Copper Banded Butterfly help!

[crpresents]

I just got a beautiful CopperBanded Butterfly, but he won't eat!
Does anyone have some suggestions of food this fish might eat? If he doesn't eat he is going to croak and that will make me sad.
I have tried pellet food, frozen brine, frozen crill, and frozen invert food. Any ideas would be appreciated!!
Thanks!
Chris

 

[madman133]

Did you just get him? If so that maybe part of the reason. For food you might also try shrimp or squid

Sorry Cant help you much other than that.

 

[promisetbg]

Piscine mysis shrimp is the only thing I have seen them eat..besides aptasia.Some won't...best to see a fish eating in the store before purchase.

 

[dogstar]

New fish often need a few days befor they start eating but you can try LIVE brine shrimp from LFS or blood worms, cracked opened FW clams or mysis shrimp. CBBF generaly need lots of healthy LR and sand for them to cruise around and find food in.

 

[crpresents]

I purchased some feather dusters at the store and the Copper Band started in on them.. so that is good.. although it is an expensive proposition long term.. At least it should buy me a few days or weeks here..
It seems like live brine (as someone suggested here) might be the only long term solution. Although I am going to have to start growing them myself because the fish store here only gets them once a week...
Thanks again for your help and if you have any other suggestions let me know...
Chris

 

[promisetbg]

If you are going to feed brine shrimp you will have to gutload them with Selcon and Zoe..or equivelant.They have no nutrition .Did you try the mysis?

 

[jimnlee]

I had the same issue with one that (believe it or not) eventually ate flake food right from my hand!
I started her on live brine soaked in garlic. Next step was frozen mysis in garlic, then flake soaked in garlic and finally plain flake.
Good luck...I hope you have the same results as I did!

 

[saltn00b]

--HELP--
im on day 3 with my new CBBF in the QT and i made the mistake of not seeing him eat. his colors are a little darker then those in the pics in other threads. also darker from he was taken from the LFS. i attribute that 100% to stress. he swims around seemingly very calm though but HE WONT EAT (yet)
i have tried frozen cubes containing mixes of mysis and a whole slew of different stuff, he wont eat that stuff, zooplankton and selcon injected -that stuff, or flake thus far. i have some freeze dried blood worms but they float at the surface, should i try that? any help would be great...

 

[jimnlee]

Try live brine shrimp if you can get your hands on some. Soak them in garlic and you should be good to get him started. Then introduce new items soaked in garlic. It has worked for me in the past. Good luck!

 

[jdecter]

call your local fish store and ask what they fed him before you purchased him. Also if they used copper in their tanks he may not be feeling to well so it could be the move and that he was feeling crappy to begin with.
However if he doesn't eat when you try something don't get distraught and try a bunch of stuff in the same day, just walk away and try something different the next day.
Over feeding could be a much more dangerous thing than any stress would be to the whole tank.

 

[promisetbg]

Originally Posted by saltn00b
--HELP--
im on day 3 with my new CBBF in the QT and i made the mistake of not seeing him eat. his colors are a little darker then those in the pics in other threads. also darker from he was taken from the LFS. i attribute that 100% to stress. he swims around seemingly very calm though but HE WONT EAT (yet)
i have tried frozen cubes containing mixes of mysis and a whole slew of different stuff, he wont eat that stuff, zooplankton and selcon injected -that stuff, or flake thus far. i have some freeze dried blood worms but they float at the surface, should i try that? any help would be great...
Get Piscine mysis ..not foods that have mysis mixed in.

 

[mystic7]

My CB, even though he was a juvenile and was immediately chased around by my PBT at first, is a tough little guy. He would just dart away and continue picking at the LR. If I'm not mistaken CB's are one of the fish for which brine shrimp are a good food source. Mine actually ate all of my feather dusters (the small ones that sometimes come with LR). If all else fails, get a piece of LR with feather dusters, that should get him eating.
If my CB taught me anything it's that some fish have weak metabolisms, and others are so strong that no amount of stress will affect them. I lucked out with a good specimen.