Help Getting Copperband To Eat

[Saltwater_Reefing]

Well, Mr. Copperband hasn’t accepted the homemade food for me from my lfs; he took bloodworms three times and hasn’t since. I also got just straight plane mysis, and he isn’t eating it either, he just watches it go by him. He has, though, been picking at my acans, and he cleared all of my aptasia and feather dusters. I also don't have any local asian markets and the lfs is 45 minutes away. The bloodworms came from petsmart and he took them for 3 days, then once he got a taste of the acan, he stopped eating the bloodworms. I only have a Lowes Foods, Walmart, foodlion local to me.

 

[exnisstech]

Mine loved live black worms and white worms. I also started a hatchery for baby brine shrimp which they ate. When mine were in observation they would go after small earth worms I would gather around the house. I tried them in the DT but my naso always gets them. Ive heard of them going for clams on a half shell but mine didn't seem to go after it. Maybe try a clam strip rubber banded to a rock since the fish is hunting and eating from the rocks already, which is a good sign.

 

[mfinn]

Any finicky fish I've had will usually eat live tigger pods.
Also when getting them eating frozen food like mysis or brine, I have better success if I add a small amount of the food into a powerhead stream, so it's moving. This will help generate a feeding response.

 

[DaJMasta]

Don't bother with copepods or live brine shrimp, I have never seen one interested in either. Copperbands are benthic feeders and hunt by studying the rocks for something that looks appetizing. To that end, feed a variety including the blood worms and leave the pumps off for a bit when feeding. This will give the copperband a chance to hunt around on the rocks and even if nothing initially looks appetizing, they will eventually happen to pick at some fallen food.

For a more active approach, small frozen raw clams should do too, and I would leave them partially closed (like they were alive and feeding.) I've heard some recommend masstick but never had luck with mine using it (admittedly, not for a super long time.)

If it's eating other things and still hunting around at the rocks, you still have time, but the key is to get it to reliably recognize something you're offering as food.

 

[Damage12]

Right now it sounds like he prefers your acan’s. When those are gone he may go back to bloodworms and mysis.

 

[W31Olds]

You could try this, something I posted recently:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/copperbands-love-cheetos.1147976/

 

[slingfox]

Find someplace that sells clams whether live or frozen. My Copperband eats mysis/brine from the water column but I still put in one clam a week (rubber banded to a piece of rubble) once a week to ensure he gets enough food.

You can also Google “Copperband feeder” and get one of those. I have one but rarely use it anymore since the Copperband gets much more food from the clam. With the feeder the other fish crowd around and eat most of it. My other fish are very aggressive feeders so the challenge is how to get enough to the Copperband.

 

[mfinn]

Don't bother with copepods or live brine shrimp, I have never seen one interested in either. Copperbands are benthic feeders and hunt by studying the rocks for something that looks appetizing. To that end, feed a variety including the blood worms and leave the pumps off for a bit when feeding. This will give the copperband a chance to hunt around on the rocks and even if nothing initially looks appetizing, they will eventually happen to pick at some fallen food.

For a more active approach, small frozen raw clams should do too, and I would leave them partially closed (like they were alive and feeding.) I've heard some recommend masstick but never had luck with mine using it (admittedly, not for a super long time.)

If it's eating other things and still hunting around at the rocks, you still have time, but the key is to get it to reliably recognize something you're offering as food.

I've acclimated My last 2 CBB with tigger pods. They do go after them. My current CBB eats primarily mysis and brine. All food is poured into a powerhead stream, and it does chase it.
You may have your way, but there are other ways.

 

[Lasse]

If you look at a copper-band - you see clearly that they are not constructed for hunting in the free water - the eyes can´t fix on a food particle ahead of them - they have to learn how to catch these. a trick I have used is to trigg the fish to take food from a syringar with a long tube attached. If you learn your fish this trick in your adaption cage (or your QT) - its easier to feed them later on when they have other fast and hungry fishes around.

My tool

You can also use the method afterwards because the fish becomes a bit conditioned by the green pipe - in the video (4K) below - you can see how this normally shy fish toughens itself around the dear green pipe. Further in there are sequences that show how they often miss the prey if it comes straight from the front but that they are skilled at catching if the fish comes from below



In your case - try this method with your bloodworms or try adult frozen brine shrimps (artemia) Its important to have him/her to eat this type of food before your natural food disappear

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Saltwater_Reefing]

If you look at a copper-band - you see clearly that they are not constructed for hunting in the free water - the eyes can´t fix on a food particle ahead of them - they have to learn how to catch these. a trick I have used is to trigg the fish to take food from a syringar with a long tube attached. If you learn your fish this trick in your adaption cage (or your QT) - its easier to feed them later on when they have other fast and hungry fishes around.

My tool

You can also use the method afterwards because the fish becomes a bit conditioned by the green pipe - in the video (4K) below - you can see how this normally shy fish toughens itself around the dear green pipe. Further in there are sequences that show how they often miss the prey if it comes straight from the front but that they are skilled at catching if the fish comes from below



In your case - try this method with your bloodworms or try adult frozen brine shrimps (artemia) Its important to have him/her to eat this type of food before your natural food disappear

Sincerely Lasse

Where did you get your long green pipe/tube?

 

[Lasse]

Its a standard freshwater equipment here in Europe. They are 4 mm and often used with the 4-6 mm house for air stones

Sincerely Lasse

 

[56longroof]

Mine eats live or frozen clams,bloodworms, white worms and now is eating frozen brine shrimp. I must have gotten lucky because its a beast at feeding times. Start with the clams and see how that goes.

 

[Tripod1404]

Feed live mussels from the grocery store. Slightly open the mussel shell and place a small peace of gravel so it cannot fully close.

After some time switch to clams with the same trick (or drill holes to the shell which also works). Once it starts eating clams you can fill empty clams shells with other food to train it to eat those.