Copperband Barely Eating

Gtinnel

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I bought a large copperband butterfly about 3 days ago and so far I havent gotten him to eat anything. I asked at the store and was told he was eating frozen mysis, but stupidly I didn't ask to see him eat. I've tried frozen mysis, frozen brine, and mussels all of which he has ignored. I'm going to try frozen blood worms when I get home this evening. I only have a few other fish in the tank and for the most part none of them are aggressive eaters so he has plenty of time to eat he just isn't interested. I don't have a local source for live blackworms or white worms. I was looking to order white worms on ebay but they won't be delivered for about 2 weeks and I assume if I don't get him eating that'll be too late.

Good news, finally got my CBB eating. Stopped by my local convenience store yesterday and picked up some fresh mussels - immediately he went for it and ate it for the rest of the day. Stoked!
Did you do anything special to the mussels, or just break them open and place in the tank?
 

Paul B

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I would chop them up in bits size pieces as coperbands are not known as Piranha's of the sea.
Worms are really what you need.
 

Gtinnel

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I would chop them up in bits size pieces as coperbands are not known as Piranha's of the sea.
Worms are really what you need.
I've ordered some white worms and I think I'm getting enough to feed him some and still have enough to start a colony. They're expected to arrive early next week but hopefully I can get him eating something before then. I've read some of your posts about feeding white worms so I'm excited to get a colony of them up so I can start feeding them to all of my fish.

I tried cutting the mussel up and soaking in garlic xtreme but he still showed no interest. He was hiding a lot for the first day or two which was when I tried feeding frozen mysis, which is what the store said he was eating. Now he is out in the open and swimming all over the tank so I am going to try the mysis again today.
 

ReefHog

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Try slicing the clam in thin slices with a razor. Then feed with plastic tweezers wiggling in the water.
 

Gtinnel

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Try slicing the clam in thin slices with a razor. Then feed with plastic tweezers wiggling in the water.
It's mussel if that makes a difference, I was unable to find clam at my grocery store, but from what I've read mussel is a good choice as well. When I get home from work I will try using tongs to see if he will eat small pieces of mussel if he won't eat the mysis.
Thanks for the suggeation
 

ReefHog

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CBBs tend to be more curious and methodical when it comes to eating. They also don’t seem intimidated by hands nets or feeding tongs/tweezers in the water so they’re usually the first ones to investigate allowing them first crack at the food. When I got mine a year ago live blackworms #1 and clam slices were what always got him going after his multiple hunger strikes. He was never much for going after a clam dropped in the tank. I think wiggling the clam slice helps. Mine now aggressively eats mysis and LRS in addition to worms and clam.
 

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CBBs tend to be more curious and methodical when it comes to eating. They also don’t seem intimidated by hands nets or feeding tongs/tweezers in the water so they’re usually the first ones to investigate allowing them first crack at the food. When I got mine a year ago live blackworms #1 and clam slices were what always got him going after his multiple hunger strikes. He was never much for going after a clam dropped in the tank. I think wiggling the clam slice helps. Mine now aggressively eats mysis and LRS in addition to worms and clam.
Mine LOVES LRS. He's more aggressive than my tangs AND bluethroat trigger (who's a pig)
 

Gtinnel

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I tried frozen mysis while only squirting a little bit out of the turkey baster when he swims near it. I tried using tongs to wiggle a small piece of mussel in front of him and still nothing.
I really hope he is able to pick enough stuff off of my rocks to stay alive until my white worms come in.
 

Kal93

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Mine (2.5") took 5 days to start vigorously eating. We tried black worms, fan worms, shaved clams, etc, but he wasn't really interested in anything. It finally started eating live oysters and whole frozen mussels. On busy days, I microwave the whole oyster for 15-20s until it pops open a little. He now hovers in the feeding spot every morning waiting for his shellfish!
 

Tamberav

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I put food in a mesh pouch and let him pick at it. Mine gets LRS first then live worms for desert. He also likes masstick squished on the glass.

Also if you have feather dusters growing in your overflow you can scrape those out to offer. I get tons of them growing there.

