noobs. Good luck

 

[Jack Eskay]

I have been keeping coperbands since 1972 as I can see it in my log book. Some of them can be picky but most of the time they are very big eaters and should be fed correctly. They usually will not eat anything dry and I would not feed any of that to my tank anyway. I always feed them live blackworms and clams with maybe some frozen Mysis. I have spent time with them in the sea and they live on worms that they pull from holes in the rock.
I have about 25 fish and my copperband is by far the biggest eater. Your tank is a little small as they get pretty big. About 7", but will stay much smaller in your tank. Your tank is also a little new. I would wait a year or two as for some reason a lot of people have trouble with them, especially Noobs. Good luck

Thank you for this very helpful info! Am I suppose to keep black worms in the tank or buy them weekly?

 

[Jack Eskay]

I'm starting to lean more towards waiting to get him for some time but I'll wait for some further info and I'll begin to look now because if I find a really good one that's super fat and healthy i doubt I could resist... I will be fully prepared to dedicate all my free time to insure he eats and is very healthy. If he's having a hard time and is it eating I will go out of my way to make sure he's put in safer hands and I'll let my tank establish more. I have been doing research on them for the past few weeks and have seen many successful stories of people
Getting them early on, but I'm still unsure of my plan

 

[Paul B]

I buy the worms weekly and feed them to all my fish. I built a worm keeper.
I wrote an article about copperbands if you are interested.
http://www.saltwatersmarts.com/succeed-with-copperband-butterflyfish-chelmon-rostratus-2888/