Copperband butterfly question

EZMAC114

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What should a healthy CCB look like or I should say how big should they be in the lower mid body area. I bought one about 5 days ago and he has been eating since Saturday but he looks skinny to me.
 

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Looks very healthy to me, and would judge health weight in the area above and behind the eyes. The muscle mass above the spine is the best and easiest way to determine a fishes stored fat health IMHO.

Cheers, Todd
 
Yeah, looks cool, and eating is a real good sign w/ these guys, seems to be their downfall often.
What are you feeding?
 
Well I had him eating PE mysis and now I don't see him eat it. I took some more pictures because I don't think that picture was a good example.
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Do you have access to live black worms? Does one of your local fish stores carry them? I have found them pretty irresistible to CB's and they have a lot of protein and oil content to fatten them up until you can get them eating other frozen food consistently.
 
Yeah my LFS has them but the gf didn't like them in the fridge bc we have had them before for our freshwater tank. I was going to try and get some clams tonight and see how he like them. I'll try black worms if he won't eat the clam.
 
From the side shots he does appear to be a bit on the thin side. He should be thicker just behind the eyes and lower sections. Mine is plump.
 
Mine eats frozen blood worms. I feed a wide variety of things but he pics the bloodworms out. He looked like yours but after 2 feelings a day for a month he is looking a little fatter now. If you get yours to take food other than bloodworms please let me know I'd like to give mine more variety in his diet
 
He's definitely emaciated, although I've never seen one not emaciated when first imported. Generally takes me three to four weeks of heavy feeding in QT to notice real mass gain on these fish. I've had great luck with LRS food enticing some more picky fish like this to eat... also on that list would be Rod's and Rogger's foods. Just be very careful with 'all-in-one' foods in QT as they generally produce more waste than something like rinsed PE Mysis, which can foul water quickly.

I highly recommend treating with Prazipro for flukes and internal parasites.
 
Yeah, that shot looks a touch thin, but if you saw him eating or even taking in and spitting out I still see that as an ok sign, they often do that at first.
I shy from live food as a last resort, because that often spoils them into only wanting live.
Try frozen black worms, and also try the HQ mini mysis, sometimes the smaller is what they like, or hikari.
If your LFS has a mix called five in one that is awesome.
 
I have been checking the water frequently and I'm going to do a water change tonight bc I don't the water to get out of hand
 
Cyclopseze is another good enticer, but go light on it.
 
Yes, he is pretty thin. You can see his skeletal structure. Have you noticed what his fecal matter looks like. If you notice long, white, stringy waste; he may be infected with an internal parasite. Often, these fish stress when shipped, and being in packed import/export facilities, is an easy way to pick up an internal parasite. Since exporters purge fish (do not feed for 24-48 hours) before shipping, it's not uncommon for them to ingest their fellow fish's waste. When infected with an internal parasite, fish shed their intestinal lining on a regular basis, which is the white, stringy stuff we see. I would contact Reef Frenzy foods. They have a great mixture with probiotics, which he is likely to accept. Getting some probiotics into his gastro tract, wouldn't be a bad idea.
 

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