 

Gtinnel

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Mine (2.5") took 5 days to start vigorously eating. We tried black worms, fan worms, shaved clams, etc, but he wasn't really interested in anything. It finally started eating live oysters and whole frozen mussels. On busy days, I microwave the whole oyster for 15-20s until it pops open a little. He now hovers in the feeding spot every morning waiting for his shellfish!
I tried white worms yesterday and it is the first food that he has really shown any interest in, although I'm not positive that he ate any of them. He did at least stop swimming to investigate the white worms. I'm going to try mussel and white worms again today but I'm starting to worry that I may not be able to get him to eat.
 

JCOLE

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I tried a bunch of foods and mine will not touch them. However, he destroys Black worms. I used to use live black worms but got him on the freeze dried woms. He loves them but so does all the other fish so I have to feed them other food at the same time so they do not take all of his food. I can feed him from my hand now.
 

Gtinnel

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I tried a bunch of foods and mine will not touch them. However, he destroys Black worms. I used to use live black worms but got him on the freeze dried woms. He loves them but so does all the other fish so I have to feed them other food at the same time so they do not take all of his food. I can feed him from my hand now.
When you would get live black worms did you have somewhere local or did you buy them online? If online where did you get them from? No one near me seems to sale them (I basically have no lfs).
 

JCOLE

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When you would get live black worms did you have somewhere local or did you buy them online? If online where did you get them from? No one near me seems to sale them (I basically have no lfs).

I purchased them locally. I have 3 LFS near me and only one carried them. It was hit or miss. Sometimes I would get them and they would smell awful and sometimes would be filled with flatworms. He ate them though. I have been feeding him freeze dried daily for over a year and he tears them up.
 

Kal93

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I tried white worms yesterday and it is the first food that he has really shown any interest in, although I'm not positive that he ate any of them. He did at least stop swimming to investigate the white worms. I'm going to try mussel and white worms again today but I'm starting to worry that I may not be able to get him to eat.
From what I've read, their diet varies (perhaps by age or collection region). Usually worms or live shellfish do the trick.

They are very picky, slow eaters that like to inspect their food first. It's a good sign that he's showing interest in it. Do the worms move? He may also be eating, just not when you're watching.

Does he peck at the rockwork/look actively for food? If so, then I'd be less concerned (whereas if he is not, he may not be as healthy/will be harder to convince to eat).

EDIT: you could also smear food/masstick into rock crevices if he is picking at the rockwork. He may get a bite of the food.
 

Gtinnel

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I purchased them locally. I have 3 LFS near me and only one carried them. It was hit or miss. Sometimes I would get them and they would smell awful and sometimes would be filled with flatworms. He ate them though. I have been feeding him freeze dried daily for over a year and he tears them up.
Mind telling me which store had them. If you live in Charlotte I go there every month or so to go to a reef shop that I like.
 

Gtinnel

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From what I've read, their diet varies (perhaps by age or collection region). Usually worms or live shellfish do the trick.

They are very picky, slow eaters that like to inspect their food first. It's a good sign that he's showing interest in it. Do the worms move? He may also be eating, just not when you're watching.

Does he peck at the rockwork/look actively for food? If so, then I'd be less concerned (whereas if he is not, he may not be as healthy/will be harder to convince to eat).

EDIT: you could also smear food/masstick into rock crevices if he is picking at the rockwork. He may get a bite of the food.
When I first got him he hid in the corner for the first few days. After that he started swimming around but he basically just swims back and forth in the front of the tank. He rarely picks at the rocks that I see.
 

JCOLE

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Mind telling me which store had them. If you live in Charlotte I go there every month or so to go to a reef shop that I like.

I got them at Upscale Aquatics in Huntersville, NC. It has been over a year since I bought them so I don't know if they still carry them. They sell freshwater as well and have live blood worms for freshwater so I imagine they would still carry them.
 

Gtinnel

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I got them at Upscale Aquatics in Huntersville, NC. It has been over a year since I bought them so I don't know if they still carry them. They sell freshwater as well and have live blood worms for freshwater so I imagine they would still carry them.
I go to Nemo's Reef pretty frequently for it being an 8 hour round trip, but I have never been to Upscale Aquatics. Next time I am down that way I may see if they still sale them. Thanks
 

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