Sigh...I have seen this look before
 

I swore this was the LAST try and was really hoping it would work out but I am not so sure now. I have noticed my "newish" Copperband acting kind of lethargic. Maybe lethargic is not the best description. Maybe "brain dead" is better. LOL. He looks incredibly healthy and until two days ago acted normal. He started getting less active and hangs in corners a lot now. Kind of stares blankly at rocks.

I have seen this almost every time I have tried a Copperband and with their track record for being cyanide caught, I am not surprised. I spoke to someone who is a collector in the Philippines (on RC) the other day and he confirmed that the amount of cyanide caught fish from that part of the world is much, much more than we think. So makes sense. I have also seen the aftermath of cyanide collecting there first hand...but that wasn't the point of this thread :)

Hate to see such a beautiful fish who is eating very aggressively (even pellets!) just suddenly get "that look" again :( If that it is true, then it must be around the 4-6 month period since he was caught since that seems to be about how long cyanide fish last...hope I am wrong though.

i hope so too my copperband is my favorite fish id be so sad if he died suddenly:( i hope hes ok and that hes just being a strange fish for a bit :)

How long have you had him?

Same here, mine acted the same way the day before he died. I had him for 2 or 3 months, but the supplier had him for another 2 months before I did.

Ditto here as well:sad:

Sorry to hear that, I hope he pulls through.

This is weird.......I fed my copperband last night, he was eating and has been for the last 3-4 months. Very healthy looking. This morning i woke up, and he's struggling, and stuck to the powerhead. poor thing. This is my second attempt at a copperband. This one was doing fine. Then all of a sudden. Darn.

I figured there would be a lot of similar responses. Its kind of sad how many of these fish are cyanide caught and suddenly die one day once their organs (I believe its the liver) fail.

I have tried four now and will have to stop after this one. It had been a year since I last tried and this batch looked great, so I though why not...now I remember why.

Its not just copperbands unfortunately. I would love to try another imperator angel, but twice I've had the same issue. Its just so unfortunate and so sad.

Sorry to hear that. Yes the problem is certainly not just copperbands. It is often Philippine caught fish in general. Apparently the ones we do get shipped to us here are actually the tougher fish! The ones that can actually survive shipping.

I was told that after being collected, the fish are separated into what will be worth money and able to be shipped to North America, the ones that will make a shorter trip to Europe or other parts if Asia and then the "rejects" who all go to a wholesaler on the island. I am not sure what happens to these "weak" fish.

Wholesalers and stores here in North America really have no idea how the fish were caught overseas and have no way to ever claim they are no cyanide caught. Any store that does is either oblivious to the situation (and believe everything they are told) or lying ;)