Tankmates for a Copperbanded Butterfly

[rocketlily]

I'm planning a fish list and I'm thinking of adding a Copperbanded Butterfly to help with Apitasia control. Just wondering what other fish do well with this one as tankmates.

[dsaundry]

6 line wrasse, Lawnmower Blenny, Coral Beauty, Goby+pistol shrimp combo,
Orchid Dottyback, Golden Dwarf Moray eel,
I think any or all of the above would be fine depending on how much live rock and size of your tank

[Myka]

Be aware that Copperband Butterflies often die of starvation. Some will eat, many will not. It's very hit or miss with them.

[dreef]

Mine ate,it liked all frozen food....didn't matter,i peeled it of the vortech this morning :( The anemone had breakfast

[Myka]

They are also prone to parasitic infections (internal or external)...maybe that is what yours died of dreef...? How long did you have it for?

[fishoholic]

I have my CBB with tangs, angels, clowns, gobies, chromis and a wrasse. Everyone gets along fine.

[marie]

I not only have mine with a tang, an angel, and a foxface but he went in last and had to put up with some bad hazing which he put up with with considerable aplomb

[whatcaneyedo]

I've got one with a volitan lionfish, snowflake moray eel, tomatoe clownfish and purple tang.

So you're planning a fish list and you want it for aptasia control? Am I understanding this right, you have aptasia already and you dont even have fish yet? Or you're planning on having aptaisa? Sounds pretty crazy to me either way. Why not get rid of it before adding fish by using peppermint shrimp or just do a very good job of quarantining everything you buy so that you dont have to deal with aptasia in the first place.

I've been fighting with aptasia for 4 years. The only perfect solution is to stop aptasia from ever establishing itself in your tank by quarantining.

[TRS]

I'm planning a fish list and I'm thinking of adding a Copperbanded Butterfly to help with Apitasia control. Just wondering what other fish do well with this one as tankmates.

Here is a compatability chart that might help you:

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=16&cat=1830&articleid=2605

[Delphinus]

My experience is the same as Marie's, except the tankmates are a potter's angel, sixline wrasse, flame hawk, and desjardini tang.

The tang was right annoyed at the butterfly and I was real nervous that the CBB would have to be removed from the tank. However the "hazing" lasted about only 2-3 weeks, he lived through it and now everyone gets along.

(I had to aquascape the rocks to give him plenty of hiding spots that he could go to when chased, that the tang could not follow him in. A challenge for sure, but I think it did help get past this hazing period.)

-Incredibly- fussy eater though. Luckily eats aiptasia, luckily eats mysis, luckily eats other shellfish (mussels, oysters, whatever from the grocery store). Unluckily, will not eat any kind of other food I offer, flakes, pellets, frozen - you name it - if it's not mysis and if it's not brine shrimp (which is nutrionally void anyhow), then he won't eat it. And, unluckily, did develop a taste for yellow polyps (should have seen that one coming), and did develop a taste for dendrophyllia, and did develop a taste for blastomussa.

So .... tread carefully I guess my only advice.

I not only have mine with a tang, an angel, and a foxface but he went in last and had to put up with some bad hazing which he put up with with considerable aplomb

[rocketlily]

I've got one with a volitan lionfish, snowflake moray eel, tomatoe clownfish and purple tang.

So you're planning a fish list and you want it for aptasia control? Am I understanding this right, you have aptasia already and you dont even have fish yet? Or you're planning on having aptaisa? Sounds pretty crazy to me either way. Why not get rid of it before adding fish by using peppermint shrimp or just do a very good job of quarantining everything you buy so that you dont have to deal with aptasia in the first place.

I've been fighting with aptasia for 4 years. The only perfect solution is to stop aptasia from ever establishing itself in your tank by quarantining.

Sometimes, no matter how hard we try to quarantine and keep things under control, aptasia will sneak in and appear in little nooks and cranies where you cannot reach them. Of course I am planning on having aptaisa. Not something I want, but I know it will happen.

As far as fish go, right now I have a little yellow-tailed blue damsel that I will catch when I am transferring stock from the 50 gal to the 90 gal. Not much sense in stressing him out for the sake of rushing fish. I don't really want to make alot of mistakes that are preventable, so I like to plan for the future.

[Chaloupa]

Mine is with 1 Coris Wrasse, pair of Gold Stripe Maroon clowns, Golden Dwarf Moray Eel, and a spotted Hawkfish....there are also 7 Bubble Tip Anemones, a few LPS, softies and paly's.....very very picky eating only shellfish from the local seafood shop..won't touch ANY frozen/flake/pellets AT ALL! But does eat Aiptasia

[marie]

My copperband would really like to eat flake and pellets because he sees the angel and the foxface go nuts over them but he just can't get past the fact he considers them inedible :lol:

[Delphinus]

That's a really good description. I've managed to "trick" mine into sampling flake by mixing a little flake into a lot of mysis, but he realizes his mistake every time. "Ptoo! Ptoo! Yuck, that wasn't food! What is wrong with you guys!!!"

[JDigital]

Mine is currently in with a angel that is hazing him pretty good, a cleaner wrasse, a royal gramma (that was in with him in the established tank I bought them from) and a clown goby... He eats mysis, and picks at the rocks, but must not be picking at aiptasia as I don't have any in my nano..

He has become my favorite fish out of the group. VERY active after lights out.. :smile:

[yeeg]

Mine is currently in with a angel that is hazing him pretty good, a cleaner wrasse, a royal gramma (that was in with him in the established tank I bought them from) and a clown goby... He eats mysis, and picks at the rocks, but must not be picking at aiptasia as I don't have any in my nano..

He has become my favorite fish out of the group. VERY active after lights out.. :smile:
Hey man, what you do in your private time at home after the lights are out is your business...:lol: