New Copper Band Butterfly in My 75g

[Keith A]

After looking and waiting and searching all the LFS' in my area, I finally found a juvenile CopperBand Butterfly to add to my 75 Gallon Reef to hopefully help with aptasia..

The other fish in the tank, two tangs, kind of bothered him for the past couple of days, but he seems to be holding his own..

But I think I may have a problem with him competing for food.

I made the LFS feed him first, (many a Copperband didn't come home with me due to a poor showing in the feed-test), and he went for the Mysis Shrimp pretty directly.

Now that I have him in my reef, although he tries to get the Mysis, the tangs seem to beat him to the punch most of the time.. He manages to get a few pieces each day, which I'm hoping will be ok..

As I mentioned, there is plenty of aptasia, small and large, for him to graze on..

Will he eventually get hungry enough to eat it?

Has anyone else had success in getting copperbands to chow down on the little brown buggers?

Thanks..

 

[Palmetto]

Eventually they will take Aiptasia out of your hand if you offer it. Usually, when I put them into an infested tank, I offer them live brine to get them started eating, then offer frozen brine and Mysis. After I know they are over the moving stress and eating well, I stop feeding them. They will not let themselves starve if Aiptasia is available, even though they don't seem to understand that it is food at first. If possible, I feed other fish flake foods, which the Copperband almost never eat. This way, I am only leaving the Copperband hungry, as well as "gut-loading" the Aiptasia.

They will usually nip an Aiptasia in about a week, then once they get started on them they actually seem to prefer eating Aips to ANYTHING else!

Here is a pic of one "trained" attack Copperband in action...

 

[Eddie G]

Does the Copperband Butterfly harm anything in the reef like corals, shrimp, snails or crabs?
Eddie G

 

[Palmetto]

They will destroy any worms. (They go right after featherdusters immediately!)

Other than that, I have never seen any of mine go after anything I wanted to keep.