Copperband and Tangs

[paradizecityz]

Hi there! Recently got a Copperband Butterfly and it was eating frozen and was doing really well. 1 week in, I found that my Blue Tang was beating it up and ended up killing it

Like a lot of reefers, I really want to keep a copperband. What can I do so that this won't happen again or am I SOL?

 

[i cant think]

Hi there! Recently got a Copperband Butterfly and it was eating frozen and was doing really well. 1 week in, I found that my Blue Tang was beating it up and ended up killing it

Like a lot of reefers, I really want to keep a copperband. What can I do so that this won't happen again or am I SOL?

Simple answer:
Get rid of the blue… no matter what you do, chances are a CBB will not cohabitate with your tang.

 

[Gtinnel]

They can sometimes be kept together, but If your tang already killed one Copperband it will likely do it again. It will often come down to the individual fish.

 

[paradizecityz]

Simple answer:
Get rid of the blue… no matter what you do, chances are a CBB will not cohabitate with your tang.

Darn. Kids love blue dory so don't think that's happening. I was going to try a smaller Copperband so it's not same size and maybe mirror trick. Guess that won't work either

 

[Gtinnel]

I added a Copperband to my tank with my purple tang recently and there was some aggression, but it only lasted about a day. If the aggression was bad enough to kill the Copperband I’d say your odds aren’t good that a new one will be different.
If you do decide to try again then you could try the different sized fish, the mirror trick, and re arranging the aquascape (if feasible). Just be prepared to get one of the two fish out and re-home if needed.

ETA- you could also try an acclimation box.

 

[paradizecityz]

I added a Copperband to my tank with my purple tang recently and there was some aggression, but it only lasted about a day. If the aggression was bad enough to kill the Copperband I’d say your odds aren’t good that a new one will be different.
If you do decide to try again then you could try the different sized fish, the mirror trick, and re arranging the aquascape (if feasible). Just be prepared to get one of the two fish out and re-home if needed.

ETA- you could also try an acclimation box.

I was thinking different size, smaller one since I've added some small fish recently and the Blue Tang didn't even care of them. This copperband was similar size to the blue tang but thanks!

 

[Celestion]

is it a need to post goofy story's of how we killed a fish , lol

 

[Tamberav]

Trade in dory for a different dory. New dory won’t be established.

 

[paradizecityz]

Trade in dory for a different dory. New dory won’t be established.

hahah...if I can catch Dory though...

 

[zheka757]

Hi there! Recently got a Copperband Butterfly and it was eating frozen and was doing really well. 1 week in, I found that my Blue Tang was beating it up and ended up killing it
Like a lot of reefers, I really want to keep a copperband. What can I do so that this won't happen again or am I SOL?

Get one of those and put it in a tank for a month or 2. Then put Copperband Butterfly in, should be OK. Also place a fake one near the hiding spot of the blue tang. That way blue tang can't take all the frustration out on a fake one and give up.

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[ninjamyst]

It depends on individual fish. My copperband gets along fine with my blue tang. How big is your tank?

 

[Betex]

I had the same issue with my copperband and powder blue. I got a few mirrors and set them up around the tank, left it there for about a week, the powder blue was going nuts trying to attack itself on mirror. After a week I took them off and he completely forgot about the copperband they have been fine now 3+ months

 

[agame2021]

Darn. Kids love blue dory so don't think that's happening. I was going to try a smaller Copperband so it's not same size and maybe mirror trick. Guess that won't work either

Honestly blues get aggressive later on past 4 inch’s you could trade the blue for a small one and get a mid to large copper band butterfly. But honestly I wouldn’t risk it with a blue anyways… they get ich way too much!

 

[Treefer32]

This is a harder option, but I notice all my fish get a little agressive when one or two new fish are added. They all are afraid of losing "their" territory to the new guy. It'd be similar to the Chinese government buying a house next to you and putting up a government chinese flag right next to your house and a sign saying this is the peoples republic of china property. People would be afraid even though the neighborhood is established and everyone knows each other. Maybe a bad example, but, in short one easy to gang up on and keep in it's place. However, I've had really good luck adding 5-8 fish at once. I do it in the dark in the evening, and the next day the fish are all confused.
I imagine it going something like:

"Was this fish in here yesterday?"
Shrug
"Maybe a group of out of towners came in?"
"Wait, are you an out of towner?"
Shrug.

Obviously adding multiples at once is expensive and tank may not support that. However, I have fairly agressive fish that like to be bullies and when I added a few at once, I saw no agression at all. Not even a little. It was like they were so confused that they said screw it the town's gone to crap and went about their day.

 

[Jwise]

This is a harder option, but I notice all my fish get a little agressive when one or two new fish are added. They all are afraid of losing "their" territory to the new guy. It'd be similar to the Chinese government buying a house next to you and putting up a government chinese flag right next to your house and a sign saying this is the peoples republic of china property. People would be afraid even though the neighborhood is established and everyone knows each other. Maybe a bad example, but, in short one easy to gang up on and keep in it's place. However, I've had really good luck adding 5-8 fish at once. I do it in the dark in the evening, and the next day the fish are all confused.
I imagine it going something like:

"Was this fish in here yesterday?"
Shrug
"Maybe a group of out of towners came in?"
"Wait, are you an out of towner?"
Shrug.

Obviously adding multiples at once is expensive and tank may not support that. However, I have fairly agressive fish that like to be bullies and when I added a few at once, I saw no agression at all. Not even a little. It was like they were so confused that they said screw it the town's gone to crap and went about their day.

Thats what im doing im buying all my tangs at the same time and throwing them in together to prevent aggression. I'm getting between 11 and 12 tangs im still deciding if i want a gem tang for my 12th tang.

 

[zheka757]

Thats what im doing im buying all my tangs at the same time and throwing them in together to prevent aggression. I'm getting between 11 and 12 tangs im still deciding if i want a gem tang for my 12th tang.

How big is your tank?

 

[atoll]

Sump the tang for a month after buying a new CB. Make sure the CB is eating and getting on well with all other fish before reintroducing the tang. I have a CB with a mimic tang. The mimic is top fish and leaves my CB alone.

 

[Jwise]

How big is your tank?

I have a 125 6 ft tank how ever i have another spot for them in the future whenever they start to grow big and if i notice signs of stress as well. They are all tiny as of now around the 2-3 inch mark.

 

[OrionN]

I have CBB, PBT, Purple, Yellow, Chevron Tangs and a One spot Foxface in my tank. All were added one at a time. None of the fish bother the CBB.
I think it is all have to do with how big your tank is and how well are the fish been fed. My tank is a 320 gal DT.

 

[paradizecityz]

If anyone wanting an update, like some reefers said, if the tang has killed 1, it will kill another. With that being said, Dory has been re-homed and I have a very happy new Copperband that doesn't eat aiptasia in my tank lol