copperband buterfly - not sleeping?

nicenakago

nicenakago

Member
About 1 week ago I added my first copperband butterfly to my 75g...
aside from my Kole putting him in check for a few days, everything seemed fine...
Now I noticed that the Copperband isn't feeding so well... It will only eat live brine shrimp and sparingly at that. I have also noticed that even in the middle of the night it is combing the rocks for food or just chilling up by the overflow. All my other fish hide in the rocks at night. Is this normal behavior?
What can I expect in the future? I knew that getting this fish to feed well could be a challenge... but wasn't prepared for the no sleeping action...
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
Well, this is a difficult fish. It might be really hungry, and not really adapting well to brine. Remember these guys are adapted (note the snout) for picking out some anemones and tube worms...not necessarily plankton. This is one of the reasons why they are tough to get to adapt to other foods. They are very specialized feeders. You may wish to vary the diet. There are formulations that are more diverse, and consist of marine worms. You may wish to try enriching the brine with garlic. You may even wish, if desperate, to wander around LFS' buying rocks with aptasia or other possible types of polyps. The fact that it is picking at the rocks indicates it is hungry...in some ways a good sign...but unfortunate that you may not have enough food for it. It may also still be picked on, or feel otherwise stressed, from the other fish.
Did you Q this fish? It is yet another reason I like Qing fish, because it can give them time to adjust from travel, adjust to a new diet, and get used too new food, without having to deal with territorial fish that are already established. A lot goes on in tanks that we don't see. There are a lot of signals that fish sense and understand that we can't.
FWIW, many fish sleep in different ways. Many fish you see on the reef during the day, such as grunts, are 'sleeping,' resting in their own way, even though they may seem to be swimming about in big schools. This is sometimes difficult to understand. Many fish may still seem to be 'awake' to us, when in fact they are resting. If it has sought out some sort of spot, then it my still be resting. Does it get paler, or otherwise change color?
 
buzz

buzz

Active Member
Can't vouch for the sleeping habits, but I did a little research on feeding...(don't have one myself).
"...The proper diet for the Copper Banded Butterfly Fish consists of items that resemble its natural diet such as krill, small shrimp, mussels, and clams..."
"...It has been well noted that the most finicky fish will eat MYSIS with enthusiasm. Credible sources (references available) report that discus, seahorses (including the leafy sea dragon), tangs, and butterfly fishes will eat MYSIS eagerly (even when stressed or poorly acclimating)! It is a naturally occurring fatty acid in Mysis relicta that initiates this positive feeding response in fish and only Mysis relicta has such naturally high quantities of it..."
 
nicenakago

nicenakago

Member
Thanks for the replies
Havn't noticed the change in color... just can see the silouete of it.
Will try offering some other foods.
The Kole was added 2 weeks before this fish, so is fairly new himself.
 
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