copperbands

[Janus]

Ok I have put in a request for Ed to get me a small copperband butterfly for my biocube and I have a few concerns about the corals I have. I know that they eat aptasia and other anemone....but do they have a taste for other corals? I ask because I have mostly zoas, mushrooms and a few rics in the tank, and before I put the new fish in I want to know if there is going to be a problem.

What is your experiance with copperbands? Individual fish are of course going to be different I just want to get a general consensus about their behavior.

[hobogato]

i had two, one in each tank. both ate aptasia and prepared foods. one developed a taste for LPS and ate a whole colony of acans and a big blue and green chalice:angry:

from what i understand, this is pretty rare - i have actually never heard of it happening b4.

[alton]

I have two one in each tank with no problems. I would think as long as you have aptasia for him to eat until you get him acclimated over to frozen, you should be fine, but with all other fish there are no 100% gurantees.

[MissT]

IMO, putting a CBB in a biocube, may not be the best idea. For aiptasia control in smaller systems, peppermint shrimp might be the better way to go.

[Ross]

I second that, putting a copperband in a biocube is just asking for trouble.

[Bill S]

I have 2 CBB, one in each tank. Neither has been a problem.

[Janus]

I had some concerns about the fish having enough room to grow out but I figured if I got one about 1" it should be ok for the first year until I can get my 50 up and running and transfer the system over. I had thought about peppermint shrimp but I have had a bad experience with them getting a taste for some of the corals I had in the past. I am not sure if tis was just a problem with an individual or not, but thats why i did not consider one for this system at first.

MissT and Ross if I may ask what is the reasoning behind your concerns? I ask because at this point I am trying to get as much info as I can before Ed gets his next shipment with my copperband in it.

[erikharrison]

peppermint shrimp eating your corals? Wha????

[Janus]

yeah I had a few of them before in my first tank and they started nipping my zoas. I am not sure if they were peppermints or camelbacks. I have read in some place that camelbacks will nip corals. IDK I may be mistaken, but I just don't want to take a chance seeing as how I just got my system back. Just looking for other peoples experience and advice on the copperband before Ed goes out to California and I can't change my request. I may be overly concerned but I would rather error on the side of caution than just hope things work out.

[Bill S]

A CBB really needs some room... They get pretty big.

[erikharrison]

Bill is correct, I love CBBs but I only have a 75 which has prevented me from buying one. I just don't want to risk losing a cool fish to a bad choice. They are hard to keep, I have read thread after thread of them dying, and most of it has been due to starvation. Also, after being so stressed from the trip, it will be hard for it to adjust to tank life anyway, and being put in a 29 will probably just make it worse. A really stressed fish probably wont eat anything, so I would go another route. Maybe setup a 10g QT and put some pepermints in there. Put the affected rocks in there and once they pick them clean, put them back in the tank and keep some Joe's juice handy. I have yet to have an aiptaisa issue, I had one little piece, but I fried it off with a torch lighter. I am sure someone here has a tank that they would give you... HTH!

[apedroza]

If your aptaisia isn't that bad get some peppermint shrimp (you probably had camelback the last time) I have never heard of them nipping at corals. They do pick around zoas but usually to pick around the bases which helps keep them clean. You can also try joe's juice or concentrated kalk to kill the aptaisia,.

[Ross]

Janus

I copperband gets large, much to large for a 29g tank. Secondly, they often times come in with some type of parasite and the stress of living in such a small tank will only make the fish more prone to ich or any other parasite. Please save the fish and your own money, i would hate to see either one go to waste. You will not have any type of long term success with a copperband in a 29g tank. Save the money and just get a few peppermints like everyone has recommded.

[MissT]

pretty much no matter how you aquascape a biocube, it wont give a CBB a place to hide AND give him swimming room. It would be like putting a puppy in a shoebox... just because he fits, doesn't mean he'll be happy.

[emac]

1/10th cc of distilled white vinegar > aptaisia

[Janus]

thanks all. I had some concerns about putting a cbb in my tank which is why i wanted to consult people here before it was too late. thank you all very much for the advice I will most likely go the peppermint route because I have tried many other ways, including Joes Juice to no avail.