Having trouble with my copper band butterfly

[0202chunky]

I'm having a hard time getting my copper band butterfly fish to eat. I see him picking at the rocks but when I feed my other fish he seems to get scared and hides. Is this normal? Any I idea on how I can get him to eat frozen food?

 

[KJ]

How big is your tank and what kind of fish do you have?

 

[KJ]

I'm having a hard time getting my copper band butterfly fish to eat. I see him picking at the rocks but when I feed my other fish he seems to get scared and hides. Is this normal? Any I idea on how I can get him to eat frozen food?

Did he eat frozen food in the store? How long have you had him and do you have any tangs in your tank?

 

[0202chunky]

He is in a 60 gallon. I did not see him eat in the store. His only other companion is a powder blue tang and six line wrasse. I have had him for about a week.

 

[vanpire]

My butterfly is pretty picky also. But he loves blackworms (both live and frozen) and LRS reef frenzy.

Hope you get yours to start eating. I love copperband butterflies.

Van

BTW, he is in a 300 gallons with wrasses and lots of tangs. He fights them all for blackworms and LRS. I am noticing he is starting to eat chopped up squid.

 

[KJ]

He is in a 60 gallon. I did not see him eat in the store. His only other companion is a powder blue tang and six line wrasse. I have had him for about a week.

Always ask the owner of the shop to let you see him eat before you buy it, that way if he doesn`t eat you know he won`t last very long , and in your case you have a 60 gal tank and have a blue powder tang and they have a rep of bullying other fish the same size.

 

[Maritimer]

+1 - If this is happening in a 60, it's getting a bit crowded in there, and copperbands tend to prefer quieter surroundings and a bit more space.

Live black worms are probably their favorite food that we can provide, but not every neighborhood seems to have them available any more. If you can't get them at your LFS, head over to your local seafood market for a few littleneck clams - which they also often regard as quite the treat.

Good luck!

~Bruce

 

[0202chunky]

How should I feed the clams? Thank you guys for all the advice.

 

[Maritimer]

When I feed littlenecks, I open the shell and drop 'em in. There's a possibility that they might carry disease (bacteria - though some of the bacteria they'll carry could be considered "probiotics" - or encysted ich, which would be exceedingly rare, as clams are generally harvested from colder water than ich can thrive in), so you can freeze and thaw the clams to eliminate most diseases. If you don't want to reach in to remove the shells later, you can tie a string 'round them before dropping them into the tank.

~Bruce

 

[0202chunky]

Thanks for the advice. I will try this and let you know if I was successful.

 

[jd371]

I got mine to eat black worms, mysis, brine shrimp and LRS while in the QT. He loves black worms, if you can get black worms they tend to bring out a feeding response from the finicky eaters. Mine has been in the DT for almost a month now and is eating like a pig. Once a week I'll drop a frozen clam on the half shell in the tank before I leave for work and retrieve the empty shell when I get back home, I assume everybody in the tank has a go at it, or at least that's what I hope.