copperband butterfly fish question

[Tom800]

Going to attempt a copperband butterfly fish. I know they can be fussy eaters and it can be hit or mess with these fish. My question is, is there a size of the fish that I should be trying to get or the size generally doesn’t matter? Should I be getting one that’s 2 to 3 inches long, 3 to 4 inches long, etc.?

I have a 180 gallon reef tank, and there are no other butterfly fish in the tank.

 

[bubbgee]

Should be almost the same size as the other fish as it can get bullied. It will be shy for a few months too and being finicky eaters and all, they could have a hard time adjusting if they're tinier than most fish in your tank. Dose copepods for food too. That helps them eat at night when they are moving around when other fish are asleep and have no competiton.

 

[exnisstech]

Some info below you may want to read. I'm not a fan of adding them directly to a DT and hoping they will compete for food.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/c...-a-beautiful-but-hard-to-keep-species.906341/
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/r...g-copperband-butterfly.1120071/#post-13785115
This is my pair that I keep in a tank along with 8 tangs and and some other fish.

 

[Tom800]

Should be almost the same size as the other fish as it can get bullied. It will be shy for a few months too and being finicky eaters and all, they could have a hard time adjusting if they're tinier than most fish in your tank. Dose copepods for food too. That helps them eat at night when they are moving around when other fish are asleep and have no competiton.

Thanks – I have decent size tangs in the tank, so probably should get a larger one and it also looks like based on what I just saw on another post, larger ones may be better because you have more time to get it to eat so it says

 

[Should I]

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/r...-a-happy-eating-copperband-butterfly.1120071/

 

[Tom800]

Some info below you may want to read. I'm not a fan of adding them directly to a DT and hoping they will compete for food.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/c...-a-beautiful-but-hard-to-keep-species.906341/
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/r...g-copperband-butterfly.1120071/#post-13785115
This is my pair that I keep in a tank along with 8 tangs and and some other fish.

Good looking fish you have. I have a few tangs in the tank. Sounds like I should get a larger one based on those threads you posted, as the larger ones may have more time to get used to the food situation so those threads say.

 

[exnisstech]

I would train the fish to eat in an observation tank before adding it to a tank with other fish especially tangs. The rate of success adding them to a display without conditioning first is pretty pathetic. Many that are seen eating at the lfs stop eating after purchase.

This is my tank that I used for observation/ conditioning.

EDIT: I want the fish swimming to the front and begging for food when they see me.

 

[KrisReef]

Good looking fish you have. I have a few tangs in the tank. Sounds like I should get a larger one based on those threads you posted, as the larger ones may have more time to get used to the food situation so those threads say.

Get one that looks thick, if you want to pick a winner. I would encourage you to hand release it into the tank so you both interact before it swims with the other fishes.

 

[steveschuerger]

The Copper i got to work on an aiptasia outbreak acclimated quickly. it was larger, almost 4 inches(same size as foxface I had). admittedly i had a ton of small feather dusters that it gobbled down, but it was rating fro food in a week or slightly less. As they say, you never can tell and i guess i got lucky.

 

[dvgyfresh]

They are finicky fish , I kept one successfully and even transitioned him to pellets. My strategy was to introduce at same time as other fish ( I moved) so that no one had established themselves. Maybe in your case rearrange the tank prior and reintroduce all the fish. Just an option in case you only have one tank. He also exclusively survived off of micro fauna for the first two months before finally accepting mysis / pellets (other fish showed him)

 

[crankthepowder]

Going to attempt a copperband butterfly fish. I know they can be fussy eaters and it can be hit or mess with these fish. My question is, is there a size of the fish that I should be trying to get or the size generally doesn’t matter? Should I be getting one that’s 2 to 3 inches long, 3 to 4 inches long, etc.?

I have a 180 gallon reef tank, and there are no other butterfly fish in the tank.

Hello and yes here with main problem I want introduce a copper band and I have a fox face blue tang and powder tang with sailfin includes 2 clowns in a 180 gallon tank and good suggestion??

 

[OnePuffMan]

Old thread, but a local shop is doing $120 to remove one that eats mysis and brine.

Worth it? Also, would it be lower risk at that point?

 

[Louis Z]

So what happened ? Did u buy the conditioned CBB ?

 

[PPBlimpy]

Close to other fish in size.
Any time I am looking at a fussy eater, I try to buy from a local hobbyist instead of store or online. making sure they are eating etc.

 

[Tom800]

So what happened ? Did u buy the conditioned CBB ?

I got him online only recently, I have had him for 2 weeks and he’s doing great so far. At first, he would not eat anything, no frozen food, and I tried everything from frozen blood worms to Mysis shrimp, but nothing worked. I then went to the supermarket and bought live muscles, attached a live muscle on a half shell on a rubber band on my magnet cleaner. He didn’t eat the live muscle for the first two days, but then all of a sudden he started picking at it and now he eats it all the time without issue. Still putting frozen food in to see if he gets it. There’s also plenty of live aphasia in the tank for him to eventually get a taste for. I’m not sure if I just got really lucky with the specimen or the live muscle always works, but he’s been good for two weeks without any sign of issue and has zero aggression issues with any of his tank mates. Here’s a picture of him eating the muscle from the magnet and him swimming around with the other fish. I’d like to see him start eating the frozen food and aptasia, but it may take a little time but the good news is he is eating at the muscle, which is supposedly very nutritious for him. I put the live muscle in about two or three times a day, the purple tanh also likes to nip at the muscle as well. Attaching it to the magnet cleaner was a good idea as it’s much easier for me to pull the muscle out and replace it.

BTW: I I did not purchase a copperband that was specifically conditioned, believe it or not. All I did was buy the copperband from live aquaria two weeks ago.

 

[Louis Z]

Very fortunate. Thanks for the update , I am looking to find one for the 125. I hope to set up a 10gal aptasia tank . I have a reefer friend willing to part ways with his aptasia .