Copperband butterfly

[Crama1]

Any ideas on getting a copperband to start eating

 

[dragonfisher33]

how bout aiptasia, lol.

aiptasia is part of their natural diet. frozen mysis shrimps and brine shrimps are good choices as well.

 

[Crama1]

Tryed it and mysis no joy at the min only had him few days tho

 

[dragonfisher33]

Tryed it and mysis no joy at the min only had him few days tho

did you use some garlic to entice it to eat?

 

[Crama1]

No haven't tryed that but I will he seems to be pecking at the rock a lot hope he is getting something from that

 

[Big Tex]

ive heard my lrs uses garlic to get the copper banded to eat, theyve had success with every one so far, but they do try it all first though, frozen, flake, pellet, etc.

 

[TheTodd]

They are notoriously finicky eaters. I've tried a couple times (years ago) and both did not make it. I've read that amphipods are good to try, but have never tried that.

 

[dragonfisher33]

in order to figure out what it eats, assuming it's wild caught, you need to understand it's natural feeding habit. the long beak that it has is an evolutionary trait developed to pluck out food that is stuck in between crevices in the wild. therefore, you should use garlic, such as Seachem garlic guard, to soak the food. then you place the food between crevices in your live rocks to entice its natural instinct. with some patience and training, it will eventually accept prepared foods and what-nots. these feeding behaviors of the butterfly fish is the reason why it is also difficult to keep with lps sometimes when it developed a taste for corals and inverts like feather dusters.

 

[Andy Sager]

Go to your local seafood market and get 1 or 2 cherrystone, sideneck or middleneck clams (which ever is cheapest.) Slit the clam in half and put 1/2 in the tank and see if he will eat that. I've used that method for many years to get butterflies to start eating. My normal diet for my fish included a trip to the seafood market for 1 doz clams. I'd cut them all in half and freeze the ones I didn't feed immediately. When they were finished with the clam (usually in a day or 2) I'd replace it with another shell from the freezer. Once the fish got into the routine of feeding, the clams became more a treat than a staple as they would then eat any food I put into the tank. But they always got them.
BTW, when I told my market I was buying the clams for my fish, I usually got the "baker's dozen" and they'd even throw in some extras

Hope this helps

 

[Gregcoyote]

Go to your local seafood market and get 1 or 2 cherrystone, sideneck or middleneck clams (which ever is cheapest.) Slit the clam in half and put 1/2 in the tank and see if he will eat that. I've used that method for many years to get butterflies to start eating. My normal diet for my fish included a trip to the seafood market for 1 doz clams. I'd cut them all in half and freeze the ones I didn't feed immediately. When they were finished with the clam (usually in a day or 2) I'd replace it with another shell from the freezer. Once the fish got into the routine of feeding, the clams became more a treat than a staple as they would then eat any food I put into the tank. But they always got them. BTW, when I told my market I was buying the clams for my fish, I usually got the "baker's dozen" and they'd even throw in some extras Hope this helps

I could not agree more with this approach.

 

[Crama1]

Thanks a lot for the info?