Feeding my new copperband butterfly

Thraciandrummer · Sep 14, 2015

hey guys,
Just added a copperband to the display after some time in quarantine. The fish is eating mysis shrimp. He will actually come up to me when I go to the tank and eat mysis right off my tweezers. The problem is he will hold it in his mouth or play with it and then my blue tang will just come and steal it right from its mouth. He will get a few pieces each day at feeding, but it's not a lot of food. I'd like to see him eat more. I have put a chopped clam rubber banded to a rock, but he hasn't really found much interest in it. He will eat a piece or two, but not much else. He even goes and tries to eat out of the water column during feeding time, but can rarely keep much to himself before my tangs and other fish devour everything. Any advise to get this fish more food and beef him up?

jautry77 · Sep 14, 2015

Take a piece of 1 inch pvc and 2 caps. Drill 1/4 inch holes on one side of pipe drop a cube of mysis inside and cap it off he will pick thru holes and get mysis other fish can't reach.

Gary Spangler · Sep 14, 2015

Soaking the food in garlic has been known to entice fish to eat. Fish can be easily trained. I have a file fish in with 4 tangs. The file mainly eats brine shrimp so I put it's food in the same corner of the tank every time I feed while food for the other fish is put in the opposite corner. When I approach the tank the file goes to his corner and waits. The other hogs get fed first and while they are chowing down, I feed the file on the other side. If your other fish are afraid of your hand in the tank and the copperband is eating from "your hand", you could keep one hand in the tank while feeding the copperband. The other fish would remain in hiding until the copperband is done then the others could be fed.

Thraciandrummer · Sep 14, 2015

Thanks for the advice. This fish nearly ate out of my hand today. My finger was a quarter inch from the end of the tweezer I had mysis on. I like the PVC idea. I bought two little fishies "Julian's thing" to help get food to him, but I think I'll try the PVC ideas with a cube of mysis soaked in garlic.

bknapp · Sep 15, 2015

Try live black worms, CBB love them. Mine eats fairly aggressively and is usually at the top waiting for food. I feed mainly LRS foods (Reef and Fish Frenzy.)

Humblefish · Sep 16, 2015

Use a feeding grid so the CBB gets first crack at the food. The other fish will get whatever he pulls out but doesn't eat.

ReefMadScientist · Sep 17, 2015

When I got my Copperband a few months ago, it would not eat the first day. This is typical new fish behavior. The second day he was getting his food stolen by the wrasses, hippo, and clowns. I stopped the water flow the next few days and target fed to get him used to eating in the tank.

After a week, I left the powerheads on as it is important he fights for his food and isn't babied. Today, I leave both MP40's on and feed the tank. He swims like crazy and gets his fair share of the food.

I got rid of my Mandarins because I was tired of stopping the flow and target feeding everyday. Teach your fish to fend for himself.

Thraciandrummer · Sep 18, 2015

Reef mad scientist - that is what I am doing now. When I feed the tank he swims around like crazy but never eats anything. I feed him in the morning and at night when the lights go off. I do this because none of the other fish are out and about to steal his food. I still have to turn the power heads off because if I don't his food flies away and he just stares up at me like "yo are we do in' this **** or what?" It is annoying to spot feed, but he is the only fish I have like that and he comes right to the top to greet me, so I don't mind it yet.

The grate idea above is cool, but I have a feeling he wouldn't use it.

ReefMadScientist · Sep 18, 2015

Thraciandrummer said:
Reef mad scientist - that is what I am doing now. When I feed the tank he swims around like crazy but never eats anything. I feed him in the morning and at night when the lights go off. I do this because none of the other fish are out and about to steal his food. I still have to turn the power heads off because if I don't his food flies away and he just stares up at me like "yo are we do in' this **** or what?" It is annoying to spot feed, but he is the only fish I have like that and he comes right to the top to greet me, so I don't mind it yet.

The grate idea above is cool, but I have a feeling he wouldn't use it.

Sorry to hear. I thought you mentioned he was eating mysis? I would definitely try other food choices as the above mention. He seems to be a real finicky eater.

Humblefish · Sep 18, 2015

@Thraciandrummer Have you tried feeding live blackworms? Or maybe a clam?

Thraciandrummer · Sep 18, 2015

No No, he is eating. He loves Mysis Shrimp. He just won't eat out of the water column when I feed the tank. I have to wait till the lights go out and spot feed him or else he won't get any. He isn't an aggressive eater at all. If he grabs a piece of mysis and doesn't eat it right away my fox face will come steal it right out of his mouth. He is eating though, just not unless I spot feed him. I have not tried black worms with him. I have tried a clam, but he won't go near it. I have tried it on the half shell tied to a rock and frozen. I shaved off little pieces to feed him like I do with Mysis, but he doesn't seem to like clams. He also doesn't seem to like the huge Aiptasias that are growing in my tank. :mad:

miyags · Sep 18, 2015

I feed mine tiny pieces of raw shrimp.He was a slow eater a first, now he's a pretty aggresive feeder.

Humblefish · Sep 18, 2015

Ah ok, I understand now. Too much going on at the moment.

Mine eats timidly most of the time, but gets aggressive when it's live blackworms. He'll also eat slivers of raw table shrimp out of my hand. And it's a PITA sometimes, but I have resorted to what you see below when I feel he's not getting enough to eat. HTH

Thraciandrummer · Sep 18, 2015

Clever. Well I may try blackworms.nwhere do you gets your black worms from? Online? LFS?

Humblefish · Sep 18, 2015

Thraciandrummer said:
Clever. Well I may try blackworms.nwhere do you gets your black worms from? Online? LFS?

I get mine from a LFS. But I hear this place comes highly recommended: http://www.aquaticfoods.com/worms.html

Thraciandrummer · Sep 18, 2015

Oof those are some expensive worms! I'll try to find them at an LFS near me. I have a ton.

nbagnardi · Sep 19, 2015

I too lucked out and mine is a savage when it comes to some Larry's reef frenzy. Maybe you should try finding some of that?

swhobbie1 · Sep 19, 2015

Try frozen bloodworms. Or "Super Carnivore" a frozen food containing mysis and bloodworms. I found my fish don't really like bloodworms so much but the CBB does and seems to get his fill when I feed this to the tank.

dkray944 · Sep 19, 2015

Personally I've gone to the grocery store and purchased live clams. I'll then split it open and tie it to a rock. My butterfly loves it. I'll do it once or twice a week to keep his belly full.