Dilan Patel
2500 Club Member
How do I feed clams on a half shell to a copperband butterfly without my tangs and wrasse eating it first?
How to feed clams on a half shell
- Thread starter Dilan Patel
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LostInTheDark
Active Member
That's a tough one. Copper-bands are shy and notoriously hard to get eating. I hate to say quarantine because they do much better right in the display where they can pick from the rocks, but it might be your only shot. Unless you have a large tank with plenty for him to pick on he will be out competed by everything else in the tank. You can try feeding the tank as a whole and then use a turkey baster to shoot some live black worms in his direction while the others are occupied.
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Dilan Patel
2500 Club Member
I have a 180galon tank so a decent amount of space for rock boring animals to hide. I see him picking at the rocks and sand but I didn't see him pick at the clam...its just a shell thanks to the melenarus lol. Ill keep trying I guess.
Larry L
Valuable Member
Google for "copperband feeder" and look at the images that come up - there are some good ideas out there for putting food inside tubes or bottles with holes drilled in them that are small enough that only the copperband's snout can get into them. I'd expect that using something clear would work better since he'd be able to see what was inside.
LobsterOfJustice
Valuable Member
If you buy live clams, they will stay alive for several days in the fridge - more if you keep them in water changed daily in the fridge. When they are alive they will stay shut. Give them one good tap with a hammer and pull off just a piece of the shell (up to 1/3) - so the copperband can get his snout in, but the others can’t.
If you freeze the clams, they will die and then open upon thawing. In this case, thaw them and rinse them, but only pry the clam open 1/4” to 1/3” before dropping it in. Again, just enough to let the copperband get his snout in, but not the others.
If you freeze the clams, they will die and then open upon thawing. In this case, thaw them and rinse them, but only pry the clam open 1/4” to 1/3” before dropping it in. Again, just enough to let the copperband get his snout in, but not the others.
eatbreakfast
Fish Nerd
Add a few clams in various spots in the tank. This gives the copperband more of an opportunity to get something.
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Dilan Patel
2500 Club Member
He is really proving difficult to feed lol. I will ty adding anaother clam today as well as add a butterfly frozen mix I found at the LFS. Praying he will eat.
Larry L
Valuable Member
At this point you might want to think about moving him to a separate quarantine/acclimation tank to get him eating, before you lose him. It doesn't have to be anything fancy - you could get away with a bare 10 gallon (although bigger would be better), a piece or two of PVC tube to hide in, hang-on-back filter, heater.
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Dilan Patel
2500 Club Member
The Issue I have with quarantine this specific fish is that the current tank he is in right now gives him the best chance of feeding due to the amount of live frock for him to forage on(which he does throughout the day I see him picking at stuff). It is only his second full day in the tank so He could still be trying to figure some things out.
LobsterOfJustice
Valuable Member
If your rockwork allows for it, I would consider putting an egg crate divider in the tank to separate him from the other fish like tanks. Then he can settle in and learn to forage at his own pace without having to compete with them.
