Copperband Butterfly
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Glenner’sreef
2500 Club Member
Feed twice a day. In high flow tanks they can starve because other fish, Tangs, Angel, Wrasses etc are far more skilled eaters than CBBs. I’ve had mine for 3 years. Awesome fish.
Aparker2005
Valuable Member
Get a custom feeder from the guy that makes them on this forum. Can't remember his ID. My copperband took to it immediately and gets to eat most all it wants without being out competed. Started with frozen bloodworms, now takes mysis, brine, and squid.
Gtinnel
10K Club member
Good point. I didn’t teach mine to eat from a feeder while in qt but I wish I would have.
This is probably the feeder you’re referring to
USA - Copperband Butterfly (CBB) feeder
Want to ween your CBB off of live food/clams, or, teach him to feed out of this so he's not out-competed in the tank during feeding time (*cough* tangs *cough*)? Then you need this in your life, and so does your CBB, hah. The 'inside' ends combine to form a protected cylinder which is where you...
www.reef2reef.com
LaloJ
Well-Known Member
If the fish gets frozen food early on you are winning the battle, but if they don't they can opt for seafood porridge, clams, oisters, and in most cases I have read that aquarists have success with live food, I'm waiting for my chance to get one CBB beauty, have a good luck.
ninjamyst
2500 Club Member
Mine eats straight from water column but they do eat slower so I have to literally squirt food at its face, wait for it to finish taking a bite, and squirt him again...and again...and again. I make sure he gets at least 4-5 bites in. I also feed 3x a day.
I've had mine going on 8 months. He eats from the water column. He eats mysys, enriched frozen brine shrimp, oysters, black worms, and recently I gave him some masstick and he loves it. I put it inside one of the feeders linked above. Mine is in a smaller tank for grow out so there isn't a lot of competition for food as the other fish are small. I'm growing white worms for him but my cultures aren't up to harvesting yet.
i cant think
Wrasse Addict
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Reef Tank 365
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In my 4’ tank I have a 3 year old CBB. He is my most aggressive fish when I introduce anything new (he even seems to have staring contests with new corals which is a joy to watch). He happily eats from the water column and is the first fish at the top when I’m near the tank to feed them. I added mine as the 3rd fish though (I had a Foxface and Black Photon Clown in the tank before him) which may have set me up for more success. I also used aptaisia to feed him by feeding them frozen then when he went to peck at them he got hold of the frozen as well.
jtf74
Well-Known Member
Blackworms or white. Clam mysis brine also but the worms really got mine excited. Kept mine in observation qt alone for 3 months and got him eating out of the cup and water column. he gained good weight and never had trouble in dt competing with other fish. They eat a lot compared to other fish and always hungry. No device used or needed after it got used to feeding. I also feed mine aiptasia raised from another tank a few times a week as a treat.
Viking_Reefing
Valuable Member
I summed up my thoughts here: Best of luck!
I usually take a while for CBB to get use to captivity, and captive food. If your aquarium is full of fauna, then the transition is easier and your CBB will thrive. They are slow methodical feeder and often late to the table and not get their fill.
One way to remedy this is to give food in containers where only they can get with their snouts, like in a wired basket or frozen steamer clams where initially the shell still mostly shut. Put the frozen clam in a contraption that prevent the shell from open more than just a crack as it thaws out. This will prevent other fish run off with the meet inside while the CBB pecking at the left-over muscle on the shell.
One way to remedy this is to give food in containers where only they can get with their snouts, like in a wired basket or frozen steamer clams where initially the shell still mostly shut. Put the frozen clam in a contraption that prevent the shell from open more than just a crack as it thaws out. This will prevent other fish run off with the meet inside while the CBB pecking at the left-over muscle on the shell.
