Can I keep copperband butterfly?

[bprewit]

Hopefully in the near future i am going to try a copperband butterfly fish. I have read everything I can find on keeping them, have a small quarantine set up and hopefully am close to actually getting one. LFS will order one in for me in trade for some xenia from my tank as well as long tentacle plate coral. I am first trying to figure out if it will be ok in my tank with my other two fish, a volitan lion and a blue cheek trigger? The copperband is listed as peaceful while my current two are listed as semi-agressive. Will this combo work? Also the LFS will only order one in for me if I pick it up while still in the bag fresh from the airport. I have read they are usually pretty full of parasites and quarantine and fresh water dip are needed. I have never done the fresh dip for any of my fish and I understand correctly the temp and ph need to be the same, also that it should be done for 3-5 minutes? So do you acclimate the fish to the quarantine and do the dip later on? Best to do it straight out of the bag? Sorry if these are stupid questions, just dont want to make stupid mistakes! Last thing, what are the chances with these guys for being actual reef safe? Anenomes and feather dusters they eat i have read, but curious of response from someone that has one or has had one in their reef tank? I understand that fish of a certain species will still behave different, one has great luck while another has bad luck. Thanks for any help, trying not to make a stupid mistake!

[iwantacans]

copperbands are a 50/50 fish.. either they shrivel away or they thrive! beautiful addition to your tank... as far as a ggressivness. the cb will get pumled... either remove the trigger. or redo aquascape...

[Instar]

My bet is on the trigger. If the CB is threatened, he won't eat and its death to him. And if the QT tank is too small, not a good idea. You have to be prepared to spend significant dollars getting it cleaned up and eating either way. I would not use copper or a fresh water dip. BTW, you can NOT make the pH of fresh water = to salt water without harmful additives and then its not fresh water anymore, its an alkali of some kind. I would look for a lfs that can QT the fish and get it eating, but still, my bet is that trigger is going to beat him to death. No problem with the lion unless he is large and thinks he owns the world, but thats not very likely.

[GaryP]

I just added a CBB to my SPS reef tank. There is only one LFS in the SA area I would get one from. They dip, deworm, and quarantine them when they come in. They won't sell them until they are eating. They can be pretty stubborn about eating when they arrive.

Out of the 3 that were shipped to them, this was the only one that survived. I had been watching them in their quarantine area for a few weeks.

[bprewit]

It really sucks that they are so difficult to get acclimated and going because they are a awesome looking fish. I didnt forsee any problems with my lion and a peaceful fish as he is pretty calm and not territorial at all, the trigger I was afraid I would have problems, even with the lionfish as they seem prone to having more agressive fish nipping at their fins. Oh well, maybe someday when I am rich and famous I will consider getting a cbb but until then I will steer clear of one. Thanks for the help and info!

[GaryP]

Instar has a school of them in his reef tank. He's the butterfly guy around here.

I would not recommend picking one up in a bag like the LFS up there recommends. You be better off ordering them online yourself.

[NaCl_H2O]

I fell prey to the temptation of a cbb twice in my saltwater history, once 15+ years ago and again last year - they both died within weeks. You really need to know this fish well to get one to survive.

[GaryP]

I can't agree more. I never tried one until Instar sent me through butterfly school. I had always believed the common belief they weren't reef safe until I saw his tank.