Should/could i add a copperband butterfly

[Nicolaj7913]

Hello everyone!

I have a 90g reef tank where i am considering to add a copperband butterflyfish.

My stock list atm:

6 anthias lyretail
2 clowns
1 royal gramma
1 BABY majestic angel
1 SMALL magnificent foxface
1 small tomini tang
1 pearlscale dwarfangel

And some other small and peacefull fish.

There is a lot of hiding spaces and a lot of rocks.

I have a lot of food on hand:

Dry food: Formula 1 & 2 pellets, Aquaforest marine mix s pellets, Omega one shrimp pellets, formula 2 flakes, Massticks and two little fishies wormbitz
Frozen food: Mysis, artemia, angel formula, rotifiers, Ocean nutrition marine mix, Marine fish eggs and frozen clams

I am already making my own frozen cubes of the frozen foods which i am feeding two/three times a day and i am dozing a mix of the pellets by a autofeeder 2 times a day.

If i find a healthy specimen do you then think i would be able to add it straight to the DT?

Thansk for helping

 

[tzabor10]

Mine was peaceful towards fish. Acclimation boxes are highly recommended.

 

[Paul B]

I have been keeping them since the 70s and I see no reason why you could not add one. Just don't try to feed it dry foods. Get some shellfish into his diet and worms if possible as that is what they eat in the sea.

 

[JumboShrimp]

There were two at my LFS... one was much more curious pecking around) than the other, and eating better. So that's the one I bought. It made it through General Cure and Copper in QT, and is now loving life in the DT. Try to pick the right one from the start would be my advice... which probably rules out an online purchase. Best wishes.

 

[KrisReef]

It can be done, but I think the tank may be getting full? The amount of fish that you currently have will grow and want more swimming space eventually.

You never mention the footprint of your 90 gallon, but if this is a standard 48”x 18” foot print vs a larger flat reef, the larger the footprint the better for providing places for these fish to have their own place to hang out?

 

[Nicolaj7913]

It can be done, but I think the tank may be getting full? The amount of fish that you currently have will grow and want more swimming space eventually.

You never mention the footprint of your 90 gallon, but if this is a standard 48”x 18” foot print vs a larger flat reef, the larger the footprint the better for providing places for these fish to have their own place to hang out?

I know the bioload is very heavy - and that’s also why I purchased the bigger fish as young individuals - also to let them grow out together.

The tank will be upgraded in 3 years time to a 200-300 gallon tank.

But I understand the concern and I think that also one part of me thinking the same

 

[JumboShrimp]

Probably your last fish in that 90. Also I would really get it eating WELL in a QT before making it compete for food against those other fish.

 

[BryanM]

I usually buy online, but in this case I would only buy from an LFS, and I would ask them to feed it in front of you so you could see it eat (or not). If it eats I think you'd be okay.

 

[gastone]

My copperband only eats frozen mysis and shellfish (clams/mussels). Wasn't thrilled with live white worms or aiptasia in qt. Won't touch pellets even though he gets excited when the other fish are eating pellets. Initially my whitetail bristletooth tang chased him for a few weeks. Not severely, just on occasion. Now he's just one of the gang. Comically, when introducing a juvenile harlequin tusk that after qt I grew out for a few months, the cb targeted him and would chase him around for a bout a week or so. Now all is good in the world.

Fwiw, the tank in question is also a 90 and I have a similar (if not heavier) bioload.

 

[exnisstech]

I am not an expert. This is how I like to work with a new CBB. I'm just going to quote my post from another thread. Couple of key points important to me but are JME. Just because a fish is eating at a LFS does not mean it will continue to eat when added to a tank with fish. Many do but the fact it's eating is no guarantee it will continue. Picking a healthy fish is critical to success.

TLDR pics and vid of the new CBB below the ramble

Several months ago I lost my pair of CBBs to mystery deaths a month apart. One had been in 2 years the other 14 months. All fish were fine at night and I found male dead on the sand the next morning. A month later found the female the same way. No recent losses and no deaths since. Rigor hadn't even set in.
I'm giving it one more try. This one has been in observation for 5 weeks now. It wasn't eating when I bought it. It had only been at the store for 2 days. It looked healthy and out of three they had it approached the glass when I walked up and we checked each other out and the decision was made.
It took a few days before it showed interest in food. The observation tank is basically a reef tank with nothing fancy but it's mature and has pods and worms and such and the fish was hunting from day one. I keep a clown and a Springer damsel in the tank as full time inhabitants. They are peaceful and I think having them in the tank helps the CBB learn how to feed from the water column which is critical if they are to survive in a DT with other fish. I started it on live black worms. I tried clams on the half shell and strips attached to a piece of rubble but it showed no interest. It ate frozen blood worms a few times then stopped. All along I fed the tank what I feed my other tanks which is frozen PE mysis and rods with several different pellets and flakes mixed together with selcon and vitachem. It's targeting the mysis and some pieces if rods now which is what I expected. My previous female took to flake but the male wouldn't touch it. It's already getting excited when it sees me and follows when I leave the room. This is behavior I like to see. I think a fish that hides isn't going to do well if added to a tank with aggressive feeders.

Chow time

 

[Nicolaj7913]

My copperband only eats frozen mysis and shellfish (clams/mussels). Wasn't thrilled with live white worms or aiptasia in qt. Won't touch pellets even though he gets excited when the other fish are eating pellets. Initially my whitetail bristletooth tang chased him for a few weeks. Not severely, just on occasion. Now he's just one of the gang. Comically, when introducing a juvenile harlequin tusk that after qt I grew out for a few months, the cb targeted him and would chase him around for a bout a week or so. Now all is good in the world.

Fwiw, the tank in question is also a 90 and I have a similar (if not heavier) bioload.

Thank you very much! Is it still only eating clams? Or how did you get it to transform from clams to frozen/pellets or whatever

 

[gastone]

Thank you very much! Is it still only eating clams? Or how did you get it to transform from clams to frozen/pellets or whatever

It eats clams and frozen mysis from the water column (thank goodness). Upon arrival it was eating clams fairly quickly. I would crack open fresh clams a hair and let it use its "snout" to feed. Once I'd established that it was eating I would incorporate a little bit of masstick into an open clam. Eventually I used an empty clam and would smear in some masstick. When it was interested and picking at that I started shoving thawed mysis into the masstick as well. Didn't take long at that point to start eating the mysis out of the water column. For a few months he was nervous around the other, more aggressive eaters and I would lure him away to feed him separately. Now he's just one of the gang.

This wasn't the extent of what I tried, it's just what eventually ended up working. I tried various 3d printed CB feeders to mimick crevices and holes, filled with live white worms or mysis. The problem with the white worms is that they are only alive in saltwater for about twenty seconds. Not much time to get a nervous eater interested and eating. I also added freshly hatched bbs. Not sure if he ate any as they are awfully small.

 

[Nerdist Aquarist]

Putting aside the diet requirements, I've never had good luck with copperbands. Mainly because of aggressive tangs. Your fish list sounds fairly peaceful.

 

[JumboShrimp]

(@gastone , nice collection of fish and corals)

 

[gastone]

(@gastone , nice collection of fish and corals)

Thanks you!