Long nose butterfly natural feeding?

[laezur]

Hi, I bought a long nose butterfly for my 300 and the LFS had it feeding frozen, they fed it in front of me obviously.

Now, he’s exhibiting natural feeding behaviours, grazing on rocks and picking his nose in to find food but he won’t accept any frozen, he’s just swimming by it occasionally he’ll take a shrimp in his mouth and mush it up then spit it back out.

just wondering if anyone has any methods for allowing him to feed naturally off the frozen, I was thinking holding the mysis inside a turkey bsster so he can get his mouth in like a rock and take what he needs but it tends to eventually all just start spilling out.

Any DIY methods that mimic this behaviour? Pushing food into rocks? I saw a contraption someone made that was basically a plastic feeder with holes they would place shrimp in and allow the long nose to just pick what he wants throughout the day. Not sure how to make one of those

 

[Bucs20fan]

Ok first, live black worms do wonders! I had to do this process with my CBB. Live black worms will help it get used to eating what you put in the tank. Then start to mix black worms and mysis with garlic guard or another garlic additive. Butterflies love anything that wiggles or appears to be a worm. Flow in this case is your best friend. Also having other fish feed around it will help entice it to eat. There is a frozen food in a blister pack by san fran called angel and butterfly, I found this to be the second frozen food my cbb ate besides mysis.

 

[Bucs20fan]

Clams are addicting to butterflies, buy some clams on the half shell or mussels and wedge them into a rock so they can peck at it. You can also take a SMALL piece of rock you do not use, can be sterile rock. Take the rock and melt a bunch of frozen food in some rodi water. Freeze the rock with the food on it. then place the rock into your aquarium, as it defrosts the butterfly will peck the food on it.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

To mimic the picking at the rocks, most people basically blend the food into a paste and smear it onto a rock/sps skeleton. Bucs20fan’s comment above describes one way of doing this.

 

[attiland]

I had success with frozen after feeding black worms from a worm feeder. Later swapped to frozen but still using the same feeder

 

[laezur]

To mimic the picking at the rocks, most people basically blend the food into a paste and smear it onto a rock/sps skeleton. Bucs20fan’s comment above describes one way of doing this.

Clams are addicting to butterflies, buy some clams on the half shell or mussels and wedge them into a rock so they can peck at it. You can also take a SMALL piece of rock you do not use, can be sterile rock. Take the rock and melt a bunch of frozen food in some rodi water. Freeze the rock with the food on it. then place the rock into your aquarium, as it defrosts the butterfly will peck the food on it.

Excellent! Brilliant ideas, thank you. I’ll try making some mysis into a paste (not sure exactly how to go about that lol) and place it on a small piece of rock I have in my sump, let him eat from that … like a dog bowl lol

 

[Bucs20fan]

For a paste, you can take mysis cubes and melt them drain the water, you can choose to use a blender if you wish. I took the mysis and stuffed it manually into all the cracks and crevices and then froze the rock.

 

[attiland]

Just for proof and I don’t do more just drop the cube to the feeder

 

[Bucs20fan]

@attiland That is awesome! I had to abandon all special methods other than the occasional clam for my CBB. That thing is a literal eating machine. Eats far more than even my Hippo tang, and thats saying something. My CBB is always rushing to the top of the tank waiting for food.

 

[laezur]

For a paste, you can take mysis cubes and melt them drain the water, you can choose to use a blender if you wish. I took the mysis and stuffed it manually into all the cracks and crevices and then froze the rock.

I’m going to sound a bit stupid but when the rock is placed in the tank what will stop it from floating away once it begins to thaw?

 

[Bucs20fan]

Technically nothing will, but lowering flow during this time will slow the process. As your butterfly gets used to what that rock is I doubt much will have time to float away.

 

[laezur]

I

Technically nothing will, but lowering flow during this time will slow the process. As your butterfly gets used to what that rock is I doubt much will have time to float away.

ll give it a go tonight thank you very much!