Getting a copperbank to eat in QT

[sean rand]

Hi i have a copperband butterfly in qt and refuses to eat. When i got him he was eating in the store and now is not eating. Meds in tank is cupermine

 

[Mjrenz]

They are known to stop eating when they're stressed and typically have a low survival rate in captivity. You can try some different foods and maybe even try a drop of garlic with his food. Some other people will probably chime in soon with some other suggestions too

 

[Frtdrmrose7]

Hi i have a copperband butterfly in qt and refuses to eat. When i got him he was eating in the store and now is not eating. Meds in tank is cupermine

How long did you take to ramp up the cupermine? Was he showing any signs of illness?
What level is the cupermine at?

 

[sean rand]

How long did you take to ramp up the cupermine? Was he showing any signs of illness?
What level is the cupermine at?

Ramped it up over a week. No signs of any illness level is at .52 checked with hanna checker

 

[Frtdrmrose7]

Ramped it up over a week. No signs of any illness level is at .52 checked with hanna checker

He hasn’t eaten in a week?

 

[sean rand]

He hasn’t eaten in a week?

He was eatting in the begging and then stopped. He was eating a couple of days ago

 

[HotRocks]

Do you have any live blackworms?

They will usually not turn down blackworms. I have one in QT now that took blackworms to get eating.

Yours may be sensitive to copper as well. I see much less appetite suppression with copper power.

 

[sean rand]

No live

Do you have any live blackworms?

They will usually not turn down blackworms. I have one in QT now that took blackworms to get eating.

Yours may be sensitive to copper as well. I see much less appetite suppression with copper power.

No live Worms or live food sold in my area.

 

[Frtdrmrose7]

No live

No live Worms or live food sold in my area.

I agree with copper power is better for sensitive fish. I think you can go as low as .4 with cupermine and still be therapeutic but some try to stay at .45. You might try to lower the copper levels and see if that helps if you can’t get live food as suggested above.

 

[Frtdrmrose7]

He was eatting in the begging and then stopped. He was eating a couple of days ago

Does that correlate with about the same time you reached full copper level of .52?

 

[sean rand]

Does that correlate with about the same time you reached full copper level of .52?

No. I just brought up the copper lever to .52 today

 

[HotRocks]

We have one LFS in my area that is hit or miss on live food. I just order from California. The smallest portion they have with a good keeper is the way to go. They will live for months if you rinse them regularly and keep refrigerated. You can feed them plankton or use some water from a FW tank if you have one.