Copper Banded Butterfly...not visibly eating

naesco · #1 09-15-2009, 06:20 PM

What you are experiencing is what most reefers who try to keep this difficult fish experience. I hope it won't but if it is not eating it will starve to death.
It is searching for food it is used to finding in the sea but is not available in your tank.
Try soaking a variety of food in garlic extreme as it acts as an appetite enhancer.

You are far better off buying peppermint shrimp to deal with aiptasia Just make sure that acclimate the shrimp for at least one hour using the drip method and turn the lights off before you add it to your tank.

subman · #2 09-15-2009, 09:46 PM

Mine would also only eat PE mysis as well.

kooky · #3 09-15-2009, 10:25 PM

I've had luck with all my copperbands. I start feeding them live black worms and they love because of the sworming motion of the worms when they hit the water. After a few weeks of this, i slowly switch to fozen which seem to work. Try it and see what happens.

good luck

JPotter · #4 09-16-2009, 02:01 AM

I have tried the PE mysis which apparently they ate at the store. I will try anything I can get. Where do I get live black worms?

JPotter · #5 09-16-2009, 02:02 AM

PS..I did buy 10 peppermint shrimp...slowly drip acclimated. I saw them around for a few weeks..aptaisia stayed and shrimp seem to have disappeared although I have seen no bodies or parts thereof.

JPotter · #6 09-16-2009, 02:20 AM

Are live black worms marketed under any other name? I have called several LFS in the area and they seem to have no idea what I am asking for. Years ago I had fresh water tanks and would feed live blood worms..are they one in the same?

fkshiu · #7 09-16-2009, 02:20 AM

Get a small clam from the supermarket, crack it open a bit and wedge it in the live rock.

globaldesigns · #8 09-16-2009, 02:28 AM

I to had 2 Copperbands, they ate, but couldn't get them to live longer than a month or so... I also gave up on them.

If you have aptasia, I hear that it is also hit or miss if they even eat them... I would recommend trying Tailored Aquatics Aptasia Destroyer. This is what I use and kills them in one shot, without an impact on the tank. Red Coral (Calgary) has it, and I think it is only $18

kooky · #9 09-16-2009, 02:49 AM

Hi,

Yes, they are the same live black worms that fresh water feeds.

rayjay · #10 09-16-2009, 03:33 PM

As all of my fish are treated with hypo in a quarantine tank, I brought my copperband home and placed it in quarantine, feeding live brine shrimp (wasn't eating at the LFS) until I was sure he was doing well. At this point I introduced frozen brine as well as live and kept doing this but once he started eating frozen I gradually weened him off the live.
After the 7 weeks in hypo treatment, I added him to one of my reef tanks at night after lights out, and moved a couple of rocks around to confuse the powder blue a bit.
Haven't had any problem since, and no aptaisia in that tank either.
My other tanks had no room for an extra fish like a CB, so I nuked the aptaisia with hydrochloric acid in a hypodermic needle.
I've been a lot of years now with no sign of any of them.
I tried pep. shrimp but they wouldn't touch anything but the very small ones.