Contemplating a CopperBand Butterfly

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If you do get it Carey make sure you see it eat at the LFS. That`s really a good practice on all fish you get.
 
You have quite the load of pods in your 125g, right? So if your Butterfly decided not to eat anything else, at least you would have a nice backup.

thanks mr_X, I didn't know that Copperbands ate pods! I love learning new things! :)
 
I've been doing mad research into those nudibranchs and found a company out of Cali that breeds them. They are like $15 a piece and i would need at least 10. :-(

I have been emailing my LFS all day regarding a copperband that they have had there for over a month. Apparently the fish is a pig for pe mysis and brine shrimp. I think I'm going to go pick him up tomorrow. :)

They were going to keep the fish for their new coral display but I guess he is willing to part with it, it ain't cheap either.

I figure I will acclimate for an hour or so after temp matching and put him in with only the blue lights on. My tangs go to bed pretty much as soon as the blues come on so they hopefully won't give the new fish any grief.

I am soo excited and scared all at the same time. LOL I really have wanted one of them but knew they were difficult to keep. I don't believe I am going to get him tomorrow! I so hope I do well with him.

I always make the lfs feed the fish I wanna buy, a good habit I picked up from this forum. :)
 
Carey, I'll try to help you out and let you know what my situation was. I recently got a pretty bad Aiptasia problem that I wanted cured. I was in your situation contemplating CBB, nudibranchs, chemicals, etc....

I went to my LFS and fortunatley saw a beautiful 2 YR old mature CBB they have had in their DT for a few months. She caught me eye. She was eating mysis and brine at the store, but I knew that didnt mean anything. These fish are so finicky once you start messing with them, changing environment, lighting, etc. Anyways, I bought her, took her home, acclimated and put her in my DT overnight when the other tank mates were asleep. I woke up and noticed the other fish were not "nice" to her. Her tail was nipped at, and her side was scraped up. Either from my purple tangs spear, or hitting a rock. So, I placed her in my QT/refugium to let her heal while I tried to get out a pesky Damsel and re-arrange some rockwork so when I put her back into the DT the other fish would be a little nicer. I put a rock that was covered with aiptasia down below with her for her to munch on, but she never even touched them! I tried to feed her clams soaked in garlic and she wouldnt touch them. Finally, one morning I woke up real early (4:30am) and went to check on her, when I realized she was on a different schedule than my DT. My refugium lighting comes on at midnight. So basically I was always trying to feed her during her "nighttime" hours. I got her to eat some mysis early that morning, and then she started eating like a horse! Her tail got better, and her side cleared up. I left her in QT for about one month and then placed her in my DT after I re-arranged it and got my Damsel out. After about a week I noticed that ALL of my aiptasia was gone, even the large one I thought I would have to use chemicals on. She is now probably my best eater in the whole tank and shes great to watch swim around. She's quickly becoming my favorite.

Long story short - you have to really take care of these guys and be very patient with them. Try different foods, etc. If you get a good, healthy one they will quickly become your favorite tank inhabitant. Good luck, and hopefully yours works out as well as mine did!
 
Thanks for sharing! Gives me renewed hope! LOL Mine has been eating more and more frozen each day, so thats good news. Not sure about eating aipatsia but its too soon to tell, just super glad shes eating full force now. Mine is a very timid eater, I think he just had to get his bearings. :)
 
Just give her time. If she is eating ANYTHING that is a great sign! Mine actually prefers brine shrimp to my mysis, but that's just mine. I really hope yours does well because they are such beautiful fish. Please keep us updated!
 
Forgot to add that she probably ate my one "momma" aiptasia that was about 3" in diameter. I could not believe it, but it's been 3 weeks since she has been in my DT and I have seen no sign of that pesky little critter.

BTW, I have read a lot of these posts and you have great information. I have just started a 14 gal nano in our bedroom that I'm sure I will have LOTS of questions. This little tank will be much more work than our family tank I am sure!
 
I worked at a friend's lfs for some time, and just based on my experiences with the species in that shop, I would have to agree with magma, Melosu50, and Mr X that this is a species best left in the wild. IME... success stories are few and far between.
 
I agree. I will add that I am learning as I go in this journey, and I knew that CBB's are not afish you should acquire. However, I felt that I could pamper her enough and treat her well, and if she did not do well I would take her back to my LFS that I bought her from here I knew she was happy. I think I am one of the lucky ones to have a healthy CBB that loves to eat, but I know that can change any day. They are tough fish, and they should be left alone.
 
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