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  L# Copperbanded Butterflyfish woes
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SubscribeCopperbanded Butterflyfish woes
worley
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male uk
I've had a very nice small copperbanded butterfly fish for the last few weeks, unfortunately he had a mild case of ich, the day after he was placed in the tank, probably from the stress of the move (yes, i should have quarantined). However, thanks to near perfect water quality thanks to my algae scrubber (0 ammonia/nitrite and around 5ppm nitrate which is falling, 0 phosphate, ph 8.4, SG 1.025) it went within 2 days and hasn't returned.
However, he's been a pig to feed. He ate every single fan and sponge and copepod that came on the liverock (we had a lot) for the first few days, then when they ran out nothing for a few days.
I tried him on live muscles, both open fully, left closed and partially open and he ignored them completely.
He won't touch frozen artemia/brine shrimp, he did have a few frozen mysis, but no longer eats them at all.
I then managed to get him eating on live brineshrimp that I've had literally swimming in very dense live phytoplankton, which they cleared up very quickly, so they were relatively nutritious. He'd easily eat 15-20 live adult brine shrimp 2-3 times a day. However, 2 weeks of feeding him live brine later (yesterday), he's stopped eating them too, and he's only grazing the rocks, and there's nothing left on them for him to eat now.
He has a large amount of liverock to graze on and hide in, with lots of swimming space and caves to hide in (53kg / 117lb in a aquamedic percula 90). I'm still offering frozen brine and mysis as well as live brine to all the fish, but he takes a look at them then swims past.
Anyone got any suggestions?
I had expected issues, but not to get him feeding for 2 weeks only for him to stop again.
Post InfoPosted 08-Dec-2008 15:03Profile Homepage ICQ AIM MSN Yahoo PM Edit Report 
worley
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Oh yes, forgot to add, I've tried Seachem Entice and Garlic Guard on the frozen food.
I've also tried "real" garlic slightly crushed in with a small amount of tank water and put the frozen in with that, and it hasn't made any difference
Post InfoPosted 08-Dec-2008 15:07Profile Homepage ICQ AIM MSN Yahoo PM Edit Delete Report 
mattyboombatty
 
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Maybe ACID will chime in here since I don't usually have issues with any copperbands we get in at the store. They generally get right onto a steady diet of frozen mysis and formula 1. I guess I'd think about seeding your tank with some live pods that he might find while searching for stuff in the LR.

I'd say give him some time and keep offering a variety of foods at different times of the day with entice and/or garlic. That's really the best you can do.



Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients
Post InfoPosted 08-Dec-2008 17:25Profile Homepage PM Edit Delete Report 
Mez
 
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Matty, its a very well known fact that copperbands come in with all sorts of intestinal parasites and worms, they usually take food but never gain any weight..then just die, after appearing healthy.
Post InfoPosted 09-Dec-2008 04:46Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
ACIDRAIN
 
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My experience with copper bands is limited. As they are one of the harder ones to keep. I list them up with the Mandarin fish, as they will take some non-live foods, but require live foods to live, and sometimes specific live foods to thrive. Hopefully yours is getting enough from your LR. All that I have known, do take the non-live foods when they first get into a tank, but eventually stop. They do love apstasia and will rid your tank if you have an over abundance. Most people that I know that have had good success with them, have a very large refugium/sump setup. And a very well seasoned tank. The very best scenerio was a buddy of mine with his 400 gal tank, and a sump/refugium/criptic setup in the back room that was over 600 gals itself (four 150 gals, plus others). He actually had two in that tank for many years.

As for the parasites, diseases, and such, I really don't know. I have heard this many times, but feel it is more the NEED for the live foods, especially the pods. Some fish just have a more specific need or requirement when it comes to food. Many fish just don't have the required enzymes and such for digesting anything other than specific type foods. And unless those enzymes are present when the foods are eaten, they will not get digested properly. So if these fish do not get their needed required food types, they may live awhile, and they may eat foods given to them, but they also will not be getting their needed protiens, carbs, vitimans, and minerals from the foods you may be feeding them, and thus perrish eventually. Such is the Mandarin fish, many instances they eat like a pig when first introduced into the tank, for for several weeks or months there after. But then they perish, as they become malnurished eventually without having pods available to them. Personally I feel this is the same with the Copperbanded.

My personal experience is keeping just 2 fish. One would not take any foods, live or prepared that was added to the tank. He lived about 2 months. The other was in a larger tank with a larger refugium, and ate live and prepared foods added to the tank and lived for just under two years.

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Post InfoPosted 09-Dec-2008 17:03Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
worley
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Thanks for the reply ACID.
I've already had a batch of live pods sent to me, and I tried to culture them in a pot with air line and followed various instructions, but unfortunately they died off, so I've now ordered some Tigger Pods thanks to Mez's recommendation. I've got a bottle of "Reed Mariculture Tigger Pods" on order. I'll add 1/3 of the bottle to the tank, over the liverock, another 1/3 will go into the sump system where my algae scrubber is, and the last 1/3 will go inside the filter system at the back of the tank.
I've also ordered a bottle of "Reed Mariculture Arcti-Pods 6oz Copepods", which are high concentration (as in millions per bottle) preserved (dead) pods, apparently the shop has had good success with these mixed with live pods with copperbands and mandarins.
What you said makes sense, I think he knows what food is best for him, as he did eat some frozen mysis but has gone back to grazing from the liverock. The tank is 4 months old, so it's probably not mature enough, so I'm likely to need to try and culture as many pods as possible or buy them in regularly. Hopefully he'll take a liking to the preserved ones.
Post InfoPosted 09-Dec-2008 23:47Profile Homepage ICQ AIM MSN Yahoo PM Edit Delete Report 
mattyboombatty
 
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Yeah I think the live stuff will help out. I've used reef nutrition's tigger pods and arcti pods and liked those products. I don't have any finicky eaters, but my clownfish LOVES arctipods.



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Post InfoPosted 10-Dec-2008 17:28Profile Homepage PM Edit Delete Report 
worley
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Looks like everything in the tank is going nuts for the arcti pods, there's tonnes inside the bottle, the dark red colour is actually the pods rather than the plastic lol.
Unfortunately the copperband isn't taking them, and I've not seen him take the tigger pods that were suspended in the water, however he is still grazing, so he could be going for the ones on the rocks.
I'm going to get another two bottles as they vanished into the tank very quickly.
The arcti-pods seem to be a huge hit with the fish as well as zooanthids
Post InfoPosted 12-Dec-2008 01:38Profile Homepage ICQ AIM MSN Yahoo PM Edit Delete Report 
worley
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Still doesn't appear to be eating anything other than grazing off what little is left on the liverock.
Not taking frozen mysis or brine shrimp, not taking live brine or the dead artci-pods.
It's been quite some time since he last ate something not on the rocks, anyone have any other ideas?
Post InfoPosted 13-Dec-2008 15:05Profile Homepage ICQ AIM MSN Yahoo PM Edit Delete Report 
mattyboombatty
 
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One last idea might be to smear some formula 1 and 2 onto a couple of small rocks and place that into the tank. We've tried that somewhat successfully at the store.



Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients
Post InfoPosted 13-Dec-2008 17:12Profile Homepage PM Edit Delete Report 
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