Copperbands not for me

[sully08]

I guess I should listen and leave this fish to the reef pros. Tried to put one in my 8 month old tank and it died about 7 days into quarentine. Couple months later I tried another one and quarentined it for 2 weeks. He ate Mysis, looked really good, no signs of disease. I put him in my D.T and he was dead in 2 days, no idea why. I heard they were really hard to keep. Anyone had similar problems like this? All tank water tests were good.

[Reef Pilot]

What other fish do you have in your DT?

[Raven34]

Counting the ones lost at the lfs and in our tanks bet ya five out of a hundred make it to 3 years. 8 months or even a year is nothing to be proud about. I tried a couple and lost them dont feel bad. Expert fish to say the least and mostly a ocean fish.

[toytech]

Im in the same boat , had one it ate , and then it died in a few hours one day after having it for a few weeks. Ive got another small one in qt and hes yet to start eating well but hes starting to come around.

[intarsiabox]

I had one years ago, he was murdered (stabbed) by a yellow tang.:sad:

[Spiny]

same experience here. I had one for more than 6 months eating prepared food, and then one day he was nowhere to be found. As much as I love these fishes, they're best left in the ocean

[mike31154]

I purchased one as a newb as well. Watched him starve slowly. Sad. No idea why these are even for sale any more. Sure there are a few that make it, but the ratio is so insane, it's just not right.

[Mrfish55]

Not that I'm any expert but that is the one fish that won't survive past 6 months for me, and I think I provide pretty decent accommodations for them, I finally gave up, I'll go visit Marie's or Lances once a year to get my fix.

[Reef Pilot]

Sad to hear about the deaths. I have had three Copperbands now, and none have died on me. Currently I just have one, and he is happy as can be in my 100g with the other fish. He is just over a year old now.

The secret, I think, is quarantine for a long time (at least 2 months), and get them feeding well on a variety of foods. I got mine trained over to dry foods, and that's mostly all my current one eats right now. Still won't eat pellet or flake food, but loves his freeze dried Mysis and Plankton foods.

Yellow Tangs are especially nasty to new fish, and that was the toughest hurdle mine had to overcome when put in the display tank. But by strengthening him on food while in quarantine, he met the challenge quite well, and adapted quickly to the big tank and his new mates.

I have a few other butterflys in the same tank, and I think they seem to give each other some comfort, and he lost his timidity pretty fast with them around.

The Copperband is definitely my favorite fish.

[intarsiabox]

Yellow Tangs are especially nasty to new fish, and that was the toughest hurdle mine had to overcome when put in the display tank. But by strengthening him on food while in quarantine, he met the challenge quite well, and adapted quickly to the big tank and his new mates.
.

You're yellow tang must not have been as ambitious as mine. Within 5 minutes of being introduced into the DT my copper band had over a dozen stab wounds from the tang and was dead before I could get him out. I guess they're called surgeonfish for a reason. That was the last yellow tang I ever or will ever own.

[Parker]

I picked one up recently, lasted a day. I was pretty bummed about it dieing, never mind the cost.

[Reef Pilot]

You're yellow tang must not have been as ambitious as mine. Within 5 minutes of being introduced into the DT my copper band had over a dozen stab wounds from the tang and was dead before I could get him out. I guess they're called surgeonfish for a reason. That was the last yellow tang I ever or will ever own.
Oh, he tried... But my Copperband was too quick for him. He was very good with split second 180's and the tang could never corner him. Also, I pasted up pics of yellow tangs on the tank where the Copperband hung out, and that confused him too.

The Copperband learned pretty quick to avoid him, and after a few days, the tang slowly settled down, and just a few token lunges now and then. But the whole time, he never did touch the Copperband.

Now they are all a happy family..., most of the time.

[reefgirl189]

Copperbands are my favorite reef fish and we're planning on adding one eventually.

Having great LR with hundreds of feather duster worms and countless copepods probably doesn't guarantee success with them but I *hope* it might give us an edge.

I wish they were more hardy because they are just so beautiful to watch, how could you not want one? I think the key is to only buy one that the LFS can proove eats a variety of food. Easier said than done of course.

[Wayne]

Copperbands are my favorite reef fish and we're planning on adding one eventually.

Having great LR with hundreds of feather duster worms and countless copepods probably doesn't guarantee success with them but I *hope* it might give us an edge.

I wish they were more hardy because they are just so beautiful to watch, how could you not want one? I think the key is to only buy one that the LFS can proove eats a variety of food. Easier said than done of course.

