Special feeding techniques for Copperband?

[A_Blind_Reefer]

I know this topic has been covered extensively, it’s exhausting going through all the threads and posts out there. There’s a lot to digest. I got a Copperband last week. I am severely visually impaired and have bad tremors, so target feeding isn’t happening. I’m looking for pro tips on getting these guys feeding. I have tried the two little fishies mesh feeder and using a rubber band to hold food onto a piece of rubble as well as a 3d printed frozen food feeder with small holes that only he would be able to get into, with no luck. I have tried feeding frozen pe mysis, frozen lrs reef frenzy, frozen hikari blood worms, frozen hikari clams on the half shell. I also started hatching brine shrimp and have been trying to gently squirt them in using a turkey baster but my version of gently and the fishes are obviously different….they all scatter when I’m flailing the baster about. I have not tried live worms, I’ll see if I can bother someone to make a trip and pick some up this weekend. I did order up some masstick and entice which should get here today. I’ve been turning off the pumps when I feed in hopes that he will be able to see and grab stuff floating by. He has zero interest in the water column. He’s picking at the rocks 24/7. I have thrown in clams on the half shell randomly, but no one appears to go for them. However, they are cleaned out over night by something as when I retrieve them they are empty. Except for when it’s in the tlf mesh feeder, then it’s completely untouched overnight. I’ve been feeding pretty heavy since I added the Copperband. He’s just totally disinterested in being fed. He seems happy, always on the move inspecting and pecking at rocks. I’m sure he’s finding things to eat but am worried it’s not sustainable. I guess I’m looking for that mythical magic bullet here. It seems that everyone has had different experiences and the same thing doesn’t work for each case. We’ll see if masstick or entice help. Thanks for any guidance

 

[Doctorgori]

usually live foods trigger a feeding response
black worms do work…but getting in a pound and storing them long term is a semi issue in shipping cost…

You can store a pound in a large dishpan in shallow water on a cold basement or garage floor or in a mini fridge

Depending on where you live you can find white worms between compressed layers of last years fall leaves…
Also
Aquabid sometimes has cultures available of the smaller grindals …both are easy to raise on white bread cultures …

Too late in the year You can also roll your own bloodworms and mosquitoes in old funky barrels of water left outside.

 

[exnisstech]

Did you place the new CBB strait into the display? I always isolate them in a seperate tank with a some old live rock not pvc and get them eating there first. Good foods for me have been baby brine shrimp, PE mysis, mastick and live black worms. My most recent also ate earth worms. I've not had good luck getting them to compete for food in a display without training them to eat alone first. When I brought my last one up from observation / feed training I put it in a modified reptile carrier and placed that in the display. I fed the box so the CBB felt like it was competing for food as the other fish tried to get to the it. I think this last step really helped. Now I have a pair that will compete with 7 inch tangs for food. IMO getting them eating alone also helps them build up some fat stores just incase it takes them a while to start eating in the display.

 

[Uncle99]

I know this topic has been covered extensively, it’s exhausting going through all the threads and posts out there. There’s a lot to digest. I got a Copperband last week. I am severely visually impaired and have bad tremors, so target feeding isn’t happening. I’m looking for pro tips on getting these guys feeding. I have tried the two little fishies mesh feeder and using a rubber band to hold food onto a piece of rubble as well as a 3d printed frozen food feeder with small holes that only he would be able to get into, with no luck. I have tried feeding frozen pe mysis, frozen lrs reef frenzy, frozen hikari blood worms, frozen hikari clams on the half shell. I also started hatching brine shrimp and have been trying to gently squirt them in using a turkey baster but my version of gently and the fishes are obviously different….they all scatter when I’m flailing the baster about. I have not tried live worms, I’ll see if I can bother someone to make a trip and pick some up this weekend. I did order up some masstick and entice which should get here today. I’ve been turning off the pumps when I feed in hopes that he will be able to see and grab stuff floating by. He has zero interest in the water column. He’s picking at the rocks 24/7. I have thrown in clams on the half shell randomly, but no one appears to go for them. However, they are cleaned out over night by something as when I retrieve them they are empty. Except for when it’s in the tlf mesh feeder, then it’s completely untouched overnight. I’ve been feeding pretty heavy since I added the Copperband. He’s just totally disinterested in being fed. He seems happy, always on the move inspecting and pecking at rocks. I’m sure he’s finding things to eat but am worried it’s not sustainable. I guess I’m looking for that mythical magic bullet here. It seems that everyone has had different experiences and the same thing doesn’t work for each case. We’ll see if masstick or entice help. Thanks for any guidance

If he’s picking the rockwork constantly as you posted, he’s getting something to eat. Mine actually waits till the mysis and brine falls on the rocks and sand then picks up them from there.

Maybe you can’t see if he’s doing that action.

