Copperband Butterfly

[Reef Pilot]

Originally Posted by naesco

The reality is this is an extremely difficult, as pointed out by other posters. but not impossible fish to keep.
It simply dies without any apparent reason just as the OPs did and IMO should not be available in stores for sale.
It should be available to reefers who order them in. That way fish loss will be much much lower for this species.
It follows than that it should not be recommended for dealing with aiptasia problems when there are other critters and methods available that do not sacrifice a fish.

I also agree with the comments that the very few who are presently having success keeping them have an obligation to post their failures with the species to provide reefers with a balanced view.

Naesco, have you ever kept a Copperband? If so, what was your experience?

[paddyob]

Originally Posted by Reef Pilot

Naesco, have you ever kept a Copperband? If so, what was your experience?

+1.

[marie]

My sole experience appears to be atypical, I bought my copperband 4 yrs ago online with no promise it was eating prepared foods (in store only 3 days). After 2 days in quarantine it started eating prepared foods and hasn't looked back since. He is my second favourite fish, with no sign of shyness and is the first at the turkey baster at feeding time

[jorjef]

Originally Posted by marie

My sole experience appears to be atypical, I bought my copperband 4 yrs ago online with no promise it was eating prepared foods (in store only 3 days). After 2 days in quarantine it started eating prepared foods and hasn't looked back since. He is my second favourite fish, with no sign of shyness and is the first at the turkey baster at feeding time

I just bought one about two weeks ago. The fish had just arrived at the store about 4 hours before I got there, was swimming around pecking at the live rock, seemed healthy, not shy at all. They threw in some mysis which semed to confuse him a bit, then he picked up a couple pcs. spit,bite spit bite then he ate a couple of pcs. In the bag he went and is afraid of no one in my tank. I have seem him pull Mysis from my wrasses mouth, he's like a bull in a china shop when feeding. My new favorite fish.

[Proteus]

I decided to try this fish. I will only try once

My Cbb was eating in the lfs and had been there for two weeks. I took home and it was way to shy. Would not come out to feed at all. It was very nocturnal and if I looked at it it would run for the hills. I was told to try mussels. To my suprise when I dropped the mussel in it was on it instantly. Once he figured out I was there to feed him he started to come out every feeding. And now is out during lights on. The fish has improved considerably. One wrasse I have will gaurd mussel and shrimp while the Cbb eats making sure he gets his fill. Though I am suprissed with 4 clams he has never touched one.

[naesco]

Originally Posted by Reef Pilot

Naesco, have you ever kept a Copperband? If so, what was your experience?

Yes I have on at least one occasion possibly two many years ago. I recall that it died within a couple of weeks .

[Reef Pilot]

Originally Posted by naesco

Yes I have on at least one occasion possibly two many years ago. I recall that it died within a couple of weeks .

Did you have it in QT? Did you get it eating, and what food?

[naesco]

Originally Posted by Reef Pilot

Did you have it in QT? Did you get it eating, and what food?

This would have been around 1990, I did not have a QT. It would have been flake food.
I would go to the LFS and take a look at buy anything that appeared interesting. I couldn't blame the LFS guy because I am sure he didn't know anything. How could he. There was no internet, no books other than marine books with pretty pictures but no advice on care.

[Reef Pilot]

Originally Posted by naesco

This would have been around 1990, I did not have a QT. It would have been flake food.
I would go to the LFS and take a look at buy anything that appeared interesting. I couldn't blame the LFS guy because I am sure he didn't know anything. How could he. There was no internet, no books other than marine books with pretty pictures but no advice on care.

OK, well, I think your experience with Copperbands is not really relevant then. This fish does need extra attention at the beginning, and you can't treat it just like any other fish. Worst thing you can do is plop it into the display tank after bringing home from the LFS. If the tank bully doesn't get it, it will still be very difficult to get it feeding properly when it has to compete with other established tank mates. I think a mature tank helps too, as they really like to hunt and peck in the live rock, especially at dawn and dusk.

In the old days, too, maybe more were caught with cyanide..., who knows...

[whatcaneyedo]

Is it a new month already? I guess it must be time for another CBB thread!

I'm ashamed to say that I am on my fourth. The first one I bought within my first year and placed it into an immature 33gal, within a week it cleaned it out then starved to death. The second was big, healthy looking and eating well in my newly setup 120gal but I brought it back because it was trying to eat all of my christmas tree worms (that should have been obvious). After setting up a second tank to protect the worms I purchased a third one which seemed fine and was eating like the others but died suddenly after a week. That seller was known to bring in some questionable stuff like obviously dyed coral so I'm betting it was cyanide caught. The fourth is my current one which I bought in the summer of 2008 has been doing great. I have to feed it three times a day and it eats pretty much everything including many types of coral. When I introduced it I had to remove my purple tang for a week to allow it to settle in but they've been getting along ever since. Unlike the others this one took over a month to start eating frozen foods so I'm certain it would have starved if I had placed it in a smaller less mature tank.

I don't encourage others to try these fish and if my +3 year old should die I wouldn't replace it. I bought mine for aptasia control because I could not use peppermint shrimp and since aptasia eating nudibranches weren't available at the time. Also, at the time there was no mention of tasseled filefish as an option either.