Honestly I would think twice and if you still want one think twice more. I had one that ate anything meaty for over a month without sign of decline. Then one day he was swimming around and got stuck to a power head. The next day he was gone. Mine never ate any feather dusters or aptasia only a variety of frozen foods. He was fat when he up an died... RIP Gus :sad:

[Lance]

Not that I'm any expert but that is the one fish that won't survive past 6 months for me, and I think I provide pretty decent accommodations for them, I finally gave up, I'll go visit Marie's or Lances once a year to get my fix.


Yeah, I guess I've been pretty lucky with mine. Bought it off a fellow member 2 1/2 years ago. Wouldn't eat anything but shellfish meat. I fed it clams and mussels for the first 6 months I had it. To make sure it was getting enough food I drilled 1/4 inch holes in a small plastic box and put the clam inside. The other fish couldn't get their noses in the holes. Then one day out of the blue it tried some mysis and now eats pretty much any frozen meaty foods. It has also erradicated the tank of all aiptasia and dusters. If only it would develop a liking for majanos.

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Copperbands were on my "no more" list as well. I once target fed mysis to aiptasia in my 120g just to get it ready for a Copperband. Had lots of those pests on the rock and then I bought one that was eating some mysis from the LFS. It polished off all the aiptasia in 2 days, and died on the third.

I only changed my mind because it is Irene's favourite fish and Paul at Oceanic posted one for sale that was eating mysis AND NLS pellets at his store. Bought that one right away. It is now doing great (knock on wood) and I make sure I target feed it some PE mysis every day just in case.

Anthony

[daniella3d]

I think the problem is food. Some people say he ate mysis...but how much and what type of mysis?? because when I got mine it was as skinny as they get and he was eating only PE mysis. The problem is they need A LOT of rich food, not just a few mysis here and there. I saved mine with live white worms enriched with Selcon and been feeding this almost exclusively for a year now.

I put it in quarantine when I first got him, did a treatment of prazipro because he had flukes and internal worms. Once that cleared up he got fat and happy eating white worms.

Now he eats a bit of mysis, of course live white worms, and on occasion some fresh mussels. I don't have any aggressive fish in my tank and anyone having aggressive tang, especially a yellow, should not get any copperband. They need a peacefull environment to thrive and that is an absolute must. They don't thrive on eating aiptasia either. Mine won't touch them at all. I guess the reason you often read "my copperband ate all the aiptasia and then died" is maybe because this is not a proper diet for them at all...might be even poison.

I am glad mine don't eat the aiptasia. He's my favorite fish and the king of the aquarium. I also have a niger trigger but he stay hidden all day and only come out at feeding time and he's not one bit aggressive. I got a foxface once and had to sell it because he was stressing the copperband. Copperbands also need good spots to hide from the light because they can't stand strong light and that stress them a lot. Before I got the copperband I got a yellow tang and that bastard sliced my poor male mandarin to death...never again will I have a yellow tang. I simply hate them.

[wickedfrags]

No argument, they are not an easy fish to keep alive long term. Notoriously picky eaters, and do not do well in a competitive feeding environment...assuming they ever do accept prepared foods (which they can do, but not always).

I was fortunate to have one for almost 4 years and it ate every aptiasia in my 270G tank.............I added a mandarin goby, the copperband was dead in a week as the mandarin depleted the pod population...

I would suggest not even attempting one unless you have a mature 120G+ system, no other competition for pods, and ideally a low bio-load of non-competitive fish for it.

No need to give up on this fish (unlike some other beautiful fish....purple queen anthias are one), but definitely proceed with caution.


I guess I should listen and leave this fish to the reef pros. Tried to put one in my 8 month old tank and it died about 7 days into quarentine. Couple months later I tried another one and quarentined it for 2 weeks. He ate Mysis, looked really good, no signs of disease. I put him in my D.T and he was dead in 2 days, no idea why. I heard they were really hard to keep. Anyone had similar problems like this? All tank water tests were good.

[Tracey2]

My copperband eats pe mysis, scallops, live blackworms, plankton, and Sally's angel and butterfly food, I have had her for about 18 months, I wouldn't say shes fat but she is healthy looking. I keep hearing about aggressive yellow tangs but mine is a sweetheart, I recently added 2 other tangs to her tank and she backed down to a much smalled powder blue, she is the wimp in my tank, I think they are all individuals. My regal angels don't like my copperband at all and the copperband did go off her food for a day once after being bullied by them.

