Getting a reluctant Copperband to feed. How to.

[atoll]

I bought a very nice Copperband butterfly about a month ago which was reluctant to feed. It fed a little in the LFS but very slowly and in my tank by the time it decided to eat something like mysis another fish would get to the food first. It did take a couple of mysis or brine shrimp but it was never going to be enough to sustain it long term. Perhaps this is one of the reason so few people have success with CBs.

I decided I needed to get it eating well but no matter what I fed it was either too slow to eat much or turned it's nose up and my offerings.
I decided to try live mussel after I opened it and dropped it on the tank. The CB at first seemed almost suspicious of it and turned away a few times before pecking at it. Eventually it took a peck and we were off. Now its straight over to the mussel even before it hits the sand bottom.

Although the CB was now eating well on mussel which I now buy live in bulk and freeze, defrosting before serving, I wanted to get it feeding well on other foods as well esp mysis.

I decided to stick two half of the largest mussel shells together using Milliput in the fully open position. Next I took some D-D Ocean reef paste and impregnated it with defrosted mysis. I dropped it in the tank and the CB was straight over to it just as before. Again the CB was suspicious it would seem and after turning away from the open mussel coupled with the fact other fish were more bold in eating the mix my CB took a little peck and now eats it very well. The CB although not the boldest of fish even eats more from the water column when I broadcast feed for the other fish.
I need to clean my glass but here's a quick vid of my CB eating the reef paste with mysis mixed in.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

This is great and following along!

 

[atoll]

This is great and following along!

Anything that might help in some small way another Reefer to have success with a new CB. It was worth the effort as it looks very healthy and eats well.

 

[SMSREEF]

Thanks for this post @atoll
I just got a CBB this weekend and it’s in quarantine with a tailspot blenny and Cardinal. He pecked at brine in the store so I thought I’d try.
First day He didn’t eat so I went and got live brine and phyto to try to gut load the brine with some vitamins.
He ate a little of that but the other 2 fish ate pretty much all of it before his interest was peaked.
I’m gonna stop by the store and get a mussel and clam on the way home tonight.
How long do you leave the mussel in the water? i want to leave it long enough to give him a chance, but don’t want it to add extra nutrients to the tank.
Did you precut the mussel at all when you put it in to make it easier for the fish to grab bites?

 

[atoll]

Thanks for this post @atoll
I just got a CBB this weekend and it’s in quarantine with a tailspot blenny and Cardinal. He pecked at brine in the store so I thought I’d try.
First day He didn’t eat so I went and got live brine and phyto to try to gut load the brine with some vitamins.
He ate a little of that but the other 2 fish ate pretty much all of it before his interest was peaked.
I’m gonna stop by the store and get a mussel and clam on the way home tonight.
How long do you leave the mussel in the water? i want to leave it long enough to give him a chance, but don’t want it to add extra nutrients to the tank.
Did you precut the mussel at all when you put it in to make it easier for the fish to grab bites?

Thanks, after the first mussel it tucked into along with other fish I froze the rest. Now I simply take one out of the freezer and put it in the micro wave from 5 to 8 seconds when I take it out I leave it a few seconds and it opens a little on it's own, I can then praise both shells apart. The CB has little problem tucking into the mussel along with my other fish. All signs of the mussel are gone in around 15 mins.

 

[SMSREEF]

Thanks, after the first mussel it tucked into along with other fish I froze the rest. Now I simply take one out of the freezer and put it in the micro wave from 5 to 8 seconds when I take it out I leave it a few seconds and it opens a little on it's own, I can then praise both shells apart. The CB has little problem tucking into the mussel along with my other fish. All signs of the mussel are gone in around 15 mins.

Yours looks really happy and looks to have a full belly. I hope mine has a bulging belly soon too.
Thanks again!

 

[Mical]

You guys need to contact Paul B. He has one that's 10 yrs old, if anyone knows how to take care of a CBB- Paul does.

 

[atoll]

You guys need to contact Paul B. He has one that's 10 yrs old, if anyone knows how to take care of a CBB- Paul does.

I have and do speak to Paul regular on his thread and have done so about this thread. Thanks.

 

[ReefGeezer]

Start with live Blackworms while in QT. Keep adding other not so live stuff i.e. clams, brine, mysis, etc. until he starts to eat them.

 

[saltyhog]

One problem with CBB is that even if they are feeding well they are such a slow eater that they can't compete.....especially with a pack of aggressive feeders like tangs/wrasses. One thing that was very helpful for me was being able to get it to feed from my hand. This allowed me to hand feed the CBB while the other fish were feeding on the broadcasted food. Another option is to teach him to feed from a net. This discourages a lot of the other fish, though some will quickly learn to eat from your hand.

 

[Paul B]

Healthy copperbands, especially "not" quarantined ones, ( they hate that) are huge eaters. They will eat out of your hand or at your table. In the sea they eat worms and soft bodied creatures like tiny anemones as they are not really the tyrannosaurus of the reef. Clams, mussels and worms are the best food for them.