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

usually live foods trigger a feeding response
black worms do work…but getting in a pound and storing them long term is a semi issue in shipping cost…

You can store a pound in a large dishpan in shallow water on a cold basement or garage floor or in a mini fridge

Depending on where you live you can find white worms between compressed layers of last years fall leaves…
Also
Aquabid sometimes has cultures available of the smaller grindals …both are easy to raise on white bread cultures …

Too late in the year You can also roll your own bloodworms and mosquitoes in old funky barrels of water left outside.

Yeah I’ve looked into live worms delivered and it’s doable but spendy. Plus keeping them won’t be practical for me. They’re next on my list of things to try though and I’ll try and find a sucker to go get some for me.

A lot of people said that live brine shrimp worked great…not with this guy ha

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

Did you place the new CBB strait into the display? I always isolate them in a seperate tank with a some old live rock not pvc and get them eating there first. Good foods for me have been baby brine shrimp, PE mysis, mastick and live black worms. My most recent also ate earth worms. I've not had good luck getting them to compete for food in a display without training them to eat alone first. When I brought my last one up from observation / feed training I put it in a modified reptile carrier and placed that in the display. I fed the box so the CBB felt like it was competing for food as the other fish tried to get to the it. I think this last step really helped. Now I have a pair that will compete with 7 inch tangs for food. IMO getting them eating alone also helps them build up some fat stores just incase it takes them a while to start eating in the display.

Yeah I got a acc box and had the fish in their compartments but he seemed pretty stressed in it. I let the other fish out to remove dividers and give him more room but he still seemed very stressed and erratic so I eventually let him free. He seems super happy to be free to roam and is definitely eating whatever he can pick out of the rocks. He’s curious and always comes over when you approach (everyone else scatters). He checks out everything that gets put in the tank, but quickly shrugs it off and goes back to hunting and pecking.

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

If he’s picking the rockwork constantly as you posted, he’s getting something to eat. Mine actually waits till the mysis and brine falls on the rocks and sand then picks up them from there.

Maybe you can’t see if he’s doing that action.

I for sure can’t see to tell but I’ve had others watch. He’ll check out food on the rocks and tank bottom but won’t touch it and quickly goes back hunting. The rubber band holding a clam and a chunk of mysis and blood worms on a rock didn’t interest him at all. Live brine sounded like a silver bullet but no interest at all. Well keep trucking along and hopefully find something that he goes for.

 

[DaJMasta]

The first food its going to get is eating something off the rocks, it's only going to start recognizing food in the water column once its started eating it.

If it's constantly hunting, it's comfortable enough to be able to eat, so make sure there is some food that settles on the rockwork, and you may have some luck turning the frozen clams over on a rock to make them seem more whole - it's difficult for me to predict. If you want live food, go for worms, and again, something that stays alive long enough to wiggle on the rocks is ideal - I haven't tried a great option in that respect. Mine has never gone for live food in the water column, so I wouldn't even bother.

While not something I've tried, you could try packing some frozen food into a worm hole or hole in a rock - they'll go for tube worms or cucumbers that live in the rockwork, so maybe simulating that could get its imagination going. Regardless, that it's picking at the rocks constantly is a good sign. Keep offering food (maybe a couple times a day) in a variety and giving it some time to just rest on the bottom of the tank (pumps off for a few minutes.)

 

[Reef Wizard]

I know this topic has been covered extensively, it’s exhausting going through all the threads and posts out there. There’s a lot to digest. I got a Copperband last week. I am severely visually impaired and have bad tremors, so target feeding isn’t happening. I’m looking for pro tips on getting these guys feeding. I have tried the two little fishies mesh feeder and using a rubber band to hold food onto a piece of rubble as well as a 3d printed frozen food feeder with small holes that only he would be able to get into, with no luck. I have tried feeding frozen pe mysis, frozen lrs reef frenzy, frozen hikari blood worms, frozen hikari clams on the half shell. I also started hatching brine shrimp and have been trying to gently squirt them in using a turkey baster but my version of gently and the fishes are obviously different….they all scatter when I’m flailing the baster about. I have not tried live worms, I’ll see if I can bother someone to make a trip and pick some up this weekend. I did order up some masstick and entice which should get here today. I’ve been turning off the pumps when I feed in hopes that he will be able to see and grab stuff floating by. He has zero interest in the water column. He’s picking at the rocks 24/7. I have thrown in clams on the half shell randomly, but no one appears to go for them. However, they are cleaned out over night by something as when I retrieve them they are empty. Except for when it’s in the tlf mesh feeder, then it’s completely untouched overnight. I’ve been feeding pretty heavy since I added the Copperband. He’s just totally disinterested in being fed. He seems happy, always on the move inspecting and pecking at rocks. I’m sure he’s finding things to eat but am worried it’s not sustainable. I guess I’m looking for that mythical magic bullet here. It seems that everyone has had different experiences and the same thing doesn’t work for each case. We’ll see if masstick or entice help. Thanks for any guidance

I may have missed it but how long have you had him now?

