Copperband Butterfly: questions before I get one
 

I am considering a Copperband Butterfly for my 120g mixed reef.

I have read that (A) they are delicate and (B) they may gobble up zoanthids, soft corals, clams etc. On the other hand I have heard of some Copperbands that leave corals mostly alone.

Corals in the tank include many LPS including bubble, octobubble, frogspawn, torch, trumpet, sun coral, also starting a few SPS, also softies including colt, ricordia, xenia, mushrooms, GSP, YSP, clove polyps, zoanthids etc. Also a nice RBTA, and two feather duster tube worms. In addition I want to get a Derasa clam soon.

Fish include Yellow Tang, Hippo Tang, two ocellaris clowns, spotted mandarin, and a Royal Gramma. There are also two Coral Banded Shrimp, and various snails and hitchiker crabs.

So the questions are:

(1) How many people have kept a CBB for more than 2 years?

(2) Besides the feather duster worms (I know I have to remove them first), which of my other corals etc will be safe with a CBB, and which will most likely be eaten?

IMO the CBB is the most beautiful fish there is, however I will not get one if it will destroy the rest of the tank, particularly the RBTA.

if you've heard the rumour that yellow tangs take after cbbs, it was true in my case..stressed the little bugger out until he quit eating...mind you I only had him two weeks, but he ate until about 2 days before his death. My koran angel chased him around too :(

my clown took after him a few times too as he liked eying down the rbta.

My copperband lived for about 4 months. He ate all my aiptasia and all my featherdusters. After he had eaten all of those, he slowly starved to death. :sad:

He refused to eat any food that I would offer including frozen mysis or flakes.

Jim

I seriously considered a CBB for my 120g and oogled them everytime I was at the lfs, but decided against it. They grow too large, imo, to be kept in a 120g and we have no more room in the condo for a larger tank when the fish outgrows the 120g.

Well I guess the consensus is... No Copperband Butterly.

I thought that's what the answers would be but I wanted it so badly.

Get a small one then keep trading them. www.sjwilson.net/reef kept one in her tank for over a year had zoos GSP clams SPS LPS dusters didnt bother a thing. Now it is in her 300 gallon but i think you could keep one. Research how they act in the wild maybe they are a territory animal and not big swimmers.

No Ryan I think I will take the advice of people who have tried a CBB before me.

mines great he takes care of any glass anemonies and also any little featherdusters and fishermen worms . it took about 3 days to get him on mysis and now bloodworms using kent garlic on the food . does not bug my clam , zoos , or any outher corals in my tank . he will go and pick at stuff under the cover of my zoos but never toches them .[/img]

How long have you had him?

I have a CBB in my 90 and just love it! :biggrin:

It didn't eat for the first couple of weeks and had to be taught what was food, but now it eats out of my hand every day!

My hand goes in the tank for anything.......and the CBB is the first one there. :biggrin:

Mine won't eat flake or cyclopeeze unless it takes it right out of my hand, but will eat mysis like there's no tomorrow.

There was a fair amount of tension between it and the Yellow tang for the first week or so and that is non existent now.

The CBB has been in my tank for 3 months now and hasn't touched a single coral, zoa, bta, crustation or fish.(Knocks on wood. *knock knock*)

Keep in mind clams would not be a good idea with a CBB in the tank! I know this because clams where the tool I used to get it eating. First you start off by letting it pick at the smashed clam, then letting pick at a split open clam, and if it does that it will eat whatever food you place in the empty clam shell. There! You've taught it to eat the food you feed the rest of your fish. :mrgreen: