Copperband Butterfly Fish is slowly starving in reef tank.

ADVERTISING

LuxoGear Emergency Whistles with Lanyard

Shop now »

NOCO Genius GEN5X2, 2-Bank, 10A (5A/Bank) Smart Marine Battery Charger

Shop now »

RHINO USA Boat Trailer Transom Straps (2PK)

Shop now »

LUCKY Kayak Portable Fish Depth Finder

Shop now »

Seaview 180 V3 Full Face Snorkel Mask

Shop now »

Most popular comments
for Copperband Butterfly Fish is slowly starving in reef tank.

Live comments
Comments on YouTube

E. K - 6 years ago

get a 40 gallon tank set it up bottom less and keep em there so the other fish dont out compete him

Zakri Rahman - 7 years ago

nice scape u got there

ZirrelStudios - 7 years ago

Lateral line??

jim carson - 7 years ago

My Copperband will only eat Mysis that have the whole Mysis he must see the eyes not bit and pieces.

Johnny Keo - 7 years ago

My copperband is having the same problem! And it's stressing me out ugh! Idk what to do...

taxol2 - 7 years ago

Johnny Keo buy some feather duster worm. Copperband love those.
I don't have problem with mine, I use frozen mysis, frozen brine, frozen worm (I put all frozen stuffs in a small container, add seawater, add a bit real garlic juice, add a bit zoo and phyto planktons into the same container).
Everytime I feed my fish I just scoop half tablespoon of that "soup" and refrigerate the unused portion. Everytime you see the soup is too dry just add a bit of seawater.
The CBB just love whatever I give each morning and afternoon and not shy at all.

shawnriv9 - 7 years ago

Great video! I went to my fish store and they just received a couple of them. I always quarantine my new arrivals but am afraid of giving the copperband a try since they're so difficult to feed. If I purchase one, I'll try your clam idea in the quarantine tank and see if it goes for it.

Klem Reefing - 7 years ago

The clam thing always works in my experience, but whatever you train him to eat he will look for that forever. So if you plan to keep a clam in your tank - dont train him on clams. You might want to train him on Misys Shrimp instead(they do like that stuff). Good job being cautious because they are a tuff fish for sure.

Karl Thomps - 7 years ago

I will definitely try this on my CBBF - Hopefully, I get to have my guy eat as well.

Klem Reefing - 7 years ago

It works like a charm - only downfall is if you decide to get a clam for the tank later on down the road... Happy Reefing

Thegamingbanana - 8 years ago

Maybe you should put him in quarantine and fatten him up until you think he's ready mine love live black worms hope he does well

goodall1bay - 8 years ago

I resorted to feeding mine on an occasion with 'blood worm'
I used chop sticks and made sure the fish came to it .

Klem Reefing - 8 years ago

I've heard of quite a few people who have had success with blood worms. Although he is fine now, I think I may give those a shot. Always nice to feed him multiple things. They are such picky eaters!!!! Thanks for the tip.

10. comment for Copperband Butterfly Fish is slowly starving in reef tank.

PRFishGirl - 8 years ago

I use to have a long nose butterfly and he loved black worms... He was a great fish.. Sad he died somehow he got caught on the side of my mp10 .. Question. What are you anthias eating? Mine doesn't even go for brine shrimp and he eats mysis here and there..he'll grab it and spit it out.. Not sure what else he might like..

PRFishGirl - 8 years ago

+Klemmetsmo Reefing...thanks

Klem Reefing - 8 years ago

Honestly when I feed the tank I'm mainly focused on feeding what the Copperband will eat and everyone else just gets what's left over... So the anthias are eating the misys shrimp along with extra flake I put in there for the tangs. I've found with the anthias I have to keep food in front of them Farley regularly until they are tank established... The anthias do appear to love chopped up clams when I put the in there for the CB. Hope this helps?..

k mam - 8 years ago

hi how is she doing now? fatten up already?

Klem Reefing - 8 years ago

Oh yeah! Ive been down that road with the CBB. What saved me was feeding him clams and mussels - they eat those in the wild. Maybe you should go to the store this weekend and try that out? Let me know how it works please :)

k mam - 8 years ago

+Klemmetsmo Reefing good to hear that.. just gotten mine.. worry its not eating now.. just nip and throw food out..

Klem Reefing - 8 years ago

Not fat but a little better. I still have to pay attention to feeding with this little guy. Happy Reefing

Rakhu Rakhu - 8 years ago

What type of frozen food are you using?

Klem Reefing - 8 years ago

He is making gains recently, but Ive really been focusing on feeding him only. The whole tank is being fed Mysis shrimp and a carnivore blend of mysis shrimp, blood worms and brine shrimp. He's not fat, but its seems like he's gained some weight lately.

Rakhu Rakhu - 8 years ago

Do you have any pods in your tank?

