QT tips for Copperband Butterfly

[LobsterOfJustice]

Looking for specific experience and feedback regarding QT of CBB.

Many years ago, when I first got into the hobby, I had tried several CBB and they never made it through QT. I wrote it off to being a difficult fish and decided to only buy established fish from then on. Eventually I got the chance and put that fish directly into my DT. The fish thrived for years and recently (January) died of what I have to assume were “natural causes” (healthy established fish, no recent additions, all other fish fine).

This past week I purchased a new CBB from a reefer taking down his tank. This one went into QT but it’s not acting right... nosing again the front like it’s just trying to swim out into the room, not eating. I saw it picking pellets off the sand bed before I purchased it so I know it was previously eating. The QT setup is a 20g with live rock for shelter and filtration, and I have an air stone and powerhead and heating/cooling. It’s not a bare tank so the fish shouldn’t be too stressed. It was acting a little more normal the first day or two (in and out of the rocks, watching me, a healthy amount of shy) but now it just spends the whole day swimming against the front glass.

Looking back at my earlier failures with this fish, I’m wondering if they just don’t do well in smaller tanks for quarantine? When I had mine in the reef he rarely went into the rocks, so I was thinking about maybe removing some rock from the QT and replacing with plastic plants for cover?

Any other ideas to get this fish to act normal and settle down?

 

[EmdeReef]

IMe they don’t do well in empty tanks without much to do so try to enrich the environment.

Most will struggle to eat pellets although sometimes do. Offer frozen food instead. Also they’ll usually like eating clams so may try that.

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

He should have plenty of structure (see pic). I mentioned the pellets because that’s what the previous owner fed before I bought him but I have tried a variety of frozen foods as well as grocery store mussels.

Yes he also has a tankmate in QT who happens to be at the front for this pic but the tang is acting normal and swimming throughout the tank, in and out of rocks, eating, etc.

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

Just added some mysis... and he just aggressively swam against the front glass the whole time, didn’t stop to see what was going on around him, not even watching or noticing the food floating by. Just completely zoned out.

 

[willieboy240]

Live brine shrimp. Just to get him eating. Then slowly introduce other meaty foods.

 

[suta4242]

Agree its unsettling behaviour from the butterfly.
How long had the previous owner had the fish?

Does the tang display any dominant behaviour towards it?

 

[Phycodurus]

nice little gem tang in there.

i was going to mention that i usually keep small green chromis in my QT as dither fish. in your case, i see there’s a companion fish in the tank. i myself would have expected the CBB to settle down after a week. (there’s no aggression from the gem tang, right?)

in addition to the live brine shrimp recommendation, you may also wish to try live blackworms.

did the prior owner have a sand bottom?? odd as it sounds, i wonder if that’s one component of what’s bothering the CBB. the tank lights would be reflecting differently. maybe a few more live rock cave structures will help too.

 

[1stNoel]

"Clams on a Half Shell" are my go-to for getting new fish to eat. And I also hand-feed frozen food with a turkey baster.

I also am choosy about my fish. Making sure they eat before I buy them; watching them to make sure they're active; and trying to buy fish that have been there for at least a week.