Copperband butterfly questions

[salty joe]

Have any of you had success getting a CBB to eat pellets? The reason I ask is that I use them in an auto feeder when I spend weekends away from the house, and was wondering how I'd go about feeding without having to hire someone to do it. I'm not aware of any automated frozen feeders that are commercially available.

Not the one I had. I used to put shellfish in an "envelope" of plastic gutter guard so he could poke his nose in there to eat. I used to put pellets on the shellfish and let them soak in and get stuck, hoping the CBB would eat them. I swear, that fish picked around the pellets. In the end, CBB could not hang with angels and tangs...

 

[salty joe]

Not the one I had. I used to put shellfish in an "envelope" of plastic gutter guard so he could poke his nose in there to eat. I used to put pellets on the shellfish and let them soak in and get stuck, hoping the CBB would eat them. I swear, that fish picked around the pellets. In the end, CBB could not hang with angels and tangs...

 

[Jungle Blue]

Bought a seemingly healthy CBB at a LFS, but he's been fighting his own glass reflection non-stop for the past 3 days. I've tried placing a blanket on that specific panel, but still not breaking attention.
Anyone passed this stage with more tips?

 

[salty joe]

Any chance you could slip a sheet of black plastic inside the tank?

 

[Awake2005]

Honestly if it were me, I'd make the LFS take the risk, make them keep them, and get them to eat. Have them feed the CBBs while you're there and watch them eat.

To me, at least now you have a fighting chance.

The lfs I was dealing with dont seem to care about fish as much as the coral they sell which are very nice.......I have another I deal with that is better with fish

 

[Jungle Blue]

Any chance you could slip a sheet of black plastic inside the tank?

hmm..i'll see if i have something of sorts. Thank you

 

[Awake2005]

Bought a seemingly healthy CBB at a LFS, but he's been fighting his own glass reflection non-stop for the past 3 days. I've tried placing a blanket on that specific panel, but still not breaking attention.
Anyone passed this stage with more tips?

Is it alone in the tank?

 

[Jungle Blue]

Is it alone in the tank?

There's other fish. Everyone seems to be doing their own thing lol

 

[jk1knight]

I love CBB fish. I finally bought one from Live Aquaria along with a Moorish Idol to add to my mature Red Sea 1000 (180g). The fish arrived looking surprisingly healthy. I quarantined both fish for a week. Both fish passed QT with flying colors. Both fish were eating a little. I did a Formalin bath for 30 min and a Methylene Blue bath for 30 min. I added both fish to the main tank. Both fish seemed to be thriving, eating, swimming, pecking at rocks, etc. I came back from a weekend away 8 day later and the CBB was totally gone. I have no idea what happened. I have a net cover on the top of the tank. No body was ever found…I am getting ready to try again. On the bright side, my Moorish Idol is thriving!

 

[Reef5]

Bought a seemingly healthy CBB at a LFS, but he's been fighting his own glass reflection non-stop for the past 3 days. I've tried placing a blanket on that specific panel, but still not breaking attention.
Anyone passed this stage with more tips?

Mine started doing that too—I initially thought it was stress. I increased the amount of food the fish actually ate, and the behavior decreased. It still happens occasionally, so my guess is it’s a mix of hunger and stress—but that’s just a guess.

 

[Jungle Blue]

Mine started doing that too—I initially thought it was stress. I increased the amount of food the fish actually ate, and the behavior decreased. It still happens occasionally, so my guess is it’s a mix of hunger and stress—but that’s just a guess.

Just takes some time :) He's doing great now. No longer glass surfing! Picking rocks but dont have enough aptasies to see natural action

 

[Louis Z]

I wish many LFS owners and employees would join R2R not for the sake of selling or advertising but actually reading and engaging with others on the forum. Some believe they are experts in everything . Had A LFS bring in many copperbands at once . I had seen food piled up in the tanks . I could see that many of the CBB were inspecting but not eating . I had asked if another food could be tried . Boy , what a reaction I got . “We Already Fed Them.” Boy ,did I want to respond : Would you feed them something that they would actually eat , did you observe them actually eating what you fed ????? But I declined cause they are one of the closest LFS that bring in a lot of fish . So I asked to feed them clam on the half shell . They said we don’t want to open more food packages . I understood that and I offered to buy the food first and try it so as not to put the burden of my request upon them . I got major reluctance . But finally a yes . The CBB were in mixed tanks and stressed . A few were inquisitive but none went for the clam nor bloodworms . The other non CBB fish did . So I had sat there for at least an hour . I believed it was hopeless . One CBB did go for a tiny speck . When I saw that I thought how many specks does it take to prevent him from going negative in body mass . I threw in the towel . But right next to them was a tank of small. Blackbacked BFF. ( C. Melannotus). They ate everything I put in there . Guess what I bought !!!! So I write here not to discourage anyone from a CBB . I would love to have a pair . But I won’t purchase and watch them spiral . There are other butterfly’s out there that are not so delicate . On YouTube Bob Fenner had a presentation on MACNA 2016 . Talked about which BFF were in his tier one ( easy to acclimate ). So I used this info when I had gone looking for CBB . I knew they might be a challenge . I found an alternate species that I admire it’s beauty . Do your research , Grow the foods in advance or procure them before purchasing a CBB . I now have a tank of aptasia , live clams from grocery store . Package of bloodworms , frozen clams , mysid shrimp in anticipation of CBB . An order of white worms on the way . . No big deal the C. Melannotus Are happy with all of these foods so nothing will go to waste . Wish everyone best of luck