[whatcaneyedo]

I tried two that died after about a week when I had smaller tanks, a 33gal and a 50gal. Each of them was eating frequently and looked well right up until the moment that they died. My third CBB is over 3 years old in my 120gal (240gal system) and eats a wide variety of naturally occurring foods as well as mysis and grocery store clam up to 3 times a day. So I second Greg's recommendation for a large mature system without competing fish.

[Gripenfelter]

I use an introduction tank inside my DT.

I couldn't keep a blue throat trigger at all. Quarantine them but as soon as they went into the display they died within a week. Stress of being around other fish and being picked on.

So I bought a reptile tank, cut slots into it, and put it inside the DT. Fed the new fish in the introduction tank and let the other fish get used to him. So far 100% success rate with 3 fishes including a Powder Brown that my Yellow Tang usually hates.

http://i329.photobucket.com/albums/l375/Grip_Singh/0e8a90d3.jpg

http://i329.photobucket.com/albums/l375/Grip_Singh/c8f7ed9b.jpg

[marie]

Yeah, I guess I've been pretty lucky with mine. Bought it off a fellow member 2 1/2 years ago. Wouldn't eat anything but shellfish meat. I fed it clams and mussels for the first 6 months I had it. To make sure it was getting enough food I drilled 1/4 inch holes in a small plastic box and put the clam inside. The other fish couldn't get their noses in the holes. Then one day out of the blue it tried some mysis and now eats pretty much any frozen meaty foods. It has also erradicated the tank of all aiptasia and dusters. If only it would develop a liking for majanos.


I guess I got lucky with mine to, I got it from ocean aquatics 4 yrs ago and it spent 2 months in quarantine before being tossed to the wolves in the display. It is probably the most aggressive feeder in my tank, he literally shoves his nose inside the turkey baster to get the mysis before anyone else and there are 2 fat mandarins in my tank as well.....

[naesco]

Tried some time ago and would not ever consider trying again.

In my opinion this fish is best left in the ocean and never imported by LFS.

The statistics are too horrific.

And thats OP for your posting.

[paddyob]

I cant recall... But what happened to the first two?

Did you not take one back as it was very Ill or thinning?

Sad to hear about the deaths. I have had three Copperbands now, and none have died on me. Currently I just have one, and he is happy as can be in my 100g with the other fish. He is just over a year old now.

The secret, I think, is quarantine for a long time (at least 2 months), and get them feeding well on a variety of foods. I got mine trained over to dry foods, and that's mostly all my current one eats right now. Still won't eat pellet or flake food, but loves his freeze dried Mysis and Plankton foods.

Yellow Tangs are especially nasty to new fish, and that was the toughest hurdle mine had to overcome when put in the display tank. But by strengthening him on food while in quarantine, he met the challenge quite well, and adapted quickly to the big tank and his new mates.

I have a few other butterflys in the same tank, and I think they seem to give each other some comfort, and he lost his timidity pretty fast with them around.

The Copperband is definitely my favorite fish.

[Reef Pilot]

I cant recall... But what happened to the first two?

Did you not take one back as it was very Ill or thinning?

Yes, I returned the first one to the LFS after 2 months, because I couldn't get him to eat, and he was getting pretty thin. I made the mistake of throwing him in the display tank right away (didn't have a QT then), and because of the other aggressive tank mates, I was not able to get any food to him before the others gobbled it all up. I had a mature tank, so he obviously was getting some food in the live rock, pods, small aiptasia, I guess, or whatever critters he could find. He would actively hunt after the tank lights went out (and room lights still on), and early morning before the tank light came on. But he was gradually losing weight.

That's why I am such as strong advocate of quarantining them first, not just for disease prevention, but to get them feeding and build up their strength before going into the display tank. I'm sure I could have got that first one feeding and healthy if I had a QT.

So a few months later, I set up a proper QT tank, and refugium, and tried again with 2 Copperbands this time. But unlike my Pearlscale Butterflys (which I also have), Copperbands don't get along well in the same tank. I did however get them both feeding well, and kept them apart with an eggcrate divider. So I sold one, and moved the other one to my display tank, and he is still doing great. Here is an old You-tube of them in the QT, when I was converting them over to dry food. You've probably seen it before.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fQjAZjafxM

[rickcasa]

I'm amazed reef pilot!! Great video! I will try this on my newest one. CBs are my favourite fish too and I also wanted multiples in my reef tank but it's not gonna happen. I've never seen my docile CB turn into such a brute as when I introduced the 2nd one.