They go on hunger strike for a while.

What worked for me after 4 days was Frozen blood worms in garlic guard and selcon.

This enticed the one I had to eat.

I lost mine during ich outbreak due to my foxface getting food aggressive.

The copperband will 100% let other fish out rule him over food as well

I would def try the garlic guard

Another thing is if you can take a feeder squirt some blood worms in a rock crevice he frequently checks I did that as well to get him to taste the food

 

[Cichlid Dad]

I recently discovered that right after lights out I have a little ambient light in the room. All my fish go to sleep except for my Copperband. He continues to hunt. I added a small chunk of brine shrimp and he went nuts. Sense then all I do is go to the Reef a half hour after lights out and he starts pacing the tank waiting for his mid night snack

 

[Reef Wizard]

Yeah I’ve looked into live worms delivered and it’s doable but spendy. Plus keeping them won’t be practical for me. They’re next on my list of things to try though and I’ll try and find a sucker to go get some for me.

A lot of people said that live brine shrimp worked great…not with this guy ha

https://www.phillipsfishworks.com/product-page/white-worm-starter-culture-8-oz
I have ordered these and they were great mine did not take them though

 

[SimbaAnto]

I have my coppedband for about 6 months now. I have no idea what he is eating but he is eating something. There is a lot of pods and i feed my tank through Avast marine mixed with all. Ocasionally i do Mysis and brine. But to my surprise i have never him go for the food. But he is eating something.

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

Go figure, I try feeding this guy for ten days before I post this, first feeding after I posted…..he’s eating pe mysis from the water column! Go figure. Life is crazy, don’t panic I guess

 

[Uncle99]

Go figure, I try feeding this guy for ten days before I post this, first feeding after I posted…..he’s eating pe mysis from the water column! Go figure. Life is crazy, don’t panic I guess

Yah!
What a great ending!
Enjoy, this is the best fish ever.
I always panic.

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

Yah!
What a great ending!
Enjoy, this is the best fish ever.
I always panic.

Yeah, I just hope it continues. I fed again and he wasn’t chasing the mysis around……I’m hoping he was just stuffed from pigging out earlier. We’ll see what tomorrow brings! I think we’re on the right path though. I was starting to panic as it’s been ten days. Well, honestly I was panicking even before I ordered the fish! Ha

 

[Uncle99]

Yeah, I just hope it continues. I fed again and he wasn’t chasing the mysis around……I’m hoping he was just stuffed from pigging out earlier. We’ll see what tomorrow brings! I think we’re on the right path though. I was starting to panic as it’s been ten days. Well, honestly I was panicking even before I ordered the fish! Ha

We are not different.
Went through the same.
Being months and mine has settled fully.
Think it was harder for me, than him.
Good luck.

 

[Eengmd]

I agree with live blackworms initially. I made a small plastic “net” about 2.0 inches x2.5 inches and put LR Fish Frenzy in the net (about one square inch) clipping it to an algae magnet. This allows the CB to kind of pick at the frozen food first and the other tangs and fish wait for the CB to leave pieces of food for them to get as well.

 

[blazn]

Go figure, I try feeding this guy for ten days before I post this, first feeding after I posted…..he’s eating pe mysis from the water column! Go figure. Life is crazy, don’t panic I guess

If he's eating mysis from the water column, he'll most likely continue to do so and as long as you continue to supply him with enough frozen food, he should survive.

When I initially got a CB, I had EVERY type of food ready and although it would continually 'hunt' the rocks in my DT, it would only eat masstick (which I would spread into pores in a small rock and freeze before putting in my DT). My other fish weren't out-competing it for food, it just didn't give a dang about any food in the water column, live worms, frozen, clams, etc. It lasted 3 weeks before perishing, as even with the masstick, it wasn't enough nourishment.

So, after that experience, I knew I wouldn't put another CB through that (much less me, as it is stressful when they don't eat). But, one day while buying supplies at my LFS, I noticed a very healthy looking CB and found that it was regularly snarfing down frozen mysis, so I bought it. It is thriving and I've had it for almost 2 years now. Prior to having the CB, I only fed frozen once a day, but with my CB, I double that up and feed frozen twice (sometimes 3 times on weekends) a day, as it needs more than a single meal per day.

If you do end up feeding more to your DT in order to maintain your CB, keep an eye on your nitrates/phosphates, as those probably will increase. I added a DIY denitrification reactor and carbon dose thru it, which allows me to maintain nitrate at a desired level and GFO in another reactor for phosphate.

I hope all goes well for you, as Copperbands are great fish with personality...mine is my favorite DT fish for sure!