Copperband, Much Larger than Ordered

[Robb1414]

Hello. I have a 75 gallon 4' tank. Two clowns, a yellow wrasse, one chromis, a small file fish, two pearly jawfish, and a 1/2 black angelfish. I ordered a copper band butterfly fish from Divers Den. It was listed a 3". Well it got here and it is HUGE. At least 6 inches. It's a beautiful fish. I am very worried about it surviving in my tank. I fully anticipated a smaller fish knowing I would have years to build my dream tank. I called LA and they said they can't take it back and although they credited my account - I am at a loss. What would you do? He's in a 20 gallon QT right now.

 

[esther]

I would see if you can sell it or give it away to another reefer. Maybe trade for another fish?

 

[MrsBugmaster]

Sell to a local reefer or LFS. Or buy bigger tank.

 

[Awesome Dennis]

Where are you located?

 

[mort]

Is it the size of fish in the 4ft that is worrying you? If that's it then you should be fine. I know it's often nicer to grow our fish up but if you have the chance for a good sized copperband that's eating (if it isn't eating strongly or you can't get it eating you might need to consider alternative options) I'd jump at it.
Here we had the chance to buy very cheap Indonesian copperbands or very large Australian copperbands (rostrus not marginalis) for many times the price, and we always went for the Australian simply because they came in at a better sized and we're found to be far more hardy. So don't let size put you off your dream fish if it appears good in every other aspect.

 

[Zionas]

I don’t mean to hijack the thread, but are certain species / certain kinds of fish at a higher risk of being collected using cyanide if they’re from Indonesia / Philippines, sometimes Vietnam or Sri Lanka? Or are all species of fish collected from Southeast and South Asia at a high risk of being cyanided during collection?

I’m asking because I want to avoid these mystery deaths under good care. Quite a few people have mentioned that “go Australia / Hawaii / some other developed country location” whenever possible.

 

[Robb1414]

Is it the size of fish in the 4ft that is worrying you? If that's it then you should be fine. I know it's often nicer to grow our fish up but if you have the chance for a good sized copperband that's eating (if it isn't eating strongly or you can't get it eating you might need to consider alternative options) I'd jump at it.
Here we had the chance to buy very cheap Indonesian copperbands or very large Australian copperbands (rostrus not marginalis) for many times the price, and we always went for the Australian simply because they came in at a better sized and we're found to be far more hardy. So don't let size put you off your dream fish if it appears good in every other aspect.

Thanks - after more thinking - we are going to keep him. He is eating frozen and flakes in QT like a pig!

 

[mort]

I don’t mean to hijack the thread, but are certain species / certain kinds of fish at a higher risk of being collected using cyanide if they’re from Indonesia / Philippines, sometimes Vietnam or Sri Lanka? Or are all species of fish collected from Southeast and South Asia at a high risk of being cyanided during collection?

I’m asking because I want to avoid these mystery deaths under good care. Quite a few people have mentioned that “go Australia / Hawaii / some other developed country location” whenever possible.

It's not really cyanide (most wholesalers will simply not use a diver/exporter if they have used cyanide so it regulates itself to a point) that's the reason why Australia or hawaii are better for some species it's more to do with other collecting methods and handling. In poorer countries they have less resources to spend on keeping the fish in tip top condition so they may have long journeys to get to the holding facilities, might be crammed in more and then might not be given as much space or spend more time in a box before we get them. It's a massive simplification and not every fish will be treated the same but in general hawaiian and Australian fish cost more because workers are paid more and it costs more to get them to us (capture practices can also vastly differ to poorer areas).
Butterflies are a good example of a cheap indo fish and an expensive Australian fish, not because of abundance but simply because it costs more to collect and ship a Australian butterfly, to the point where they don't really bother as they are undercut by Indonesian butterflies. The same goes for moorish idols which are a couple of dollars from indonesia but neared 50 from aus trails but id still pick an ozzy every day of the week.

 

[ThRoewer]

I don’t mean to hijack the thread, but are certain species / certain kinds of fish at a higher risk of being collected using cyanide if they’re from Indonesia / Philippines, sometimes Vietnam or Sri Lanka? Or are all species of fish collected from Southeast and South Asia at a high risk of being cyanided during collection?

I’m asking because I want to avoid these mystery deaths under good care. Quite a few people have mentioned that “go Australia / Hawaii / some other developed country location” whenever possible.

The Philippines are now pretty well controlled after their government cracked down hard on cyanide fishing. The Philippine government now checks collection stations and exporters if the fish there were caught with cyanide and if cyanide metabolites are found in the water the collector/exporter is in big trouble.
The country I would be worried the most about is Indonesia where cyanide is still used by some collectors.

 

[Zionas]

Ouch. My Comet will most likely be from Indonesia as well as some other species. Have you found certain species from Indonesia to be more likely collected using cyanide?

 

[ThRoewer]

Ouch. My Comet will most likely be from Indonesia as well as some other species. Have you found certain species from Indonesia to be more likely collected using cyanide?

It's hard to say, but those fish hiding in caves are the most likely candidates. Also, not all collectors in Indonesia use cyanide.
Out of at least 12 wild-caught Marine Bettas, I had so far only one loss due to refusing to eat (one of the signs of cyanide use). It was a small C. argus and given how rare those are I didn't really look too closely at it before buying it. Another died in quarantine but that one was likely killed by a Regal Angel I had with it in the QT.

 

[Zionas]

Yeah Large Angels can be aggressive maybe with the exception of Genicanthus. Sorry about that loss of yours. The ones I can pick up will likely be 6-10cm, I think 6-8cm is ideal. Hope I won’t run into any cyanide collected fish.

To the OP, best of luck with the Copperband. I know they’re traditionally considered a difficult species, but eating well is off to a good start. I hope it can last, though my honest piece of advice to you would be that long term a 6-foot tank would be better as they’re very free-ranging fish like all butterflies. What other fish do you have?


Oops....

Yellow Wrasse-I assume Yellow Coris? These are peaceful. Good tankmate.

Dusky Jawfish-Peaceful. Good.

Chromis- I assume a Blue-Green? Peaceful for Damsels.

Half-Black Angelfish- Among the more peaceful of the Dwarf Angels. Should be fine. The Pygmy species are the most aggressive.