Your Copperband Butterfly Experience Needed

revhtree · Jul 9, 2018

Thinking of getting a copperband butterfly fish and was wondering about your personal experince with them and your corals. I realize that each one may vary but I am looking for some experience.

I am wanting one because they are beautiful and more importantly I am getting a nice outbreak of aiptasia. BUT I also have zoas and meaty lps corals.

So does/did your copperband eat zoas or other corals?

drtrash · Jul 9, 2018

Never had issue but only in system 6 months, very aggressive eater so would think if it is a picker it would of happened

64Ivy · Jul 9, 2018

I maintain a Mueller's Copperband, endemic to Austrailia. I find them to be hardier and easier to acclimate. Mine took out my aiptasia, doesn't touch any of my coral ('SPS' or 'LPS') and will take both frozen foods and pellets, though it loves an occasional feeding of live black worms. Been with me now 3+ years.

revhtree · Jul 9, 2018

64Ivy said:
I maintain a Mueller's Copperband, endemic to Austrailia. I find them to be hardier and easier to acclimate. Mine took out my aiptasia, doesn't touch any of my coral ('SPS' or 'LPS') and will take both frozen foods and pellets, though it loves an occasional feeding of live black worms. Been with me now 3+ years.

Would love to find a Mueller! Any listed anywhere you know of?

revhtree · Jul 9, 2018

Actually any really healthy one would be good if anyone has a lead!

Kayvon · Jul 9, 2018

Mine doesn't eat zoas. I don't have any meaty corals, so I can't speak to that. I don't buy meaty corals because I don't want to risk it.

PaulK · Jul 9, 2018

Mine occasionally picks at Acans and tridacna clams but leaves SPS and other LPS alone. I don't have any zoas. He doesn't seem to cause any real damage to the acans and clams--they're still growing.

BigJim · Jul 9, 2018

Mine has not touched coral in the nine months he has been in my tank. He wiped out my aptasia and loves LRS Reef Frenzy and mysis shrimp. He also eats vermetid snails and is in constant motion looking for morsels in my rocks.

Anirban · Jul 9, 2018

I dont have zoas so no idea. But I have a lot of SPS, favia and few acans and they seem just fine. I feed 3x a day so that may also contribute to his behavior. He is generally more busy following my hippo.

Willy315 · Jul 9, 2018

I have a Zoa epidemic, I wish mine ate them

madweazl · Jul 9, 2018

I don't really have any LPS but it hasn't bugged any my SPS. It takes down littleneck clams like they owe him money so I wouldn't put it anywhere near a tridacna and I don't have any zoas.

revhtree · Jul 9, 2018

Just ordered me a Large Aussie one from Live Aquaria.

foxt · Jul 9, 2018

Mine has been in the tank for about 7 months. Tank has lots of different corals, and I have never seen it picking at anything directly. It does pick at the rocks, perhaps eating aiptasia. My sump has an aiptasia breakout, but the 220g DT is aiptasia free, so perhaps the copperband has been on top of it for me.

Beautiful fish, and great addition to a relatively peaceful tank. The one thing I will say is that I can not get it to eat anything other than live blackworms (and maybe the aiptasia). It has been in a tank full of fish that eat everything I feed - pellets, nori, LRS, etc - but the copperband never shows any interest, and I need to feed blackworms twice a day to make sure it eats.

I knew they can be picky eaters, and I kept the copperband in QT for a month and tried to switch it to other foods while in QT, no luck. I thought it might get the hang of other foods from the other fish in the DT, no luck. Every once in a while I stop feeding the blackworms for a couple of days to see if it will show interest in other food, no luck. I tried freeze-dried blackworms, no luck. So, live blackworms it will be until I find something else it might try. I guess the good news is that through all of this, it has not taken an interest in my corals.

tripdad · Jul 9, 2018

2 years in and no coral deaths. He does pick at any upside down snails. I have oysters and he doesn't bother them. Featherworms are a total loss if I try. I have a mixed reef including acans and blasto's.

64Ivy · Jul 9, 2018

revhtree said:
Would love to find a Mueller! Any listed anywhere you know of?

Only source I've found is DD at Live Aquaria and then only a handful a year.

cracker · Jul 9, 2018

My favorite fish ! Never saw one eat any corals. took care of apastia not sure how a feather duster would fare though. All mine were/are all aggressive eaters. However this can fool Ya. With other aggressive eaters she can get a little skinny & You don't want that. I think these fish require a good variety of meaty foods from the sea . Clam oyster chopped silver sides,fish roe etc just about anything . A real good diet I think is the key for the long term . No flake & pellets for these fish.
One more thing, I feel they don't do well with a freshwater dip. Beautiful fish enjoy !

lejeune981 · Jul 9, 2018

Following... berghia didn't work.. trying a file fish now (week #2) if file fish doesn't do the job... butterfly is next

Zoom in on the top right rock.. and you can see my aptasia outbreak :-(

Philt56 · Jul 9, 2018

Mine hasn’t touched zoas, lps, gsp. It also never touched apitasia. Initially the only thing I could get him to eat was live blackworms. Now he eats frozen mysis and clams on the half shell. If I take an empty shell and stick some LRS in it then he will peck at that.

Instigate · Jul 9, 2018

Mine nipped at my big trachy, acans, favias, and caulastrea. Left my zoas alone. I like the fish more so I removed those from that tank and just wont buy any more of those types.

/And as expected he ate any feather dusters I had. But one thing I didn't expect is he loves to mess with my snails. The conchs used to be very active during the day but now they only come out at night with the rest of the snails.

nicknec · Jul 9, 2018

I have had my copperband for about two years. In the first few months he decimated a large Bowerbanki, a couple of Acan colonies, a Trach, and a Welso. He is in a tanks with some aggressive eating gangs and now competes very well for food, even eating out of my hand. I just decently added my first Acan colony after the initial decimation and after a.month or so he has shown no interest in it. I also have a couple of large Blasto colonies and Trachs he now ignores. My guess is now that he competes so well he no longer has the interest in those corals. He does nip at my Acanthophillia from time to time though.

That said, he is one of my favorite fish. I feel privileged to have such a healthy and aggressive eater, so I am willing to take the risk knowing one day he may turn back to his old ways.