Copperband Butterfly Won't Eat

[nina&noah]

Hello! I'm new here and have enjoyed reading the enormous amount of info on this forum!
My question is.... I purchased a copperband exactly one week ago. I purchased him so that he would eat the Aiptasia that is taking over my tank. He hasn't even picked at any of them. He seems to pick at the live rock, but he doesn't eat the food I give the fish and he hasn't touched the Aiptasia. Any suggestions?

 

[aquaknight]

Get a sponge block, the type for a wet/dry or the foam prefilter for return pumps. Then get a pack of clams out of the shell and add 3-4 pieces to the filter, get them in there good enough to stay put, then add the filter to the tank. The Butterfly know to pick food off the rocks, and with the sponge acting as a rock, he'll pick at the clams.

 

[tarball]

Copperbands like Mysis shrimp. Try that.

 

[kevin34]

I have also heard of people taking a dead brain coral skeleton and covering it in food and letting the copperband pick the food off of that.

 

[lion_crazz]

Originally Posted by AquaKnight
http:///forum/post/2466081
Get a sponge block, the type for a wet/dry or the foam prefilter for return pumps. Then get a pack of clams out of the shell and add 3-4 pieces to the filter, get them in there good enough to stay put, then add the filter to the tank. The Butterfly know to pick food off the rocks, and with the sponge acting as a rock, he'll pick at the clams.
That is a very good idea. Have you used this before with butterflies?

 

[aquaknight]

Yea, used it for my Dad's CBB. His ate foods without problems, but used the idea and definitely worked. Read it from somewhere online...
EDIT: forgot, FWIW most of those sponges (any sponge really) float, so you'll probably have to weigh it down with some rock. That' s why I liked the Mag return filters as you can just slide a branch rock in there.

 

[terasparrow]

for the first few days(about 4) after I bought my copperband he wouldnt eat either...he seemed to need to get familar with my tank until he felt comfortable eating...he soon started eating like a pig after...I feed him mysid shrimp daily and every once and a while I feed him a manilla clam...clam is their prefferred diet...I just buy them from the grocery store and open one for him and put them in the tank, If i buy a bag of them I throw them in the freezer live and thaw one out before feeding it to him...he goes crazy for them and the other fish enjoy them too..Hopefully you can get him to eat...

 

[nina&noah]

Originally Posted by TeraSparrow
http:///forum/post/2466794
for the first few days(about 4) after I bought my copperband he wouldnt eat either...he seemed to need to get familar with my tank until he felt comfortable eating...he soon started eating like a pig after...I feed him mysid shrimp daily and every once and a while I feed him a manilla clam...clam is their prefferred diet...I just buy them from the grocery store and open one for him and put them in the tank, If i buy a bag of them I throw them in the freezer live and thaw one out before feeding it to him...he goes crazy for them and the other fish enjoy them too..Hopefully you can get him to eat...
Do you throw it in shell and all? How often do you do this? My LSF gave me a bag of brine shrimp and told me to try that. I am going to the grocery store today so I will pick up some clams also. He is so pretty, I don't want to lose him!

 

[michael r]

Yeah, you just crack open the shell, rinse it and throw it in (meat and shell).
My Pearlscale is really shy right now and it's been stopping her from eating with the rest of my fish, so I added the clam and she took to it very soon (I hid and watched haha).

 

[nina&noah]

Thank you all for your replies!
I tried the brine shrimp and all of my fish went crazy! You would think I hadn't fed them in weeks. The copperband tried to eat, but my yellow wrasse and maroon clown are bullies and would snatch them up before the butterfly could get there. I think he might have caught two.
I went to three grocery stores with a 9 month old in tow and finally I found some clams. I broke it open as suggested and placed it on the rock closest to where he hangs out. So far he does not even seem interested. I watched him off and on for hours and he doesn't even go near it. He is still picking at the rocks and I actually saw him poop. If he is pooping than he must be eating something, right?!?

 

[nina&noah]

I went to check on my fish this morning and the clam shell had been knocked off the rock. It was upside down in the sand, so I flipped it back over and the butterfly immediately went to devour it.

Thank you so much for your help. You saved my fish!
Now my question is, how often should I do this? How long can you leave the clam in there before it goes bad? Do I just wait until all of the meat is gone and take the shell out, or do I need to take it out before then?

 

[terasparrow]

Thats Great!!! once he gets them once he should recognize them immediatly, this way he will eat it right away and the nitrates wont accumulate...
I only do it as a treat, if you can get him to eat other food that would be great for you, but clam is the copperbands natural diet, so it wont harm him any...if he wont eat other food you could try just giving him half of a clam every other day or so...
I wouldnt leave them in any longer than 12 hours, but i am sure that 24hrs wont do any damage...but as I said, once he gets it once he should recoginze it immediatly the second time....my guy trys to eat my live cleaner clams all the time...hope that everything works out for you!
Tera

 

[terasparrow]

PS. if you can watch him eat it just take it out after he has lost interest with it...thats what I usually do, often the clam is too big for him to eat all in one sitting