CopperBand Butterfly

[spade]

my newly acquired copperband

rumor want one??

It's still not eating, i tried brine shrimp/flake/blood worm. anyway, it's poking at the LR for worms will c how, anybody got any ideas to feed??

[spade]

another shot

[spade]

last one

[yazid]

The one that I got join the feeding frenzy just like the other inhabitants in the tank (yellow tang, hippo, damsel, maroon, bicolor..etc).

I was surprised as this is the only copperband butterfly that I have come across that do that. The ones that I got previously starved to death.

I heard that Copperband that comes from Phillipines are not fussy eaters but those come from local waters are fussy.

Good luck. I hope it starts eating.

[Fishfreak]

Yes, good luck. You may want to do some research first before buying any butterfly (even for a FOWLR tank). Butterflies are generally hard to care for and most simply starve to death.

IMO, the only 'butterfly' that will survive in our home tank is the bannerfish - but even then only if you have a sizeable tank because this fish needs lots of space. My bannerfish takes mysis, brine and lettuce.

But, pls do not mistaje the bannerfish for the moorish idol - the moorish idol should be left in the wild.

[KingFish]

my newly acquired copperband 

rumor want one?? 

Woohoo... Beeeauuuutiiful.......

Saw one myself, but stave off the urge .... gr....rrrrr <_<

Till you get her to feed, your worms will be decimated .... bad news for worm lovers like Tango....

[spade]

praying day and night, working or sleeping for it to start eating ...

[piero]

I think U can buy a sponge, it will finish it in no time.... I had a few butterflies in the past, sold it cos they were nibbling on my corals.

[souphamster]

copperband are cheap in the market, i think its rather commonly found in the marine sea. Tempted to buy, but LFS told me that they like to nibble n kill corals.. so i dun want to risk the chance till next time if i have a FOWLR tank.

[jason]

I though all butterflies will eat coral, please correct me ......

I am also interested in butterflies if they do not eat coral and clam

[spade]

This article is to inform you about a fish that you may need to advoid, because they are quite delicate. The Copperband Buttefly has an incredible look to it though, and although it may occasionally nip at Open Brain Corals if it is starving, it is generally reef safe and will eat pest anemones (Aipstia), and Bristleworms in the aquarium.

It is estimated that 35% starve to death (due to not quarenting and not giving it the right food) and another 20% die within 3 months. That's over half of them.

Besides not quarenting them, another reason they don't live and die unexplicable deaths is because of their unique diet. They need a whole lot of protein. Mysid shrimp should be offered as opposed to Brine. Possibly frozen squid. Clam meat, maybe scallops, and mussels should be offered along with the standard flakes and lettuce. Black Worms could possibly be another suitable food. Where their imported from and how they're caught does make a big difference, however this pretty fish needs specific dietary conditions in order to survive for the long term, and Brine Shrimp as the only source of food just does not cut it.

Getting them to accept food in captivity can be quite challenging. Quarentine them in a 10-20 gallon tank, 20 is better, and leave an open mussel in the aquarium for the fish to naturally pick at. When the inside of the Mussell is gone, begin placing other foods into the open Mussell, and eventually you can coax it onto just about any food

info quoted from mark26

[Fishfreak]

Jason, there is a specie of bannerfish (accepted as belonging to the butterfly family) that is reef-safe. Check out www.wetwebmedia.com...

If I recall correctly, it is from the red sea and is known commonly as the Schooling Bannerfish (difficult to differentiate) . I bought a bannerfish but, considering its price, it won't be from the red sea but indonesia - in which case it is not reef safe.

This bannerfish is in my 85G FOWLR and feeds on mysis, brine and lettuce/nori readily. If flakes are small enough, it will take a little too. My FOWLR LR has lots of colonial polyps. I also have two small piece of rocks with propagated shrooms and green stars. So far, I have not seen this bannerfish disturbing them.

Its a beautiful fish especially when it swims - but you do need to provide a large tank for it to swim!

[bawater]

spade, this may or may not work.

Get a pack of live bloodworms & feed one teaspoon near the copperband, the wriggling should get its attention. If it eats then u can add more, after this it should take to frozen bloodworms.

U can also try it with live adult brine shrimp but i find almost all fishes will dash for live Bloodworms.

They not very clean but most of the time it works as a starter for feeding.

i had one which starved for 2 days then ate frozen bloodworms,then frozen brineshrimp, then frozen mysis.i was getting attached to it when it got shredded by my yellow tang a few weeks later.

[spade]

spade, this may or may not work.

Get a pack of live bloodworms & feed one teaspoon near the copperband, the wriggling should get its attention. If it eats then u can add more, after this it should take to frozen bloodworms.

U can also try it with live adult brine shrimp but i find almost all fishes will dash for live Bloodworms.

They not very clean but most of the time it works as a starter for feeding.

i had one which starved for 2 days then ate frozen bloodworms,then frozen brineshrimp, then frozen mysis.i was getting attached to it when it got shredded by my yellow tang a few weeks later.

bawater,

thanks. will try that

[jason]

Fishfreak, Thanks for your info, I will check it out..

[UFO]

Spade,

How's yr CBB now, eating??? I heard CBB mostly eat live food only. I tried twice & both starved to death. Saw Pet Mart selling live Brines Shrimps 2 weeks ago....not sure how clean though. why don't u try breeding some brine shrimps yourself, safer that way. The rest of yr fish will benefits too.

[spade]

UFO

i'm on solidatory confinement, i only get to c my fish/coral once a week this is a treatment for my sickness

anyway, i gonna try bawater method over this weekend and hope it work as i'm not with the tank, so is rather troublesome for me to breed brine shrimp. even i want to i dunno how to ...

the fish is still alive eating something off my rocks pray that it will eat frozen food soooon ...

[UFO]

Spade,

I think I'm getting the sickness too. Have the follow symptoms:

3 - almost & soon. My wife said if my symptom no.6 continues

4,6,7,8,9 & 10

Actually, I have symptom 11 - U dream of yr fish instead of yr spouse/bf/gf

Never knew live bloodworm can be fed to Marine fish. Always thought it's freshwater fish food. Let me know if it works

[etan]

Spade

unfortunate that your cbb would not eat as they such r beautiful creatures! I bought mine from Marinelife n i think i m lucky because its start feeding immediately. Its seen to be crazy over frozen bloodworms! I suggest u may try live some tublifex worms first to get it to start eating, but make sure u wash them clean. Mine takes both but not brine shrimp. It also don't distube my mushroom, was told they r reef safe by the young guy at ML.

Now I face a problem cause my newly bought one spot butterfly wouldn't eat, anyone any suggestion?