Copperband question

[sck90]

Hello,

Yes, another copperband question.

What would you consider an acceptable tank size for a 3" copperband butterfly that is already eating frozen food with appetite ?

I know that normally, 100-125 gal tank are recommended, but this recommandation seems a lot based on the fact that most copperbands dont readily accept frozen food before several weeks or even months, if they ever do.

I have a 60 gal tank (3 feet) and I was thinking this might be ok for a while if for cbb that is already eating well. I dont think they are as active swimmers as tangs, for example. What do you think ?

PS. My decision is far from being made. I'm genuinely asking for opinions and I wont do it if this is a no-go.

Thank you.

 

[Uncle99]

Hello,

Yes, another copperband question.

What would you consider an acceptable tank size for a 3" copperband butterfly that is already eating frozen food with appetite ?

I know that normally, 100-125 gal tank are recommended, but this recommandation seems a lot based on the fact that most copperbands dont readily accept frozen food before several weeks or even months, if they ever do.

I have a 60 gal tank (3 feet) and I was thinking this might be ok for a while if for cbb that is already eating well. I dont think they are as active swimmers as tangs, for example. What do you think ?

PS. My decision is far from being made. I'm genuinely asking for opinions and I wont do it if this is a no-go.

Thank you.

I’d try that.
Such a great fish.
Will wipe out any Aptasia, now or future.
Super rock picker as well.

 

[slingfox]

I have only had a Copperband for three months but my impression is it has a very chill personality. Not an aggressive swimmer—it mostly slowly floats around the tank picking at the rockscape. I have a 5 ft tank but I had it in a 10g quarantine tank for a month and it did fine there.

For Copperband I believe it would do okay in a 3 ft tank provided you can get it to feed well. Even though my Copperband feeds aggressively from the water column, I put a clam in once a week to help ensure it gets enough to eat. The clam mouth is opened just enough so only the Copperband can pick at it.

 

[exnisstech]

Should be good. A mature tank with rocks for it to hunt in would help. Mine were non stop hunters. They would even spend some time hunting after lights out when the other fish went to bed. Other tank mates can factor in as well. Also it's not unheard of for one that eats well at the store to stop eating after being added to someones home tank. Just something to keep in mind.

 

[sck90]

Thank you for your comments ! I must say I am very tempted !

 

[Saralay]

Here is my experience with copperbands:

I had two (Not at the same time) in my 80-gallon tank. One of them was small/Medium sized and it starting eating around day 5, but was always stressed, constantly pacing along the glass. I had it for a couple months but ended up selling it because it didn’t seem happy.

Since copperbands are my favorite fish, I decided to try again. This time, I got a larger one. About twice the size of the first. It took roughly 20 days for her to start eating Mysis, but once she settled in, her behavior was much more natural. She was always exploring and looking for food around the tank. I never saw her pacing, although she would occasionally hide in a cave during the day.

Now she’s in my new 250-gallon tank, and she doesn’t hide at all. Even when the lights are off, she keeps swimming around.

So I say try it, but have in mind that it may not be comfortable at all in your 60 gallon even if it is small.

 

[Paul B]

I would say it would live in a 3' tank but that is iffy. It would always be stressed. You are correct in that they don't need a tank as large as a tang but a 3" copperband is pushing it. I would try for a smaller fish or slightly larger tank.

I have been keeping copperbands successfully since we invented them in the early 1970s