Klem Reefing - 8 years ago

I do have pods in the sump but it seems like a minimal population. Ive recently dumped two bottles of pods in the sump to try to boost my pods. Very insightful of you to think of that!

EliteKicks856 - 8 years ago

mine starved to death last year, but he did clean up my aptasia outbreak

Klem Reefing - 8 years ago

+EliteKicks856 I think hes making a come back as he seems a little fatter.

jimstank - 8 years ago

great way to feed him, i will try this set up if i need to catch a fish. good luck with the copperband. the tank looks great and so do all the other fish. love the tangs, and an achillies.... beautiful

Justin C - 8 years ago

Mine goes nuts for live black worms

sbazain - 8 years ago

glad , that's a good fish to have not only that their nice but they keep your aptasia gone

Klem Reefing - 8 years ago

+sbazain Oh heck yeah theyre good at eating aptasia! Thats the reason I love him so much :D

sbazain - 8 years ago

glad , that's a good fish to have not only that their nice but they keep your aptasia gone

sbazain - 8 years ago

do you put the food in the water for all the fish cause what I do is I use a turkey baster and I make them come and eat off of it so he has learned to stick his mouth in there and eat it i know its a job but it worked

Klem Reefing - 8 years ago

+sbazain
Lately Ive been just feeding extra misys Shrimp because he really eats it up. Then Im adding in the clam in the container once or twice a week. he looks like hes hetting better.

20. comment for Copperband Butterfly Fish is slowly starving in reef tank.

sbazain - 8 years ago

hows your copper band ?

Klem Reefing - 8 years ago

+sbazain
CBB is doing good, but it has been lots more work feeding him. Almost every feeding in the tank Im focusing on him and his eating. He does look better although still thin.

Leonard Carreiro - 8 years ago

try feeding him his natural food ,live brissell worms.yes the ones with the poison spines.they love them.I have one for about 4 years.He is a fat little pig.They are picky . My will eat only live worms or Mysis.

Klem Reefing - 8 years ago

+Leonard Carreiro thanks!

Leonard Carreiro - 8 years ago

+Klemmetsmo Reefing They come in live rock normally .The worms should be in your sand or under the rocks.Google Fire Worm for an ID.Try feeding Mysis that are whole not in pieces.Copperbands are kind of dumb.If they can not ID the food they will not touch it.

Klem Reefing - 8 years ago

Where do you fine your live worms at? Your lfs? Sounds like a great idea. Thank you

Alexander Kulseth - 8 years ago

Try feeding him with mussels

bubblegum kikat - 8 years ago

Aww ;-;

ILoveBiochemistry - 8 years ago

My copperband did the same thing. He just slowly starved to death, never could get him to eat anything.

Klem Reefing - 8 years ago

I think I'm making gains with him. Just feeding heavy m watching nitrates.

eng479 - 8 years ago

My copperband loves LRS Reef Frenzy Nano, to the point where I can hand feed him, and he won't stop until he's full. The regular blend is okay, but the chunks are too large for a butterfly to swallow whole, so they'll do the swallow/spit out thing you talk about and other fish will come and steal it. The nano blend breaks off into a small enough piece for the cbb to swallow whole. Also, with the LRS, you can break off a chunk, wet it a bit, and smear it on the rock itself before putting it in the tank. The food sticks to rock rather well well. If the other fish are nabbing the food from the mesh, you can use a finer grate over the rock, whether it be plastic or metal (you can water treat it if necessary to prevent rust). It's amazing how small of a crevice a CBB's snout can fit into. It looks like he's in a much better place already, though, so good work!

eric olsen - 8 years ago

How is the Copperband doing? I have read that some people will transfer picky eaters into a hospital tank and try and feed them in a reduced stress environment but it looks like you found a way to get him to eat. I really love Copperbands but have not been able to keep them myself. Great Vid.

Klem Reefing - 8 years ago

He is doing good. I've just been focusing on getting him food. I haven't really noticed any weight increases but I'm encouraged that will happen now that I've noticed his weight loss.

Eyesick Aquariums - 8 years ago

nice tank.. nice fish.. awesome method..

Klem Reefing - 8 years ago

Thanks man. Appreciate it.

Sean Morris - 8 years ago

your water chemistry is great.. his color is spot on...
he might be an aptasia eater... you could clean rocks with him one by one..
noone else would mess with that foot source.
my other idea was regular food on one side, rottifers or some smaller food on the other side.
if you could find something small enough to where he doesnt have that much competition.. he can eat better while the other fish focus on the big foods.
easier said than done, but it would be the most practical method if you could get it to work.
but judging from his clam preference...
he wants aptasia.
awesome tank btw.. new to the channel.
back in the hobby after all my rocks been in a ten gallon for 5 years.
if you like watching new setups from old veterans... im rusty, but im interesting. lol

Sean Morris - 8 years ago

Sometimes i dont even know what im logged into 0.o lol
TheLostBegotten is my channel.
I do news and conspiracy rebuttals.
Ive been into saltwater for 30 years since growing up by tidepools in new zealand and aus.
Ill usually comment with thelostbegotten, so keep an eye out, and feel free to check out my new tank.

