Copperband Butterfly Feeding Device Success

[fishbox]

Hit and miss have the holey tube cbb not eating with it, mastik nope, using black worms to train on mysis but not working yet

How long have you been trying? It took mine 3-4 days to really start grazing at the device. At 1st she didn't touch it. Then she nibbled here and there. Now she is constantly looking in there for food. Lots of people are having great success with LRS Fish Frenzy which is what I use also. And mine just started eating the Masstick today. So that has also been a 3 day process. Even my engineer goby came way out of it's hole to get some left over Masstick, and I never see that guy [emoji23]

 

[drtrash]

I have been trying for over a week using mysis in tube not like i can stop

 

[Fishfinder]

How big are the holes you drilled?

 

[fishbox]

I have been trying for over a week using mysis in tube not like i can stop

I'd see if anyone local has any Fish Frenzy or Masstick. Live black worms are supposed to be like cocaine to these guys. Lots of people have success with shellfish (clams, mussels, etc.) from the local grocer. Also, I'm not sure what kind of mysis you have on hand but I've read people have better success with the smaller kind rather than the larger PE mysis.

 

[drtrash]

I need to find the smaller the pe are huge shrimp

 

[fishbox]

How big are the holes you drilled?

I started out with 3/16 as that's what I've seen others use. However I ended up enlarging to 1/4. I wanted a minimum amount of food to be pushed out of the device every now and then by the water flow to feed the other fish. Plus it keeps the food moving around in the device so it doesn't settle in a spot she can't reach.

 

[fishbox]

I need to find the smaller the pe are huge shrimp

Any local pet store should have some but I'd still get some of the other things mentioned because you still might not have luck with the smaller mysis. Knowing this was a finicky eater, I loaded up on a few things that I knew others had success with just in case.

 

[drtrash]

Tried cannus zooplankton, rods reef, guess have to be patient and keep trying

 

[Philt56]

Do you put pvc plugs on the pipe at the ends to keep the food in?

So far mine only eats live blackworms with any gusto. Luckily I found one store somewhat close by that gets them in regularly. If I put any other frozen food in, the copperband will swim around look at it but doesn't really try to eat. And no agressive others that are really competing with it. Occasionally, I'll see it peck at the ground or live rock and appear to eat something. For awhile I had a lot of apitasia but it didn't seem to care. I think the berghias I bought finally took care of them.

Also fir those that use the masstick... Once you mix it with water, do you need to freeze it right away or can you just keep it sealed in the mixing bag and I assume refrigerate it? The Amazon page says to use within 5 weeks.

 

[fishbox]

Do you put pvc plugs on the pipe at the ends to keep the food in?

So far mine only eats live blackworms with any gusto. Luckily I found one store somewhat close by that gets them in regularly. If I put any other frozen food in, the copperband will swim around look at it but doesn't really try to eat. And no agressive others that are really competing with it. Occasionally, I'll see it peck at the ground or live rock and appear to eat something. For awhile I had a lot of apitasia but it didn't seem to care. I think the berghias I bought finally took care of them.

In the 1st video I had pantyhose material rubber banded to the ends, only because I didn't have caps laying around. I did get some caps and also drilled holes in them. Just out of curiosity, what all foods have you tried.

 

[Philt56]

In the 1st video I had pantyhose material rubber banded to the ends, only because I didn't have caps laying around. I did get some caps and also drilled holes in them. Just out of curiosity, what all foods have you tried.

Thanks for response. I've tried almost every frozen food there is, Rods, LRS reef/fish frenzy,mysis, bloodworms, brine shrimp, hikari frozen half shell clams.

I've had him for about 2 months now. I wouldn't say he's fat but he's not emaciated by any means. His body is maybe 2 1/2" not counting his beak. Not sure how much blackworms he needs daily to be considered a proper diet. I try to give a couple feedings a day.

 

[fishbox]

Thanks for response. I've tried almost every frozen food there is, Rods, LRS reef/fish frenzy,mysis, bloodworms, brine shrimp, hikari frozen half shell clams.

I've had him for about 2 months now. I wouldn't say he's fat but he's not emaciated by any means. His body is maybe 2 1/2" not counting his beak. Not sure how much blackworms he needs daily to be considered a proper diet. I try to give a couple feedings a day.

Well on a good note, he's at least eating the black worms. I don't know if that alone is enough to keep him going but it's a start.
I will say that I've noticed from reading other threads that some people that didn't have success with Hikari Frozen Clams ended up having success with fresh shellfish from the grocer. But they did freeze them before introducing to the tank.

 

[Philt56]

Yeah, I've been considering that. I also saw frozen vacuum packed clams in whole shells in the frozen food section of my grocery store. I don't think they are cooked since it says boil until shells open but not sure anything else is mixed with them for safer human consumption like spoilage prevention and if additives would be bad for the tank?

 

[fishbox]

Definitely watch for preservatives

 

[BigJohnny]

How are yalls copperbands doing? I'm about to get mine so would love to hear what worked best for you. I already feed my fish live blackworms, nutramar ova, and lrs fish frenzy so those will be on the menu to start. I will be using the pipe feeding device but I am also currently making a rock with holes in it that I can jam food into. Slightly more natural looking approach. Do you think mastick is worth getting? What's in it anyway?

 

[ndrwater]

I have 2, and both doing very well. Live black worms have been key for me.
Maastic is also definitely worth it imo.. not 100% sure of all the ingredients, but finicky fish seem to really like it

 

[Philt56]

Mine has finally started to eat frozen mysis and Rods plankton. Doesn’t go for chunkier food, has to more “ worm like”.

Glad, blackworms we’re getting expensive, not too close to home and portion size varied greatly each purchase.

 

[BigJohnny]

I have 2, and both doing very well. Live black worms have been key for me.
Maastic is also definitely worth it imo.. not 100% sure of all the ingredients, but finicky fish seem to really like it

Awesome thanks, every fish i have ever had crushed blackworms, plus they are supposedly the best thing for them. I will order some masstick as well. Thanks~

 

[BigJohnny]

Mine has finally started to eat frozen mysis and Rods plankton. Doesn’t go for chunkier food, has to more “ worm like”.

Glad, blackworms we’re getting expensive, not too close to home and portion size varied greatly each purchase.

Thanks for the tips. Blackworms shouldn't be too expensive (but imagine they could be from an LFS or something), you need to order them online:

https://www.aquaticfoods.com/LiveBlackwormsM.html
For your first order get the keeper, it makes it really easy to rinse them. You can get a 1/8th of a lb for $34.99 shipped to your door, and trust me, an 1/8th of a lb is a TON of live blackworms. I was not able to use all of them in 3 months of 2x daily feeding of 6 fish. You just keep them in the keeper in the fridge and rinse/replace the chilled RO daily. I could have kept them probably 2 more months but they were getting skinny so I ordered another 1/8th of a lb. They really are one of if not the best food source for our fish. The live bacteria boosts their immune systems and they are extremely nutritious.

 

[fishbox]

Mine is now eating any frozen food that touches the water. Mysis, brine, blood worms, krill, and especially LRS with the black worms. I also give him Masstick every now and then and he loves it. I even stopped using the feeding device as he now fends for himself during a feeding frenzy lol. I do turn off all the pumps a couple times a week as I noticed that he really likes to pick the food off the rocks and sandbed but he's got no problem getting it out of the water column either. Besides my 6 line, he's the only one that'll pick off the sand. So it gives him the opportunity of getting more than the others when I do that.