Has anyone had long term success with copperband butterflies and can offer any tips? I've been considering adding one but am concerned with keeping it well fed especially with my other fish which aren't aggressive but aggressive eaters. I feed primarily frozen. Do you generally take to mysis? I imagine that live blackworms work well but how about frozen?
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Copperbands
- Thread starter Mike S
- Start date
I've tried Copperbands twice, and I refuse to kill another fish. Both ate at the LFS, but once I got them home, no dice. They starved to death....and I tried everything...mysis, blackworms, you name it. I don't know what I did wrong, because I know some who have had no problem with them feeding. I will tell you that I also have a long nosed Butterfly that are also known to be tough eaters.....had him since 2008.
r2reyzer
NJRC Member
I've had two. With both of them, I kept in a separate QT tank until they ate frozen. I had to keep buying live blackworms for a few weeks first, then they finally took to frozen food (mysis and brine shrimp). When they finally ate frozen, I introduced them to my main display. I have one now and it eats any frozen food I throw in the tank, as long as it fits in it's mouth.
falconut
NJRC Member
A while back, I tried them three times. Only bought ones that ate in the LFS, many didn't. I fed just frozen for my first two and they both died around 6 months. I had the best luck with my 3rd one. I fed this one frozen, but I think what game me success was the live blackworms. I would hand feed him the live blackworms every night. I would scoup some worms and let him pick them out from between my fingers, so only he could eat them. He seemed to get a little skinny every day until he ate the worms, so I'm not sure if he would have done good without them. I had him for a little over a year, then I sold him to another reefer. It became too much work. HTH
Ours only eats pods that are in the system, like the mandarin, and he won't even eat black worms. I agree with the above poster that a good practice would probably be to put them in a separate tank for a while and get them eating what you feed and on your schedule. I think one of the points is that because they normally forage throughout the day and eat small amounts continually, that they "may" have trouble adjusting to once daily feedings for the long term - but this is just a guess on my part.
if they do eat mysis, you have to feed them PE mysis or else they wont be able to get enough nutrients. mine lasted for a while on regular mysis before it stopped eating and passed. theyre cool fish
I've had my CB Butterfly for a couple years now and it has survived on mainly live blackworms, plus nibbling on pods during the day.
It knows when I'm about to feed the tank because it will swim right up to the spot where I drop food in every day. I usually will drop in some flake food or frozen foods first. The CBB will generally swim back and forth and look for his worms and ignore whatever else I feed the tank. I do this because he is a maniac hog on the blackworms and it's hard for the other fish to get any... so at least they can get a shot at the other foods and then get a couple blackworms in them too.
However, the last couple days he has actually picked at some flake food when I put that in. They were some bigger pieces, so maybe it was the size of the flakes that got him interested? I'm not even sure he ate them because it looked like he was playing asteroids and smaller pieces split off of it (some of you older folks will get that
). My point here though is that maybe there's a chance I can get him to try something besides the worms and pods. I think I just need to keep feeding other options first and waiting a bit longer for the worms. Maybe he will start to try something new and find out he likes it?
When I do get around to the worms though, he will keep eating as many as I put in the tank. He will even suck the ones off of the sand that fall all the way to the bottom! Between him and my mandarin (who also seeks the bottom landing worms) I don't worry about any of them rotting away. And I've never worried about him not eating as long as I have some live worms.
He has nibbled at frozen blackworms before (I keep some in case I run out of live) but after eating a couple he realizes it's not what he expected and stops eating them. I prefer to feed the live since it's better for them, so it's not a big deal. But I would like to mix in some other stuff to give him a variety.
It knows when I'm about to feed the tank because it will swim right up to the spot where I drop food in every day. I usually will drop in some flake food or frozen foods first. The CBB will generally swim back and forth and look for his worms and ignore whatever else I feed the tank. I do this because he is a maniac hog on the blackworms and it's hard for the other fish to get any... so at least they can get a shot at the other foods and then get a couple blackworms in them too.
However, the last couple days he has actually picked at some flake food when I put that in. They were some bigger pieces, so maybe it was the size of the flakes that got him interested? I'm not even sure he ate them because it looked like he was playing asteroids and smaller pieces split off of it (some of you older folks will get that
). My point here though is that maybe there's a chance I can get him to try something besides the worms and pods. I think I just need to keep feeding other options first and waiting a bit longer for the worms. Maybe he will start to try something new and find out he likes it?When I do get around to the worms though, he will keep eating as many as I put in the tank. He will even suck the ones off of the sand that fall all the way to the bottom! Between him and my mandarin (who also seeks the bottom landing worms) I don't worry about any of them rotting away. And I've never worried about him not eating as long as I have some live worms.
