Copperband feeding

[oscadoob]

Hi guys not sure if this is the right forum for this thread.

Ive had a copper-band for about 2 months now. i was quite scrutinous about the one i chose but once i brought him home he refused to eat anything i offered. Well 2 months in hes looking pretty thin.. like ill be surprised if he lives another week thin. Anyways i have been feeding him mussels for the past few weeks but the minute i put them in all my other fish and inverts go wild and he barley gets a look in so that's "sustained" him till now. this last week i figured out that he will eat frozen mysis if and only IF i leave the power-heads on and he has to chase it a little but i still have the problem of the other fish getting more than I would like and him only getting a few bits. Does anyone have any inventive ideas on feeding him or any methods i could try. Ive tried distracting the other fish a while but that doesn't last long. This ultimately is leading to my overfeeding (and cyno) which is mentioned in another thread. I wouldn't like to qt him now i think the stress from the move would kill him.
Just after some ideas for isolated feeding

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[Beej1254]

Have you tried a feeder? Sense the Copperband seems it will eat but it doesn't because other fish get to the food faster it may be your best option to either buy or put together a simple feeder.

I pulled this image from Google it's not mine in anyway.



You can make it literally as simple as pvc pipe you can stick food inside of and cap off. It has holes drilled so the copperband with its long ?beak? Can feed easily but other fish can't.




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[oscadoob]

Ill give that a whirl. Id hate to lose him now

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[Beej1254]

I hope it works for you. I think it's actually good for them to be fed this way regularly anyway


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[Sniperhank]

Have you tried a feeder? Sense the Copperband seems it will eat but it doesn't because other fish get to the food faster it may be your best option to either buy or put together a simple feeder.

I pulled this image from Google it's not mine in anyway.

View attachment 284751

You can make it literally as simple as pvc pipe you can stick food inside of and cap off. It has holes drilled so the copperband with its long ?beak? Can feed easily but other fish can't.




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That is amazing and ingenious! How long have you had your copperband? Due to how hard it is to get them to eat right off the bat, their mortality rate in the home aquarium is high and usually best kept in the ocean.

 

[oscadoob]

Ive had him since mid december i think. He ate all my feather dusters and any aiptasia i had for a while. Then i got him eating live mussels but he quickly gets out competed even by the hermits. Now he looks bad.. ive done everything to get him eating frozen foods which as i said he has been doing since i realised hes only interested in chasing ut if the PH is left on.

I threw together one of those feeders. Hes had a sniff at it and caught a few shrimp that got dragged out by the current but other than that he hasnt gone in for any.. ill keep you posted tho

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[oscadoob]

Spoke to soon. Thought id give it another shot out of desperation really and hes figured it out. Have definatley put too much food in the tank today but nevermind theres gonna be a big clean up tomorrow and water change. Gonna start with a mid week change for a while to hopefully nip the cyno in the bud before it really starts.

Have realised i made the holes too big.. didnt take long for my rabbitfish to figure he could suck the food out of there aswell

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[Beej1254]

Still working out??


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[oscadoob]

Lol not sure if there was a pun buried in there lol. Yea hes actually looking better today already. I mean still looks too skinny but is eating well. I actually have made about 4 of these now since my smart acre rabbit fish learned he could suck the holes and get the food. Now in onto a 6mm hole which he still has a go at but doesnt succeed as easily but my cbb is eating well from.it

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[oscadoob]

Hey folks just an update. Was a little late for my copperband he took to the feeder for about 2 days then stopped eating again and refused to take anything whatsoever. Found him dead this morning so he has gone to U-bend heaven

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[Beej1254]

Ahh sorry to hear that...they are really hard fish to keep healthy in an aquarium.


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[oscadoob]

Ahh well I won't be getting another. Thanks for the advice regardless. Hopefully will be back to a stress free tank now

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[54seaweed]

with any fish not eating garlic is the key to entice eating

 

[oscadoob]

Tried and failed with that pal.. Wouldnt take anythin to start.. Then thought id cracked it only to fail again..

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