copperband

[ka34579]

Hey I just added a copperband butter to my 75-gallon fowlr, hes in there with a pair of tomato clowns and a bluehead wrasse, they're not aggressive at all. I dunno I tried mysiid shrimp, brine, frozen and alive, he wont eat anything. He chews on the live rock but i don't know if that's enough or not. I have to admit he looks really healthy, about a 9 out of 10, but he wont eat. Any other ideas? What about tubifex worms?

[Homer]

I have had my CB for over a year now and it loves frozen mysis shrimp. As a treat I give it a live rock from my sump, which is covered with aptasia. He cleans them up in no time.

Hope this helps, Homer

[PaintGuru]

Mine has the same problem....right now he is living on live rock critters/aptasia/tube worms.

[mapster]

How mature is the tank?

Did you QT the fish? If not, you may want to isolate the CB until you get it feeding. Getting one to feed is hard enough without competition.

[miami13]

For what it's worth mine went literally over a week without eating when I first introduced him into the tank. He wiped out my small feather-dusters in no time, but had no interest anything I tried to feed. I think the key is going to be patience and try not to overfeed the tank for his sake. I had almost given up on mine and just like that he decided to eat. From that moment on - he's first in line when I lift my hood to feed - good luck...

[tims]

if he is just "in" then it can take a bit... you can try teasing him to eat with the shrimp .. you can even try the dried seaweed and clip route..

do you know how he was doing in before you got him?

[ka34579]

hey yea the tank is like 4 years old. he is about the healthiest looking fish they had there. the guy got like insulted one time when i asked to see the wrasse be fed before i bought him, and he put up a stink about how he already fed them, but when i said no he did it. it's just a apin, they had a little live rock in the tank with the CB and he was foraging so i figured he was ok to go. ill have some more patience, hes only about 3 days in the tank

[mapster]

Should be plenty of snacks on the rocks to nibble at until it feels comfortable enough to eat.

What LFS did you get it from?

[PaintGuru]

Yeah mine picked at mysis at the LFS as well, but now apparently he has better stuff on the menu so has no interest. Perhaps when he runs out of "good stuff" he will take a look at my crappy frozen stuff .

[JennM]

If the LFS is reluctant to offer food to a fish you are considering buying, RUN, don't walk out of there.

I always asked to see them eat, and I got my share of looks like this: from LFS staff, but I've also walked away from specimens who didn't take prepared foods - and probably saved myself some money and heartbreak.

Hopefully he will come around, if you don't have Piscine Energetics brand Mysis - you should try to get some of that. The other brands just aren't as good - the PE brand looks most like it's still alive.

HTH

Jenn

[ka34579]

Yea turns out I actually do have the PE mysis, and ttoday when I got in from class he was hiding under a large live rock overhang. Anyway turns out when I put the shrimp in today he just started going nuts, he was like fightin the Bluehead for food. He devoured a good cube's worth of it. He should be fine now, thanks guys.

[JennM]

Great news!!!

Jenn

[tims]

glad he ate......
now your blood pressure will go back to noraml...(still high.. bit normal... )