Cooperband butterfly question

[Jack Eskay]

Hi all,
I plan on getting a cooperband butterfly for my reef tank and I was just wondering how long I should wait after the tank is complete its cycle to get one. I already am aware that they can be picky eater and have prepared for that but I've also read that I should wait to have a very established tank before adding one. Should I wait it would it be ok to add one within the first month or two after the cycle. I combined everything from a 40gallon and a 60 gallon so the cycle is complete but I am now ready to add fish!!

Thanks to all that can help!!

 

[Joeganja]

do you know that they can nip at clams, feather dusters, and coral? with any butterfly, tang, angel i always tell people to wait at least 4-6 months just to be safe. As far as purchasing them, i would buy him from a reputable place like Liveaquaria.com where you know it's a healthy specimen and that it has been eating.

 

[Lenny_S]

I have a CBB, but didn't add it until my tank was almost a year old. I think as long as your tank is cycled and stable you can probably add one.
But a word of caution, they are difficult to get to eat sufficiently. I have several other fish with mine, all are aggressive eaters. In the daily broadcast feeding the CBB gets a decent meal, but to supplement, I hand feed it with my Kent SeaSquirt and Hikari mysis + Hikari spirulina brine every other day. The way to use the SeaSquirt is to load it with a bit of frozen food, then just let the food poke out of the end just a little... the CBB will pull it from the tip and eat. Most of the other fish aren't interested in feeding that way, so the CBB gets a really good meal with little to no competition.
Beautiful fish that is out and an active swimmer all the time. One of the few butterflies that are mostly reef safe. Mine hasn't bothered any of my SPS or LPS and has taken to a couple of aiptasia that got too big for my peppermint shrimp. But be prepared for a little extra work to keep it healthy.

 

[Highgrade]

First question: What size tank?

 

[Jack Eskay]

First question: What size tank?

It's a 70 gallon... I realize it's pushing the limit abbot with a 36" tank but if I notice any problem with it at all I will immediately find him a better home.

 

[tripdad]

I would make sure you have a good population of pods and such first. If you have trouble getting it to feed then they will act as a fall back food source. I have had the best luck by using Hikari mysis shrimp, mine will only eat "whole" shrimp not pieces or parts. Also these are fairly docile fish and don't do well with heavy aggression at all so be careful picking tank mates.

 

[Jack Eskay]

I have a CBB, but didn't add it until my tank was almost a year old. I think as long as your tank is cycled and stable you can probably add one.
But a word of caution, they are difficult to get to eat sufficiently. I have several other fish with mine, all are aggressive eaters. In the daily broadcast feeding the CBB gets a decent meal, but to supplement, I hand feed it with my Kent SeaSquirt and Hikari mysis + Hikari spirulina brine every other day. The way to use the SeaSquirt is to load it with a bit of frozen food, then just let the food poke out of the end just a little... the CBB will pull it from the tip and eat. Most of the other fish aren't interested in feeding that way, so the CBB gets a really good meal with little to no competition.
Beautiful fish that is out and an active swimmer all the time. One of the few butterflies that are mostly reef safe. Mine hasn't bothered any of my SPS or LPS and has taken to a couple of aiptasia that got too big for my peppermint shrimp. But be prepared for a little extra work to keep it healthy.

Thank you for such a helpful response:) I only have two clowns in the tank as if now so going off if what you said that eating could be a competition with him I'll try and get him as the next fish I get and get him to eat and find a food he likes... also how often should I feed him?

 

[Jack Eskay]

do you know that they can nip at clams, feather dusters, and coral? with any butterfly, tang, angel i always tell people to wait at least 4-6 months just to be safe. As far as purchasing them, i would buy him from a reputable place like Liveaquaria.com where you know it's a healthy specimen and that it has been eating.

Yes I am aware that they can nip... I will be extra cautious as I'm having an lps and softie only tank. I will make sure he's very well fed and I may also be feeding them raw clams as I've heard they love them.

 

[someone6reef]

I agree with make sure u got a good live food established in tank u get them from ur lfs hope u succeed with it i didn't realy struggled to get it eat much it just seam to pick at what ever i tried even mixed with garlic good luck

 

[someone6reef]

[emoji111]

 

[Jack Eskay]

I would make sure you have a good population of pods and such first. If you have trouble getting it to feed then they will act as a fall back food source. I have had the best luck by using Hikari mysis shrimp, mine will only eat "whole" shrimp not pieces or parts. Also these are fairly docile fish and don't do well with heavy aggression at all so be careful picking tank mates.

The tank itself is about 3 weeks old but the rock and bacteria and around a year old so there should be tons of pods in the tank... I have a Refugium almost plumed so it's in the making and when that's done I'll add a think of pods along with chaeto to boost the population right before I add him. I plan on keeping very peaceful tank... I'm going to have two clowns, the CBB, maybe a mandarin pair, a fairy wrasse of some type, and a goby shrimp pair. That's my currents list, may change a bit but I'm keeping it around that. Maybe add tomimi tang.

