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My dip in to the butterfly fish world (1 Viewer)

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Luman01

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Ok so I got a butterfly fish for “Christmas” just a small (actually he’s big for my tank) copper band. And I know that they are like 50/50 in reef tanks and that they are picky eaters. And the only thing that makes them “hard” to keep is cause of there appetite. Correct me if I’m wrong. I’m a noob with these fish. So I diddnt really think when we got him cause we see going on a trip tomorrow for a week. And I had to get him to eat pellets. He already eats frozen which was a big plus. And so out of curiosity I fed pellets this morning and he attack the food!! Is something like that to be expected now? Or is that like a huge win in the copperbands world?
Happy reefing!
lucas
 

steveb

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Its not so much appetite as it is gusto with which they go after food. In a tank with a lot of aggressive feeders (tangs/wrasses/etc) the food can literally be taken from under their nose. If you got one that feeds aggressively I would chalk that one up as a win.
 

Tenny

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Its not so much appetite as it is gusto with which they go after food. In a tank with a lot of aggressive feeders (tangs/wrasses/etc) the food can literally be taken from under their nose. If you got one that feeds aggressively I would chalk that one up as a win.

This was my issue with my last CBB. He ate frozen food and pellets just fine, but when he went into the tank with the other fish he wasn't aggressive enough with his eating. He also "missed" while trying to grab food rather often.

I have two CBB's in QT right now, one of them is very aggressive while the other isn't. I'm trying to train them to eat out of a CBB Feeder like this. Mine is 3D printed though (duh). At this point (about two weeks in) they both know that's where the food comes from, but they aren't picking into it.

Another thought is trying "Masstick" I've heard the CBB's really like that. Some suggest using an "algae" holder like thing for it.
 

Tenny

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You may want to flood the tank with extra food while you are gone just to ensure he's eating. Prepare for water changes and what not but at least you'll hopefully have the CBB alive.
 

rlpardue

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Tenny,
You have two CBBs in the same QT? I’ve been wanting to eventually try to pair mine with another but have heard they can tear each other up if you get it wrong (and they are not dimorphic to my knowledge). Any tips?
 

Tenny

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Tenny,
You have two CBBs in the same QT? I’ve been wanting to eventually try to pair mine with another but have heard they can tear each other up if you get it wrong (and they are not dimorphic to my knowledge). Any tips?
Correct, my understanding is you can't sex them either. You just have to get lucky with getting a male and female.

Sadly they have begun fighting. They were fine for about three weeks and then one morning they just decided they weren't happy with each other. So now there's a big screen blocking them from each other. I knew that was a possibility when I bought them, but I figure the ability to sell a fat one eating mysis/pellets that's fully QT'd wouldn't be hard... and just through conversations with others I already have a buyer lol.

Part of me wants to buy another and keep trying to "pair" one (while in QT) and keep doing that until I get two that can deal with each other but I probably won't. My tank is already full enough.
 
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