do Copperbanded Butterfly's eat corals in your experience?

[ca2or]

I am considering getting one but needed to know if he is going to nip at my corals or not.

 

[rmor]

I am considering getting one but needed to know if he is going to nip at my corals or not.

In my experience the chances are greater that it will not eat corals. I think the biggest concern is getting it to eat and survive. Here is a picture of my Australian CBB, he is a little over 5" and has not touched any coral as far as I know.... but my aiptasia is GONE :bigsmile:

 

[ca2or]

well that is great news....I take it they are hard to get eating? What does yours eat?

 

[droblack]

I've had 2 over the years. Both ate aiptasia like beasts and one took a liking to my lps, chalices and acans especially. Only had the other one for a short time, so who knows what it would've done. I love CBB, but will not put another into a tank with lps. HTH.

 

[rmor]

Mine loves to eat PE mysis and live blackworms. Those are definitely its favorite two entres, it goes after them like it was a tang going after food in the water column.
My tank is mainly sps which, there is not much of a concern there, I have heard of some specimens picking at lps as mentioned above. However, I do have an acan and a chalice as you can see in the picture above. Along with a torch and a hammer as far as lps goes. for softies I have a torch and zoas/palys, no problems there either. I have only had the CBB a few months, but so far so good.

 

[wicked demon]

If you have LPS and you feed it, particularly acan lords, the butterfly, or tangs even will learn that the mouth is a good place to find a meal, then once they have begun grazing in the mouth of the coral without a problem then the coral itself can become an acceptable food. I have only seen this when open grazing is not made available.

 

[Eggs]

My has nipped at Pocillopora, but haven't seen it go after anything else. I can live with that if there's no aiptasia.

 

[ca2or]

so is the Australian CBB a more durable fish? I know CBB's die often right....

 

[Cuda]

Mine does not bother corals. Great fish.

 

[Darren]

I just had one for about 1 month. It was eating frozen foods. It cleared out my aiptasia (small amount that I had). Then I noticed all of my Acan Lords staying closed up. After watching the tank for a while I figured out why. The CB was nipping at the Lords. Not hurting them but making them upset enough to always stay closed in. I sold him to a fellow reefer with just SPS.

 

[Deahtop]

acans or aiptasia all over my tank hmmmmm

 

[terryagi]

Mine doesn't bother any corals.

 

[Breakin Newz]

Mine has been fine, and I have every type of coral... But it is still a baby so you never know!

 

[ca2or]

What kind of Butterfly's do you guys have? Can you show me pic?

 

[rmor]

so is the Australian CBB a more durable fish? I know CBB's die often right....

Yes, the aussie copperbands are suposed to be much hardier than the standard indo cbb. I think it has to do with the way they care collected there.

 

[Eggs]

What kind of Butterfly's do you guys have? Can you show me pic?

I'm not sure where mine is from. Bought from a LFS who I've had success with in buying healthy fish.