He has nibbled at frozen blackworms before (I keep some in case I run out of live) but after eating a couple he realizes it's not what he expected and stops eating them. I prefer to feed the live since it's better for them, so it's not a big deal. But I would like to mix in some other stuff to give him a variety.
I've had better luck with them than most people, I'm getting ready to get a new one. I agree about the blackworms, I think this time I'm going to build something to keep blackworms alive for a better supply. Another food I've found they can't resist is PE Mysis, although you must feed it sparingly or it will wreck your water quality.
Paul B
NJRC Member
Copperbands, one of my favorite fish and a fish that was one of the first fish available in the late 70s. In those days they were hard to keep but now they are fairly easy as I have had quite a few of them. I can't get them to live 10 or 15 years like most fish but 6 or 7 is closer. My tank is 6' long and my copperband seems to be stunted at about 5". They get twice that size in the sea as I have spent time with them underwater in the South Pacific. They were built to eat live worms and that is what they should be fed, and they eat a lot. Way more than any of my other fish as they have small mouths and should be fed at least twice but they will live on one large feeding if it is at least some worms. The one I have now will eat anything but prefers clams. I buy live clams and freeze them, then shave off paper thin slices for the fish.
I also feed some frozen mysis. Forget flakes and pellets. The problem with copperbands is finding a healthy one as Iwould say, most of them are damaged when you get them. Copperbands like all skinny fish are prone to internal damage diring collection and shipping. If the fish has a slight dark area on it's side, that is internal damage and is caused from bleeding. I have seen that numerous times and during autopsy I have seen that it seems like their rib punctured an internal organ or just the muscle. That bleeding gets worse, turns rotten and the fish dies sometimes with hardly any outward signs. Thin fish like that were not designed to be captured or roughly handled.
But if the thing lives a few weeks, it is probably fine and should live a long tims if you find some live worms for it. Also forget freeze dried.
They prefer Budweiser but if they get real thirsty, they will drink seawater
I also feed some frozen mysis. Forget flakes and pellets. The problem with copperbands is finding a healthy one as Iwould say, most of them are damaged when you get them. Copperbands like all skinny fish are prone to internal damage diring collection and shipping. If the fish has a slight dark area on it's side, that is internal damage and is caused from bleeding. I have seen that numerous times and during autopsy I have seen that it seems like their rib punctured an internal organ or just the muscle. That bleeding gets worse, turns rotten and the fish dies sometimes with hardly any outward signs. Thin fish like that were not designed to be captured or roughly handled.
But if the thing lives a few weeks, it is probably fine and should live a long tims if you find some live worms for it. Also forget freeze dried.
They prefer Budweiser but if they get real thirsty, they will drink seawater
Paul B
NJRC Member
I took this in Tahiti, these long nose butterflies are a close cousin
A healthy copperband
This one is damaged. See the slight darker spot in the white band to the left and below the dark spot? It doesn't look like anything but in a skinny fish like a copperband, that is caused by internal bleeding. That fish died and I autopsied him. Unfortunately, that damage doesn't always show up until you buy the fish and they never get over it as that blood has no where to go.
This one is also damaged as you can see on the center yellow bar. That is not just an injury on the outside of the fish but internal damage. On a thicker fish, this would not mean much but copperbands are different.
Here is a short video of mine eating some live worms.
A healthy copperband
This one is damaged. See the slight darker spot in the white band to the left and below the dark spot? It doesn't look like anything but in a skinny fish like a copperband, that is caused by internal bleeding. That fish died and I autopsied him. Unfortunately, that damage doesn't always show up until you buy the fish and they never get over it as that blood has no where to go.
This one is also damaged as you can see on the center yellow bar. That is not just an injury on the outside of the fish but internal damage. On a thicker fish, this would not mean much but copperbands are different.
Here is a short video of mine eating some live worms.
Do you use PE or Hikari mysis? I've found the Hikari to be much cleaner. It also seems to be smaller.
Thanks for the detailed response Paul. Any tricks to keeping live black worms in larger quatities. I occasionally buy them now and change the water every few days? If they are going to be on the regular menu I'm wondering if there is a better way to keep them on hand.
