Copperband with neurological or vision problem

Paul B · Dec 10, 2019

This 10 year old copperband normally will eat all the clams you give him. But for the last few months he misses the food 9 out of 10 times.
In this video he gets one piece but misses all others. He aims short almost every time.

I am sure it is neurological and can't be fixed. Fish get tumors and cancers just as we do and you can't fix everything.

brandon429 · Dec 10, 2019

he sure looks active and healthy to me man, fingers crossed. he seemed to be tracking and catching stuff ok, I saw some misses, could be the current moving it along + he looked better than I expected from title

Paul B · Dec 10, 2019

That is the first piece of food he has caught in a few days. He normally snaps a quarter inch short.
This fish was a huge eater but seems disguested now as he seems to know he can't eat.

Mical · Dec 10, 2019

You might try feeding him directly w/forceps. Just a thought

Paul B · Dec 10, 2019

I try that every day. I hold worms right up to his mouth and he backs up and snaps at it a little short and never gets it.

Mical · Dec 10, 2019

Paul B said:
I try that every day. I hold worms right up to his mouth and he backs up and snaps at it a little short and never gets it.

Sorry to hear that, it's tough to watch your long time pets go through this. You're doing all that you can (we all know that - been reading your other posts) He's had the best of care for 10 years. Hang in there bro..

GoldeneyeRet · Dec 10, 2019

It needs spectacles

Mical · Dec 10, 2019

GoldeneyeRet said:
It needs spectacles

Don't laugh too loud... that's all of us years down the road when some nurse is shoving brand & oatmeal down our throats at some nursing home.

Johnny Stecchino · Dec 10, 2019

Mical said:
Don't laugh too loud... that's all of us years down the road when some nurse is shoving brand & oatmeal down our throats at some nursing home.

Jon Fishman · Dec 10, 2019

Paul B said:
you can't fix everything.

We can’t be sure of that, until you put him in a little box of water with some PVC pieces to hang out with, drop him in a bucket of fresh-water every day or so for 5-10 minutes, drop the salinity to Putin tear levels, pour half a bottle of coppertone (reg. trademark) in there, then drip acclimate back to the display over 4.5 days.

4FordFamily · Dec 10, 2019

That'd odd, it doesn't seem very motivated to eat. This could lead to the lazy (inaccurate) pecks at food. Copperband can stop being motivated to eat and stop eating for nearly any reason, unfortunately.

If it's something else, I don't know that it's anything you can "treat".

Thaxxx · Dec 10, 2019

It looked like to me he is overshooting the food. Even the pieces not moving.
I had a Swallowtail angel that lost his site for about 6 weeks. Couldn't see the food. Then very slowly started reacting to the feedings. His vision very slowly came back. He was almost gone before he finally caught a brine shrimp. He had been trying for days but did the exact thing your fish did. Just missing. Even before his sight was back good I could tell he adjusted to his misses and was able to figure out how to catch the food. Hopefully yours might be able to adjust to the misses and figure out how to survive with a depth perseption problem.
Good luck

Paul B · Dec 10, 2019

4FordFamily said:
That'd odd, it doesn't seem very motivated to eat. This could lead to the lazy (inaccurate) pecks at food. Copperband can stop being motivated to eat and stop eating for nearly any reason, unfortunately.

If it's something else, I don't know that it's anything you can "treat".

He is not motivated because he realizes he can't bite it. He almost gave up after so many tries.
He needs an MRI and Cat-fish scan

Mical · Dec 10, 2019

If any outsider read this thread (a non-reefer) they'ld be thinking WE ALL NEED a Cat-fish scan...

sixty_reefer · Dec 10, 2019

@Paul B 10 year old CB? Is this some sort of record? I hear people struggling to keep them alive for a couple years in home aquaria

Paul B · Dec 10, 2019

10 years with a fish such as a coppperband would be a dismal failure. I don't know their life span but I have kept a few of them about 10 years and at that age something always seems to happen to them.

I would "assume" for a fish that size, they should live at least 15 years or more but I am guessing.

She is not dying of old age, it is a visual or neurological problem that may or may not be related to age but I feel that fish is middle aged just by her looks. And her eyelashes.

Many of them die in quarantine and a fish like a copperband should never be quarantined or medicated. That is what makes them get sick and die.

GoldeneyeRet · Dec 10, 2019

Maybe she bumped her noggin on your hammer?

Paul B · Dec 10, 2019

That is a distinct possibility I didn't think of.

Paul B · Dec 16, 2019

I have been searching for information on the lifespan of copperband butterflies and it seems that ten years isn't bad.
I have also read that they are very hard to keep (which I totally disagree with).

I also read their lifespan is between 4-7 years. Then I read an informative article about them that says they live about ten years. Then I realized that I wrote that article so it doesn't help me. ;Wideyed

I think a fish of that size should live about 15 years, of course I am guessing but maybe thats it. I have had many of them but I don't remember ever keeping them over ten years. They don't get sick, they normally just stop eating at about that age.

Mine wants to eat, it just can't focus on the food and misses almost 100% of the time so maybe that is her lifespan. If it is, I am happy. If it isn't, then she is not happy.

Paul B · Dec 20, 2019

My Copperband hasn't eaten in about a week,but she was trying very hard. She is real hungry but now realizes she can't bite the food although she still gets all excited when I feed the tank, and he swims very fast to the clams, then stops and stares at it. I think he got tired of trying to bite it when it is not there for her.

But she still looks perfect. I know that won't last long.