Copperbands Valentine's Day Lovefest - Not

[Reef Pilot]

Daniella, you are very quick to come to conclusions. You don't know anything about me. I do appreciate your concern, though, and I also like Copperbands, not just because they eat aiptasia. But you could be more helpful, if you offered some support instead of just criticism. If I took your posts to heart, I should quit this hobby and accept that I am not worthy of keeping SW fish.

As for my experience, I am new to SW fish, but was big in the FW hobby quite a few years back. I actually was successful at breeding discus, so I know a bit about finicky fish behavior. Having said that, I know SW is much more difficult and I have a lot to learn. The good news is that there is much more info available now with the internet, and forums like this.

Getting back to my Copperbands and the display tank. My approach is different this time than last, so don't think I am repeating the same mistake. I admit this may not work out either, but wanted to try it and see what happens. I learned a long time ago, that a little experimentation leads to new learning, so I don't always accept what all the "experts" say. As I said, I have the option of only keeping 1 Copperband, and am keeping the fish separated, so they can't harm each other.

As for the Yellow Tang, from past experience, he only harasses new fish for a few days, and then leaves them alone. He still occasionally gives a little tail slap towards other fish, just to show he is the boss, but does not chase them. I have tried to catch him in the past, but that is impossible with a net. If he (and the other fish, too) see me coming with a net, he hides in the back and in the rocks and caves. Even when feeding, he will disappear if I have a net in my hand.

Having said that, my intention is to try and catch the Yellow Tang, and put him into the QT tank, when moving the Copperband(s) to the display tank. I am looking for a fish trap right now, and will give that a try when the time comes.

As for fat Copperbands, certainly not yet; I have only had them 3 weeks, but already am seeing their bellies and sides filled out more, so they are definitely gaining. I feed little bits of food about 4 or 5 times a day. I am also being very careful not to pollute the tank, so am monitoring all my water parameters daily.

My first priority was to get them eating, and am very happy to see them accept different foods now, too. I started them on frozen PE Mysis, and agree that is the best. But the freeze dried stuff is also high in protein and has added vitamins, so am hopeful that will be good for them, too. And it all gets eaten, nothing falls into hidden crevices to pollute the tank.

Reef Pilot

[reefwars]

Originally Posted by Reef Pilot

Whoa, everybody please chill down. First, I will admit, I may have made a mistake buying two. But let me explain my reasoning, and give some background. And yes, I did a lot of research, so this was not an impulse buy.

I have a 6 foot 100 g display tank that is very mature, going for 10 years or so. We just moved into this house 7 months ago, so it was all inherited. The display is doing well with the fish and corals, but is full of aiptasia, so that is why I wanted a Copperband.

I tried a single Copperband back last Aug. Didn't have a QT tank ready, so put him in with the other fish. Problem was I have a bully yellow tang that would harass him, and kept him to one corner of the tank. Despite that, he would eat stuff in the live rocks, and picked away at small aiptaisia. However, I could not get him to eat any of frozen and other foods that the rest of my fish ate. Even tried chopped up live clams, and would put them into a little container with holes in it for him to pick out. But soon the other fish figured that out, and again, he could not compete with them.

So after 2 months, he was getting very skinny indeed, and I returned him to the pet shop. At least he never did get sick, and if I had a QT tank, I think I could have saved him.

Since then, I have successfully introduced several other fish into the main display tank with no losses. But each time this yellow tank harassed them for a few days, so I know that will be the challenge with the Copperband(s).

Now I finally have a good QT tank set up (doubles as a Refugium when no new fish), seeded with aiptasia, and wanted to try the Copperband route again. My thinking with 2 is that is the yellow tang's attention would be divided. This actually worked with my other fish that I introduced successfully. Also, I found that when in QT, fish teach each other to feed (monkey see, monkey do).

Anyway, at the pet shop they had 4 Copperbands. 2 were in the open seemingly happy, doing what Copperbands do, looking for food on the bottom, and didn't show any aggression towards each other. The other 2 were cowering behind a pipe in the corner. So I bought the 2 that seemed like they were getting along and were looking for food.

When home in the QT, unfortunately, one did bully the other, so I separated them with the divider. But the monkey do, see thing, still worked, and it took me only a couple days to get them both eating Mysis shrimp. Then I would give them a chopped up live clam, and again they seemed to take cues from each other about going after food. Now I also have them eating freeze dried Mysis shrimp. I also have an Azure Damselfish in there with them to get any uneaten scraps. He is very peaceful, so no problem there, and I think he too, is teaching them to eat.

My plan is to fatten them up and eating a variety of foods before putting them into the display tank. But I am not sure if I will put them both in. If the aggression continues, may have to sell or return one of the Copperbands. But for now, want to fatten them up first in the Refugium. Good news is that they are definitely eating well, and no sign of any disease.

Like I said initially, they seemed to get along fine the first 3 weeks, and only yesterday bickered at each other through the divider. I think it may actually be a sign of vigor, as they are slowly gaining back their strength from their ordeals in the supply chain.

But will keep a close eye on them, and will see what happens.

Reef Pilot

good luck who knows maybe youll end up with a perfectly healthy pair and change what we know about copperbands......you may also not.....either way good luck

sometimes people on here just like to bash for sake of speaking or so called high morals.....if youve gotten both to eat then kudos to you if they end up fighting then remove one right away and lesson learned cheers

[turkleton]

It's good to see that you have gotten them both to eat, especially if they are starting to show an improvement over how they looked in the store. I agree that the only way we are going to learn more about stuff like this is through experimentation and trial and error. Regardless of weather or not this works out in the long run I wish you the best of luck. If nothing else this will serve as a valuable learning experience for you and everyone else.