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Looks like your pictures are working again Paul... now where are all those supermodels? 
Loved the vid of the fish eating the worms. That's pretty much what mine look like too.
By the way, I was not intending to feed my CBB the flake food. I was actually trying to feed my other fish with it because my CBB was hogging up all the black worms. I thought I would give them something I knew the CBB would ignore so they would at least get a decent portion of food. And my flakes are not a crappy commercial brand. They are a special order blend from Almost Natural Fish Food
I would like to feed my CBB other stuff besides the worms though. I will try some Mysis and also some clams as you suggested. Thanks for the tips.
Loved the vid of the fish eating the worms. That's pretty much what mine look like too.
By the way, I was not intending to feed my CBB the flake food. I was actually trying to feed my other fish with it because my CBB was hogging up all the black worms. I thought I would give them something I knew the CBB would ignore so they would at least get a decent portion of food. And my flakes are not a crappy commercial brand. They are a special order blend from Almost Natural Fish Food
I would like to feed my CBB other stuff besides the worms though. I will try some Mysis and also some clams as you suggested. Thanks for the tips.
Definitely use PE at least once a week. They're bigger because hikari mysis isn't protein enriched and they're kinda chopped up.
Paul B
NJRC Member
I meant "you" shouldn't eat flake food.
Oh, then that gives a whole new meaning to flake food. Never heard of them. But I don't use flakes except sometimes maybe corn flakes. but I feed those to my worms and they seem happy.
I am not a fan of flake food, even "Almost Natural Fish Food" as flakes, all flakes are baked. That's how they get into that flake shape and baked fish food lacks all sorts of things, most importantly oil. If they put oil in the flakes, it would be hard to get them out of the can. There is no commercial dry food that has fish oil in it as it goes bad fairly quickly. There is a reason dry food lasts for months just like white flour lasts almost forever without refrigeration. The reason is there is nothing in it to go bad. All good food goes bad as vitamins don't last long, especially when you dry and bake them. Think of any food that is healthy that we can eat that doesn't need refrigeration and can last for months, or years. There is just honey (not real good for us) and peanut butter. I have tried to give my fish peanut butter but they just turn around and moon me.
Flakes will keep most fish alive but very few fish will spawn or live the lifespan they were supposed to live on them.
Points well taken Paul. I've never been a fan of flake foods either (for my fish or for me.... although I will eat corn flakes or frosted flakes on occasion).
I do keep a supply of the almost natural flakes as supplemental food for some variety. I keep a small batch in the fridge and the bulk of it in the freezer to keep it fresh as it does go bad if you don't keep it cool. I don't know if there is any oil in it, but I do know that it is moist to the touch and not dried out like most flakes. I also know that this company will vacuum seal the bags immediately after the product is made and bags are filled. And, he claims that his product is usually no more than a month old when it is sold. He also claims that he has tested a sample of the first batch ever made at 5 yrs old and it was as fresh and contained the same protein/vitamins as the original batch did. He has a few others that he is saving for other tests later down the road.
I'm not trying to convince you or anyone that you should use this food. I'm just saying that for a flake food, it's probably one of the best to use if you do use any at all. There are some reviews on his website (real or not, who knows?) that claim that after using his foods they began spawning. My pair of clowns do spawn (although not on a regular basis) and they eat these flakes whenever I feed it (once or twice a week) so it doesn't prevent them from spawning so I can at least say that much.
I do keep a supply of the almost natural flakes as supplemental food for some variety. I keep a small batch in the fridge and the bulk of it in the freezer to keep it fresh as it does go bad if you don't keep it cool. I don't know if there is any oil in it, but I do know that it is moist to the touch and not dried out like most flakes. I also know that this company will vacuum seal the bags immediately after the product is made and bags are filled. And, he claims that his product is usually no more than a month old when it is sold. He also claims that he has tested a sample of the first batch ever made at 5 yrs old and it was as fresh and contained the same protein/vitamins as the original batch did. He has a few others that he is saving for other tests later down the road.
I'm not trying to convince you or anyone that you should use this food. I'm just saying that for a flake food, it's probably one of the best to use if you do use any at all. There are some reviews on his website (real or not, who knows?) that claim that after using his foods they began spawning. My pair of clowns do spawn (although not on a regular basis) and they eat these flakes whenever I feed it (once or twice a week) so it doesn't prevent them from spawning so I can at least say that much.