Copperband Butterflyfish

[TEL]

Has anyone had any experience with them because I am thinking about one for my reef tank

[Catpicklesdog]

It's a fish I've always admired but would never risk due to their poor survival record in captivity. It can be very much hit and miss with them (I suppose like a lot of our fish but more so with Copperbands). I know it can be hard to get them to feed. I'm pretty sure a couple of people on AC have one so hopefully they'll chim in soon!

[schigara]

Haven't had one personally but both of my LFS's, which are excellent have lost 95% of the ones they have received in the past few months. Even the ones that start eating well still perish.

[TEL]

My lfs said the same thing about getting it to eat but if i can it should be ok, hope he is right very nice looking fish

[cav]

I was going to get one for my fowlr tank but have decided not to now. They need to placed in a mature tank (at least 1 year old) and even ones that eat well to start with may just suddenly stop eating for no reason leading to their demise. I've seen another thread on another forum about copperbands, no one can seem to keep them more than a year

[BadRoma1]

my coperband is over a year old and I hope he lives to be an old fish, however this fish has other bad points, like they can eat all your featherdusters, pick on xenia polys and clam mantle to a point of killing a clam. sorry, but i consider them not a reef safe. i listed only the problem with my coperband and i'm sure it's possible that yours wn't pick on anything or will pick on other things. either way, good luck

[archer772]

I know of one guy that kept one for 2+ years but he would exchange some of his rock for aptasia covered rock. They will eat every feather duster they can find and I have even heard of them going after the anemones we like to keep. I dont feel they are a reef safe fish

[mcsassy]

I know of one guy that kept one for 2+ years but he would exchange some of his rock for aptasia covered rock. They will eat every feather duster they can find and I have even heard of them going after the anemones we like to keep. I dont feel they are a reef safe fish

Well maybe that's why they die...that is probably all part of their natural diet (the stuff they "pick on") So better just leave it in the ocean where there is plenty of natural food for it.

[strickrick]

I've had mine for 3+ years in a much over crowded 125 gal. I'm ashamed to list all the fish but I'll tell you that there is around 10 fish in the tank already that are bigger than him!!!! I know I know, we're not talking about me though, lets keep it on the CB. I've had him in with 2 lots of star polyps, xenia, 5 other different polyp frags, 2 mushroom rocks, and numerous leather frags and he's never once bothered anything. I've never kept any feathers because I'm sure he would do them in, I know I've never had a problem with aptasia or those white brittle dusters.
I've only once seen a white spot on his fin, that came when I took down the tank last summer to relocate. Mine has been a model citizen and hes the first to have his beak sticking out of the water when the cover of the tank is lifted come feeding time. I feed him a variety of brine, mysis, phytoplankton, meaty pellets, green pellets & he'll even take pieces of krill, shrimp & scallops.

[BadRoma1]

my coperband also not bothering anything now, however he is in the tank without anything he has been known to bother, no clams, no feather dusters, no xenias. of cause, if you don't keep what your coperand likes then no problems with it.

[emptywallet]

some copperbands will eat polyps around your tank