Klem Reefing - 8 years ago

+Sean Morris
Great advice Sean! Amazing how insightful you are - he is an Aptasia eater and thats the reason the display is so clean. You must have had a CBB when you had your tank going? But i dont think the Aptasia in the sump is enough to sustain him and it seems like a lot of work, on a continued basis, to feed him out of the sump.
I do however love your suggestion of Rottifers! It seems like he is always hunting for little bugs (or anything he can eat) in the tank. Maybe I should adopt my Rotifer breeding station again.? I think this is going to be something I do again for him - sounds like it would work well!!!
And yes, the tank parameters are spot on. Its running at 8dhk, 420ca and 1350mag with zero PO and NI. I love my sps so Im kinda a busy body in that area of reef keeping. Is "Sean Morris" going to be your channel name? I checked it out but you haven't posted anything yet (tank wise). Id love to follow!

Johnny Elliott - 8 years ago

I miss mine - I fed it by hand actually they are very intelligent compared to the other fish imo. If you use a turkey baster..you can target feed him once he gets used to it.. He will swim right up to the end of the turkey baster waiting for shrimp..Yes, he seems very skinny! I always just made sure I saw him eat a few pieces of mysis or reef frenzy. Really sweet idea about the clam though going to try that with my new CBB when I get one. Also, at night time they are deep sea fish and should help getting him to eat when others are sleeping:)

Klem Reefing - 8 years ago

I agree - they do seems very smart. And I tried the night feeding last night but the tangs are wise to that game and came out and gobbled most of the shrimp (he did get some though). He is one of my favorite fish and I'm pretty sure he'll pull through but it's just kinda a hassle feeding him like this.

30. comment for Copperband Butterfly Fish is slowly starving in reef tank.

Rad Perez - 8 years ago

Cool brother glad to see him eating.... Hope he gets better...

Klem Reefing - 8 years ago

+Rad Perez
LOL, ok, you got fans man!

Rad Perez - 8 years ago

+Klemmetsmo Reefing
Moving at a turtles pace.... All I can do is wait... Hopefully soon.

Klem Reefing - 8 years ago

+Rad Perez
Its just gonna take some time (and work). lol
Hey, hows your big tank coming along? We need updates! LOL

MileHighReefers - 8 years ago

That's a pretty cool method of feeding him. I hope he recovers quickly.

Klem Reefing - 8 years ago

+MileHighReefers
I was so thankful when he started eating out of the water column with the rest of the fish because it meant less work for me. Sigh, now I guess its back to clams for a bit... Thanks for checkign out the vid ;)

sbazain - 8 years ago

theirs a frozen food called formula 1 for butterflys they love it

Klem Reefing - 8 years ago

I live in a city with no saltwater pet shop, so everything I come accross for my reef tank is literally researched by me. So, no, I have never heard of it.

sbazain - 8 years ago

are you messing with me or you really haven't heard about it

Klem Reefing - 8 years ago

+sbazain
Seriously? I had no idea... Do you use that stuff? And it works? Thanks so much!

sbazain - 8 years ago

feed him lights out , all my fish hide and he stays out so thats how i fed him at firs now he eats like a pig but yes try to feed him when the tank is dark

Klem Reefing - 8 years ago

+sbazain
Great suggestion! I will try that as well! YouTubers Rock!

Anthony's Malawi Predators - 8 years ago

have you tried the classic garlic soak? and my yellow tang refused to eat so my lfs reccomended "zoomed spirulina20 flakes" and he loves it

Klem Reefing - 8 years ago

+Anthony Parente
I have tried that, and it just fattens up my Tangs (who are too fat lol). Ill look into those flakes.

NW Marine62 - 8 years ago

have you tried using Selcon to entice him into eating?

Klem Reefing - 8 years ago

+NW Marine62
The Selcon. yeah Ive tried using that and I still use it. I havent noticed the Copperband really digging it though. Ive mainly been using it to soak the flakes so the get the vitamins... He does go after the food, but it seems like hes just not as proficient at eating as the others in the tank are... If this doesnt work I may have to fatten him up in quarantine. Thanks for the suggestion.

NW Marine62 - 8 years ago

+Klemmetsmo Reefing you're welcome. a friend of mine uses it and told me about it, so I purchased some. his fish go nuts over it. purchase the small bottle (60ml I believe) it goes a long ways.

About Copperband Butterfly Fish is slowly starving in reef tank.

The "Copperband Butterfly Fish is slowly starving in reef tank." video is part of the reef tank, salt water category, which contains similar videos like this one.