 

[Jack Eskay]

I agree with make sure u got a good live food established in tank u get them from ur lfs hope u succeed with it i didn't realy struggled to get it eat much it just seam to pick at what ever i tried even mixed with garlic good luck

Thanks I do plan to get him from my lfs to make sure he's eating there before I buy... or maybe on my local forum! Would adding half clams in the morning help to get him to eat?

 

[Highgrade]

Eventually a 70 gal tank will be pushing it. Check out Reefwise. Reach out to Brian to see if he can get you a CB on the smaller side. All of their fish are properly handled along with healthy and eating prior to shipping. They start the QT process and dips for their fish as well. They can be on the pricey side but all of the fish I've ever purchased are fat, healthy, eating and no apparent parasites/diseases/infections. Always WSIWYG and videos of fish eating upon request. Other vendors usually carry fairly large CB that are used to eating in the wild. Dropping them in the tank and getting them to eat prepared foods could be difficult. Also not to mention they're prone to bacterial infections pretty easy. Most of the ones I've seen from local stores or DD and Bluezoo end up dying within hours to a couple of days. A few I've seen refuse to eat anything and wither away in a couple weeks to a month. Best of Luck

 

[Jack Eskay]

Eventually a 70 gal tank will be pushing it. Check out Reefwise. Reach out to Brian to see if he can get you a CB on the smaller side. All of their fish are properly handled along with healthy and eating prior to shipping. They start the QT process and dips for their fish as well. They can be on the pricey side but all of the fish I've ever purchased are fat, healthy, eating and no apparent parasites/diseases/infections. Always WSIWYG and videos of fish eating upon request. Other vendors usually carry fairly large CB that are used to eating in the wild. Dropping them in the tank and getting them to eat prepared foods could be difficult. Also not to mention they're prone to bacterial infections pretty easy. Most of the ones I've seen from local stores or DD and Bluezoo end up dying within hours to a couple of days. A few I've seen refuse to eat anything and wither away in a couple weeks to a month. Best of Luck

Checked them out and sent Brian a text! There's no way I could afford a $200 fish though. I'm only 15 so my budget per fish it usually around $50 max! I'm going to talk to him some as well and get his opinion on some stuff and maybe get one from my lfs.

 

[Jack Eskay]

Thanks so much for the feedback though

 

[Highgrade]

Checked them out and sent Brian a text! There's no way I could afford a $200 fish though. I'm only 15 so my budget per fish it usually around $50 max! I'm going to talk to him some as well and get his opinion on some stuff and maybe get one from my lfs.

Best of luck. CBB's are one of the harder fish to keep. I've seen people buy one after another for about $39. They usually all end up dying. Mainly from bactierial infections or lack of eating. In time the cost adds up. Rather than spending money on one or multiple fish that most likely will perish I would save up for one that cost a bit more and is most likely guaranteed to eat and thrive. Just my 2cents. You may want to look into Klein Butterflies. They're pretty hardy and not too expensive. Maybe in the $25-50 range. They can be paired up with other Klein butterflies and they're fairly reef safe.

 

[Jack Eskay]

Best of luck. CBB's are one of the harder fish to keep. I've seen people buy one after another for about $39. They usually all end up dying. Mainly from bactierial infections or lack of eating. In time the cost adds up. Rather than spending money on one or multiple fish that most likely will perish I would save up for one that cost a bit more and is most likely guaranteed to eat and thrive. Just my 2cents. You may want to look into Klein Butterflies. They're pretty hardy and not too expensive. Maybe in the $25-50 range. They can be paired up with other Klein butterflies and they're fairly reef safe.

Thank you! I'll defiantly look into the other Kleins!

 

[Lenny_S]

Thank you for such a helpful response:) I only have two clowns in the tank as if now so going off if what you said that eating could be a competition with him I'll try and get him as the next fish I get and get him to eat and find a food he likes... also how often should I feed him?

Mine is eating both the frozen Hikari mysis and Hikari spirulina brine... I'd recommend trying both of those first, I'd give it good odds that the CBB you get will like those. As far as frequency goes, I feed through broadcast every day in the morning before work. Every other day I do the hand feeding when I get home from work in addition to the broadcast feeding that was done in the morning.
Since you also said you are going to keep LPS and Softies, the added advantage of the Hikari mysis is that they are very small as compared to others like PE. So whatever leftover you might have from the hand feeding with the SeaSquirt to the CBB, you can target feed to your LPS and Softies... at least that's what I do for my LPS (don't have softies).

 

[Jack Eskay]

Mine is eating both the frozen Hikari mysis and Hikari spirulina brine... I'd recommend trying both of those first, I'd give it good odds that the CBB you get will like those. As far as frequency goes, I feed through broadcast every day in the morning before work. Every other day I do the hand feeding when I get home from work in addition to the broadcast feeding that was done in the morning.
Since you also said you are going to keep LPS and Softies, the added advantage of the Hikari mysis is that they are very small as compared to others like PE. So whatever leftover you might have from the hand feeding with the SeaSquirt to the CBB, you can target feed to your LPS and Softies... at least that's what I do for my LPS (don't have softies).

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!

 

[WillReef4Food]

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.