What are we feeding our CBB’s?!?!

[ASIN28]

Just picked up this awesome little guy yesterday, watched him eat in the LFS completely looking good. Acclimated and dropped into the QT tank 1st day didn’t wanna eat was feeding frozen mysis. This morning same thing seems as if he wasn’t interested. Not gonna get too worried just yet, may be stressed in his new home. I’ll give it another day and then will go pick up Black Worms.
What do you guys feed your CBB?
From what I understand you can feed them Masstick, live clam and mussle? I know Hikari sells the half shell clams does anybody use them?

 

[Viking_Reefing]

I mainly feed mine mysis, brine and krill. Occasionally he (and the other fish) get a treat of masstick or clams on the half shell.

 

[squidsreef]

Copperband Butterflies are such a beautiful fish - I wish they could thrive in a smaller aquarium so I could have one!

 

[Cment]

live black or white worms, masstick and LRS is what I feed mine. Hes not so big of clams on half shell.

 

[Fishfinder]

I started mine on black worms to get him eating. Now he eats everything. I feed my tank LRS but he eats seaweed off the clip also

 

[DinoMagnet]

Just picked up this awesome little guy yesterday, watched him eat in the LFS completely looking good. Acclimated and dropped into the QT tank 1st day didn’t wanna eat was feeding frozen mysis. This morning same thing seems as if he wasn’t interested. Not gonna get too worried just yet, may be stressed in his new home. I’ll give it another day and then will go pick up Black Worms.
What do you guys feed your CBB?
From what I understand you can feed them Masstick, live clam and mussle? I know Hikari sells the half shell clams does anybody use them?

When I had mine he was eating mysis after about 3 days in QT unfortunately he had fin rot started kanaplex but he did not make it. If yours is healthy otherwise I wouldn’t worry just yet he will start eating GL

 

[Montiman]

Mine eats brine and Mysis now.

As someone who worked at an LFS that would get 12 or more at a time I will tell you I could get at least 80% to eat the first week by starting with frozen blood worms. These are not expensive and are just frozen mosquito larva. They are not the most nutritious for marine fish but unfortunately there is not a good source of frozen marine worms. I always recommend that customers buying CBBs feed bloodworms in their frozen mix and then remove the blood worms once they notice the CBB eating the other food in the mix.

 

[WVNed]

Live white worms

 

[ASIN28]

@LSIN123

 

[jd371]

Mine starts off with live black worms and then I feed a mixture that I make myself that's mostly chopped clams with some other ingredients.

 

[ReefHog]

Live black worms #1. Rubber band a clam on half shell to a rock and let it sink. His curiosity should get the better of him. Also had luck with live brine in the beginning. Once eating slowly add frozen to the mix. Be sure to remove excess food after a while so QT doesn’t get polluted. Mine now eats 80% of foods I feed. Never went for the blood worms though. Still don’t.

 

[afuel]

I’ve had one now for about 2 1/2 yrs and it’s favorite food is LRS reef frenzy. And apparently aptasia since I have about a dozen in my overflows but none in the tank

 

[rusty hannon]

You've been given awesome advice but want to recommend what I was recommended and its already been said except I was told to just buy clams from grocery store , freeze them so you can shave them into thin slices and they go crazy for them. And I agree it may take a few days to calm down , they are a fairly delicate fish. Love them myself. Good luck n hope all goes well for you both.

 

[LifeAquaticLB]

Just picked up a CBB last weekend and the only thing he likes at the moment is clams in the shell. I’ve tried frozen mysis but he didn’t seem interested. Going to try live worms if I can find them.

 

[EakTheFreak]

My CBB is currently on day #54 with me. Started him in QT & fed entire clams buster in half. He picked at it like crazy and developed taste for clams. I then purchased a super cheap meat grinder on Amazon and minced it down to smaller bit sized pieces and froze it into plastic ball ice containers.

Tons of good bacteria in the clams & then slowly transitioned him onto LRS. He has been in my DT for about 20 days now and he currently eats LRS & Mysis Shrimp and frozen clam balls that I hit him with a few times a week.

 

[PhilT]

Mine didn’t touch anything for a couple weeks until I found a place that had live blackworms. He went crazy on those. Also tried live clams from the grocery store seafood area and froze them (to kill any bacteria or parasites) and he ate that too. Now he eats everything frozen but ignores any pellets or flakes. He did peck on the masstick a little but not crazy about it. He does go after the hikari half clamshells., rips the inside out of the shell.

 

[Biff0rz]

Mine was eating mysis at the LFS. Brought him home and after a day or two he was eating it again. He's not the tank pig, he eats so much it's crazy. I feed him 3 times a day and he goes to town on mysis, brine shrimp, clams, you name it. I'd say he mostly loves the mysis. How big is your QT? They don't do too well in smaller QT's

 

[Biff0rz]

btw, I made this CBB feeder with my 3D printer, works great when first getting them to eat and there are tank mates who eat super fast. CBB's are slow to start feeders.

 

[mattzang]

mine eats pretty well, but i can see why they don't do well in big tanks with a bunch of tangs

even in my tank with the cbb being the largest fish it just doesn't like to stick its mouth in there and battle for food, so i've found either hand feeding a chunk of LRS or using the two little fishies nori clip to hold LRS seems ideal. clam is also good, but my h. chrysus actually bullies the cbb away from the clam, so two clams it is

mysis in the water column also works along with brine, but i'm not sure the fish is overly well equipped for chasing down small pieces of food in high flow, so i hit feed mode on one or both of my pumps and that seems to help

 

[Camaro Show Corals]

@acer has a beautiful CBB!