What got your CBB eating prepared foods?

[Smite]

I've got a Copperband butterfly in QT. He's gotten his GeneralCure treatment and is now just under observation. My goal during observation is getting it to eat prepared foods with little competition. I know once in the display he will hone in on copepods, aiptasia ect and have a good chance of never taking prepared foods. I have been succesful getting him to eat live black worms with a gusto! Now that seems to be all he wants. Does anyone have tips of how to get him to eat other prepared foods? I've tried dumping brine soaked in garlic and entice in high flow to trigger a response but he just swims eyeballing them then moving on. I'm going to call around and see if I can find some live brine, maybe that will be what gets him trying the frozen brine/LRS/Rods reef/mysis i regularly feed my tank?


Thanks for any tips/tricks.


Matt

 

[SDK]

I've got a Copperband butterfly in QT. He's gotten his GeneralCure treatment and is now just under observation. My goal during observation is getting it to eat prepared foods with little competition. I know once in the display he will hone in on copepods, aiptasia ect and have a good chance of never taking prepared foods. I have been succesful getting him to eat live black worms with a gusto! Now that seems to be all he wants. Does anyone have tips of how to get him to eat other prepared foods? I've tried dumping brine soaked in garlic and entice in high flow to trigger a response but he just swims eyeballing them then moving on. I'm going to call around and see if I can find some live brine, maybe that will be what gets him trying the frozen brine/LRS/Rods reef/mysis i regularly feed my tank?


Thanks for any tips/tricks.


Matt

With me it was just time. If you have the CBB eating one thing, you are 90% of the way there. Mine just eventually stated taking other foods as it settled in. Reading many other accounts of this species, they all seem to be very variable in what they will eventually eat.

Having said that, most will start taking more than one type of food. Mine loved mysis and would not touch clams for instance. Others have the opposite experience...

 

[z-reefer]

Cutting up small pieces of frozen mussel or clams worked great for mine!

 

[Smite]

With me it was just time. If you have the CBB eating one thing, you are 90% of the way there. Mine just eventually stated taking other foods as it settled in. Reading many other accounts of this species, they all seem to be very variable in what they will eventually eat.

Having said that, most will start taking more than one type of food. Mine loved mysis and would not touch clams for instance. Others have the opposite experience...

Gotcha. I’ve tried a few over the years. The only successful time I got one from a reef buddy who had it eating. The others slowly withered away overtime. I want to make sure this guy is eating more than one things well.

 

[Smite]

Cutting up small pieces of frozen mussel or clams worked great for mine!

I’ll give that a try, have you done half shells?

 

[z-reefer]

I’ll give that a try, have you done half shells?

Yep the half shells worked great I just preferred the cut method to get him used to picking stuff out of the water column

 

[reefz]

Rods foods!

 

[i cant think]

Live river shrimp gets the CBBs that refuse to eat eating in my LFS. Usually does the trick.

 

[ReefHog]

I’ll give that a try, have you done half shells?

Feed with a pair of tweezers and he should come right up to inspect it.

 

[Smite]

Feed with a pair of tweezers and he should come right up to inspect it.

He is coming to the glass now when I enter the garage, maybe that'll work since I'm the bringer of live worms now.

Live river shrimp gets the CBBs that refuse to eat eating in my LFS. Usually does the trick.

I'll have to try that, I do keep a pair of large cleaner shrimps. The CBB is tiny, I didn't think about him taking them out.

Rods foods!

Love it, i use the Rod's all the time in my display. I feel like it made a huge improvement in tanks health. Even acropora slime up when I feed. I'll try and give that a go too in QT.

Yep the half shells worked great I just preferred the cut method to get him used to picking stuff out of the water column

Good point. Maybe I'll try a couple and see if he likes it. Then work my way towards cutting it up.

Thanks for all the suggestions, I'll give them a GO

 

[i cant think]

He is coming to the glass now when I enter the garage, maybe that'll work since I'm the bringer of live worms now.

I'll have to try that, I do keep a pair of large cleaner shrimps. The CBB is tiny, I didn't think about him taking them out.

Love it, i use the Rod's all the time in my display. I feel like it made a huge improvement in tanks health. Even acropora slime up when I feed. I'll try and give that a go too in QT.

Good point. Maybe I'll try a couple and see if he likes it. Then work my way towards cutting it up.

Thanks for all the suggestions, I'll give them a GO

I have my CBB and other fish that supposedly eat inverts (All of them are 2-4”) and my cleaner shrimp are thriving, although they are mostly nocturnal now.
Live river shrimp don’t usually make fish want to eat other shrimp, I get risky with clams on a half shell (Mainly because I want a clam in the future so i get cautious that they will gain a want to eat clam mantels).

 

[ReefHog]

Since he’s already eating blackworms no need to introduce another live food. Just keep trying frozen and eventually he will accept. If you feed clam slice it in thin slices and feed from the water column. Be sure and remove food he doesn’t eat.

 

[TheDragonsReef]

Live brine shrimp and black worms to get them started then slowly start mixing in frozen ones with the live ones.

 

[Smite]

Thanks everyone, I'll keep at it. Once I'm out of black worms and I head to the LFS maybe I'll cut my worm order in half and do some brine along side it. See how that goes.

Great point, I would love to keep a clam one day. Not sure if I want to train it to eat out of a shell. Not sure that would make a difference, for me clam or CBB, CBB wins. Originally being a freshwater planted tank discus lover, the CBB was one of the fish that got me very interested in the saltwater section

 

[PNWReefer21]

I just dump a little of everything in. Eventually they ate brine shrimp.

 

[ReefHog]

Just keep at it. Mine was picky in the beginning even going on a few hunger strikes from time to time. Fast forward almost two years and hes a pig.

 

[i cant think]

Just keep at it. Mine was picky in the beginning even going on a few hunger strikes from time to time. Fast forward almost two years and hes a pig.

That’s similar to mine, and the age is close too.
Mine has been in the tank since 2/20 (February almost 2 years ago) and is a pig - And aggressive to other newbies most of the time.

 

[ReefRondo]

I cut a small piece of pipe 4”/5” or so, drilled maybe 15 holes in it in random places big enough for the cbb mouth to fit into and then a couple of caps on each end. Loved it and instantly found the food inside the pipe interesting.

 

[Ocypode sinensis]

LRS fertility frenzy mixed with masstick on a stick/tweezer/clamshell will be my choice

 

[Smite]

Just keep at it. Mine was picky in the beginning even going on a few hunger strikes from time to time. Fast forward almost two years and hes a pig.

gorgeous cbb and tank!