Copperband question
 

So Im considering getting a copper band butterfly fish for my tank. I have done lots of reading and from what I gather it is 50/50 if they are reef safe? Im mostly concerned about scollies and clams. I asked them to feed it at the lfs and it was munching mysis and looked healthy. Is this a good or bad idea? Feedback would be appreciated.

I do have copper band in my tank for over year now. He eats mysis only and doesn't touch any other frozen food. He does great job eating aptasia. As a side effects he ate all feather dusters and spaghetti worms, he also destroyed my acan collection and I think he killed elegance coral and couple of blastos. But now it looks like he stopped to eat corals, I have few acans in the same tank and looks like he doesn't touch them anymore. It still cool looking fish though.

It's just my experience and I think each fish has his own preferences and you can get non reef safe fish. I keep him only to control aptasia and if you don't have same problem I wouldn't recommend it.

I haven't come across any issues with copper bands aside from actually getting them to eat prepared foods and trying to "train" them to go after aptasia. I don't have any personal or anecdotal accounts of copper bands being coral munchers/nippers.

It's a tough call with most "reef safe with caution" fish. Each fish has their own personality.

Do you feed your scolymia? If you are placing pellets or meaty foods on the coral....you may inadvertently "train" your fish that the coral is a food source.

I'd be inclined to try the copper band from my own experiences. Good luck.

Awesome thanks for all the advice guys. I have quite an extensive blasto and acan collection now so that definitely makes me a little nervous. As well, I do feed my scolly, and that is a very good point. Hmm sounds like maybe a 35$ fish isn't worth the risk. It is pretty small though, id say about 2". I suppose I could add it and just keep a very close eye on it.

Go with your instinct and rationale. $35 fish vs. $$$ LPS collection that's taken time to accumulate.

The size of the copperband is tempting though. On another note: I had a model citizen of a 6 line wrasse for over 2 years. One day.....like a light switch; it turned.....into a bastard.

Have a fish trap ready just in case. Good luck.

I've had one for several years and I had to remove several coral and all of my clams. My experience seems to be pretty typical but you will find the occasional exceptions. There are dozens of CBB threads on here asking the same and similar questions.

More like 5:95. 50:50 sounds like the ratio of someone who's including feather dusters and Aiptasia in their evaluation of reef-safe.

Well i decided to give it a try. Iv already watched him eat some aptasia and some feather dusters. But he has ahown no interest in any of my corals. My fingers are crossed. Ill be watching like a hawk for the next little while

http://i936.photobucket.com/albums/a...psuohuxiup.jpg

Nice Butterfly.....sexier Scoly ;) Good luck.

Haha, thanks I appreciate that. Im hoping I luck out and got a good one. Only time will tell but if i notice even one thing getting picked at he's gone. I will post updates to let you guys know how it goes.

It's more 50/50 it will live. Google that.

A chunk if people have had great luck. But a huge amount of these fish die in months.

Seriously reconsider this purchase. Reef safe is the least of your worries.

All of them eat and appear healthy. Only to mysteriously die.

Search threads even on Canreef. Very common.

I suspect if you buy the fish... You will start a much different thread shortly after.

Sexier scolly for now.... :)
But yes please keep us updated. I want one myself !

Sent from my SGH-I317M using Tapatalk

This man speaks truth. One of the most frustrating and heartbreaking fish commonly available.

Mine did not hurt anything in my tank killed all aptasia ate mysis but did die after about 1.5 years for no reason I bought it off another reefer it lived amongst 10+ clams.

I'm fairly new to the forum (kind of). So I do believe the proper terminology or question to the original OP's inquiry is:

"Let's have a poll?" .......... I'm kidding.....Or am I?.......

For those of you that had a cbb and had corals nipped at or eaten, how long did it take before the fish started showing signs of interest or eating things you didn't want it to? So far mine is doing great, and hasn't shown any interest in my corals. But will that change over time?

I had a CBB for almost 2 years. Was basically useless against aiptasia, but didn't eat corals. Sure liked clams, though.

My Pearlescales, on the other hand, were great at eating aiptasia, and also don't bother my corals. And not finicky eaters like CBBs.

I sure hope he doesn't get a taste for clams. But so far iv fed him mysis, squid, and brine shrimp and he has eaten every kind. also picking at the rocks like crazy. What surprises me the most about him is he is the one picking on my sail fin tang. I figured it would have been the other way around. But so far eating is definitely not this guys issue. For now anyways.

Is soon as he got short on aptasia and feather dusters. I hope yours is 100% reef safe.

My CBB
 

I've had a CBB for over a year now. I have a tank full of corals, bothe LPS and SPS. After he decimated all the aptaisia and feather dusters my CBB only eats frozen. I have not seen him pick at any corals. I should mention I don't have any clams.

Bottom line: he's still my favourite fish!

The first two years of owning my CBB I only fed it mysis once a day. The first year was okay but by the end of year two I was having problems. After it ate all of the feather dusters, spaghetti worms and aptasia in the tank it began to go after LPS coral one at a time and then the clams. I removed everything that it touched and began feeding 3 times a day. There are only a few types of LPS that I can keep with it now but considering that I've had the fish for over 5 years I guess thats okay. At some point more recently it also took a liking to eating bristle worms.

Interesting; I feed mine 2-3 times per day and he doesn't touch any corals...

Keep an eye on it over time. You've only had it for a bit more than a year? Mine was a model citizen during that honeymoon period too.