I wrote this on a now defunct site. But if you don't believe me, ask my copperband

You Can Succeed with the Copperband Butterflyfish

Copperband butterflyfish (Chelmon rostratus) are among my favorite fish and have almost always been a staple in my tank since the saltwater hobby started in the 70s. It’s not just the beauty of the…

www.saltwatersmarts.com

 

[atoll]

Good interesting article Paul, only thing I may disagree with is mysis is full of protein and should be very nutritious for a copperband indeed most carnivores. I am just watching my terror of a redlined tang square up to my C. The CB is presenting its dorsal spines towards it. Mo harm ever gets done but the redlined tang may have to go as it terrorises all my fish, it's a real bully for no good reason other than to show it's dominance.

 

[Paul B]

Atoll my good friend, they are full of protein, the only issue I have with them is they are mostly shell and that shell is not calcium but worthless keratin like your fingernails are. But besides that, I feed mine some of that also because I need it for my larger pipefish that won't eat clams or worms.

 

[SMSREEF]

Hi All,

I am so bummed. I went on way home yesterday and got clams, mussels and mastic. I let a clam and mastic in the tank for 2 hours and my little guy didn’t touch anything.

I took everything out and hoped today when I got black worms he would eat.

After work I went to pet store and got black worms. When I got home my CBB was on bottom breathing slow, on his side not moving.

I wanted to see if a black worm would get his attention, but no go.
my cardinal ate the worms. My goby ate some mysis. My ammonia badge reads zero, but afraid maybe the badge is wrong, so I did a large 50% water change.

my little guy sparked some energy to get upright because of the turbulence, but soon did not move and passed away.
I should have noticed he was skin and bones in the store but I was excited because he was the smallest one I’ve seen in stores and he nipped at brine shrimp when they fed it. I thought this meant he would eat... boy was I wrong.

I wish I had read more prior to getting him (although I thought I read enough). I had read so many good stories about CBB eating... I should have asked them to throw some black worms in and only bought if the ate them.

I’m posting this hoping to help some others. I’m sad and embarrassed at my failure, but hoping to help others from making the same mistake I made.

@atoll and @Paul B thank you guys for helping me with your posts because I really think I did everything I could to try to save this guy.

 

[USMA36]

Black worms are by far the best food for picky eaters. My cbb goes crazy for them.

 

[Tamberav]

Hi All,

I am so bummed. I went on way home yesterday and got clams, mussels and mastic. I let a clam and mastic in the tank for 2 hours and my little guy didn’t touch anything.

I took everything out and hoped today when I got black worms he would eat.

After work I went to pet store and got black worms. When I got home my CBB was on bottom breathing slow, on his side not moving.

I wanted to see if a black worm would get his attention, but no go.
my cardinal ate the worms. My goby ate some mysis. My ammonia badge reads zero, but afraid maybe the badge is wrong, so I did a large 50% water change.

my little guy sparked some energy to get upright because of the turbulence, but soon did not move and passed away.
I should have noticed he was skin and bones in the store but I was excited because he was the smallest one I’ve seen in stores and he nipped at brine shrimp when they fed it. I thought this meant he would eat... boy was I wrong.

I wish I had read more prior to getting him (although I thought I read enough). I had read so many good stories about CBB eating... I should have asked them to throw some black worms in and only bought if the ate them.

I’m posting this hoping to help some others. I’m sad and embarrassed at my failure, but hoping to help others from making the same mistake I made.

@atoll and @Paul B thank you guys for helping me with your posts because I really think I did everything I could to try to save this guy.

I believe the really small ones are actually more difficult because they end up too skinny by the time they get to the LFS (no fat reserves on the tiny ones). I know I saw a tiny one at the LFS this week...maybe an 1.5 inches and boy was it SKINNY! and it had just gotten there that day!

 

[Terri Caton]

Get Aptasias in your tank (Just kidding)

I’ve never had a problem getting anything difficult to eat. I think the reason is I feed heavily and multiple times a day. So much food there is no way the slow eaters can’t get some.

Another thing I do is put food at opposite ends of the tank. Put in a clam or 2 on one end first and let the aggressive eaters go after them. Then put another one on the other side. Gives the slower eaters a chance while the others are distracted.

 

[atoll]

Atoll my good friend, they are full of protein, the only issue I have with them is they are mostly shell and that shell is not calcium but worthless keratin like your fingernails are. But besides that, I feed mine some of that also because I need it for my larger pipefish that won't eat clams or worms.

You could always peel them lol

 

[atoll]

I would never buy a very small CB. One of my LFSs had one about 1.1/2" in recently. Also even when eating in the LFSs a new CB might refuse to eat at first until it settled in. Never buy a CB or any fish come to that with a pinched stomach but then most will know that. They are pinched for a reason and with CBs having such a slimline body they need to be eating and searching for food almost constantly. They also appear to be individuals with some more reluctant to feed than others. Even though my CB was eating but slowly in the LFS tank I knew I was most likely going to have to have patience with it to get it feeding right.

 

[USMA36]

Another idea is to only buy one from Divers Den. They won't ship if the fish isn't eating. That's where I got mine and he's a pig. It took him a couple of days to eat anything other than the black worms but after that he became one of the more aggressive eaters in my tank.