fancy_fish101
Active Member
I’m getting a copper band butterfly for my new tank. I was thinking to add him first to get him eating and situated. Whats the best way to get him eating and situated?
Copperband butterfly
- Thread starter fancy_fish101
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o2manyfish
Valuable Member
He has to feel comfortable and he has to be hungry. Sadly many of these fish are too tramatized getting to the home aquaria that they never settle in.
Having meeting foods avaiable is a good start. Live foods like Brine and Black Worms. Small Clams. A rock covered in Aptasia. A mature established reef tank that produces live natural foods for the copperband.
The more natural a fish can feed, the better chance of it adapting to aquarium life. You can throw every kind of man made food you want at a fish - but they have never seen or eating it before - and they may never eat it. Finding natural sources of food that they can hunt like they did in the wild is the quickest way to get them to adapt without having to try to teach them something new.
Dave B
Having meeting foods avaiable is a good start. Live foods like Brine and Black Worms. Small Clams. A rock covered in Aptasia. A mature established reef tank that produces live natural foods for the copperband.
The more natural a fish can feed, the better chance of it adapting to aquarium life. You can throw every kind of man made food you want at a fish - but they have never seen or eating it before - and they may never eat it. Finding natural sources of food that they can hunt like they did in the wild is the quickest way to get them to adapt without having to try to teach them something new.
Dave B
dadnjesse
Valuable Member
I think having other fish eating can also teach them to follow their lead. Mine loves Mysis shrimp. I did have an Aiptasia problem but he decimated them so thankfully he eats Frozen.
Bozburn
Active Member
Agreed.
Always try to make sure the one you are getting is eating frozen foods prior to getting it.
When I got mine I kept it in an acclimation box for about a week to make sure it is eating well and there was no aggression with any of my other fish. Now the doofus goes after the biggest chunks of food when I feed every day. Had Aiptasia (still have a few big ones I need to take care of) but all of the small ones have since disappeared.
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Best is to get one eating already. Not always are they enticed by live food/worm.
Mine of 5 years is an eating machine also eating flakes and pellets but each CBB will have their own eating habits and desire to eat.
Treefer32
Valuable Member
I had a copperband successfully for 2 years. It ate frozen food from my hand everyday. He was angry at me when he couldn't see out the glass due to algae. He'd swim by nodding his head at me saying hey! the glass needs cleaning.
He picked at the rocks eating pods constantly! That was his nighttime hobby was searching out pods! Due to the beak, they can only eat so much, to keep them healthy, they must constantly eat. I made my own frozen food full of nutrients and he would gobble up that food like it was candy. Sadly 2 years almost to the day I found him wrapped around one of my MP40s. The reason, I suspect is I had one of my fish get big over a year and that fish became an aggressive eater, pushing all other fish out of the way when I fed. I suspect when the agressiveness of other fish elevated the copperband gave up. They're very sensitive fish! I don't know if I'd add them first. They don't fair well with competition and agressiveness.
He picked at the rocks eating pods constantly! That was his nighttime hobby was searching out pods! Due to the beak, they can only eat so much, to keep them healthy, they must constantly eat. I made my own frozen food full of nutrients and he would gobble up that food like it was candy. Sadly 2 years almost to the day I found him wrapped around one of my MP40s. The reason, I suspect is I had one of my fish get big over a year and that fish became an aggressive eater, pushing all other fish out of the way when I fed. I suspect when the agressiveness of other fish elevated the copperband gave up. They're very sensitive fish! I don't know if I'd add them first. They don't fair well with competition and agressiveness.
albano
2500 Club Member
Easier said than done! Especially at LFSs
resortez
Active Member
I second everything above. Copperbands need a large rock structure to swim in & out of while also hunting for live food around the structure. If you can have the LFS feed the butterfly in front of you before purchasing, that would be great but would still recommend hatching brine.
Tonycass12
Valuable Member
I'm on my second cbb. The first picked at food for a few days then just stopped eating and waisted away. The second has been a hog and loves bloodworms. I'm slowly adding mysis in hopes he will take those too but has only picked at them so far. Im going the quarantine route with mine because I'm not willing to introduce ich back into my tank and risk my other fish. I set up a quarantine tank with live rock covered in aptasia from my sump so hopefully he eats that too, ive noticed small aptasia seam to no longer be popping up.
