copperbanded butterfly

[bprewit]

Not a reply to this question instead another question. Are the cbb extremly difficult fish other than the feeding issue? Are they prone to picking at corals and clam mantles? If they eat aiptasia im guessing they should not be in the same tank as other anenomes? What would be considered mininum sized tank to keep them in? I have a 55g tank with a few corals, a lion and a blue jaw trigger. I figured I could add one more fish to this, and be fine for awhile as my current two fish arent vert large yet. I have a 115g tank but it will be a few months before I can get it set up and transfer everything over. My tank has been up and running for quite awhile so its pretty stable, would love a cbb but have been nervous to try.

[GaryP]

The real trick to keeping a CBB is that the they come in a with a ton of parasite. Richard at CB Pets has told me he can see flukes and other parasites falling of of them in large numbers when he dips them on arrival. Since he is the only LFS that I know of that routintely does this, as well as quarantines, they are about the only place I feel comfortable purchasing one.

Instar (Larry) told me that he got his as youngsters before they were heavily infested. He has a small herd of them in his 125. I kept one in a reef tank with no problems except for a newly introduced clam that it ate. Larry later explained that clams release a stress peromone when they are first introduced and this is feeding trigger for a CBB that is irresistible. They are OK, with clams that have been in for a while, and there are some tricks you can use to introduce a clam into a tank with a CBB. Mine never picked on any of the corals in my tank, at least that I saw. Like I said, Larry has a herd in his SPS tank.

However, any butterfly is definitely not a fish for a beginner. They are fairly high maintenance and require reef quality water. The biggest problem I had was that the nutrients from the mussels I was feeding caused a small hair and dinoflagellate algae bloom in my tank that I am just now getting under control. When I cut back on feeding mussels as a result of the bloom, the CBB died. They definitely need to be fed regularly, at least twice a day. My CBB was not an aggresive feeder except when I gave him mussels and then he would charge straight at it. He would not mix it up with the other fish when I fed other foods. Don't even think about feeding flake. He wouldn't touch it.

As with everything else, I learned from that and now know that nutrient control is very important with a fish that has such demanding "meat" nutritional requirements. I have since added a refugium, upgraded the pump on my skimmer, and use carbon and phosguard routinely. I'm waiting for the right CBB to come along before adding another one.

Don't get me wrong, they are great fish, but a lot more complicated than adding a Tang or damsel to your tank. My advice is to research thoroughly before going out to buy one, but then I say that about any critter you put in your tank. Maybe a little more research is necessary in this case, and I don't mean just asking the guy at the LFS unless its someone you really know has specific knowledge about the species that you can trust. Me? I trust Larry, listen to him. He is THE butterfly guy in my opinion.

OK, Dr. Larry I packed a lunch and the blackboard is clean. Class is in session.

Gary