New to Copperband Butterfly

[bblumberg]

Definitely a hard fish to QT but I would be hesitant to push OP to just toss the fish into his DT.

Not pushing, just noting my good and bad experiences... I routinely quarantine most fish without meds (unless obviously needed).

 

[jy808]

I would never QT a CB , +1 to all those who agree , get a cleaner shrimp or wrasse , the stress of QT will do in even a healthy CB imho. They are some of the smartest fish and will never forget it, they catch them with cyanide typically and they have been through the ringer already. my 2c

I currently have a 'Red Line Shrimp' (what we call it in Australia), which I think is the Skunk Shrimp. Are they a shrimp does this of nature?

 

[jy808]

Definitely more than one way to skin a cat Mine went on various hunger strikes throughout but did just fine in quarantine. I did quarantine him with another fish. Maybe that helped him feel more normal. Best thing you can do which ever way you go is to make sure the fish is eating Before you buy it.

I also thought quarantining with another fish may help. May even get something today.

 

[jy808]

Thank you everyone for all your responses overnight. It really is a topic that is really talked about.

I too quarantine the fish without any medication until I really need it. So at this stage, after 5-6 days in the QT, I have yet to dose it with copper as I would observe in QT then treat when necessary. But I am tempted to treat it in copper regardless. to help speed the quarantine process and get it into the DT sooner. Thoughts?

Like I said I think the CBB will love my DT, all the live rocks will help it thrive.

At this stage I;m stuck, very very stuck. and yes I do not want to just throw the CBB into the DT without knowing if it's carrying anything.

 

[jy808]

I've just went to feed it to see it scratching itself on the rock again! Possibly another bout of flukes ?

I did a water change right after, as it was planned due to spikes in nitrite and nitrate levels. After the water change there were small white particles which the CBB possibly thought were copepods. It kept eating it, even after spitting it out, trying again. I guess it really thought it was copepods, maybe something I will try to get my hands on from the LFS

 

[jy808]

it's day 6 in quarantine.

flukes are treated.

still not eating (not that I can see of). but trying certain food and spitting out.

still very curious.

ich/white spots not showing.

constantly swimming up and down the tank, seeming like it wants to get out!

i'm tempted to take a gamble and put it into DT, that consists of plenty of live rock and way way better water quality.

my main concern is obviously ich, i hate that the most! but seeing as it has not shown signs of white spots, what are the odds that it's carrying it?

Thoughts guys?

 

[pcon]

I don't buy the whole you can't QT copper bands. I have QT'd a few myself and they took it fine. I wouldn't cut QT short and hope for different results in the display. The risk to my established fish is too high. Some things to consider. How often are you feeding? With finicky feeders I like to hammer them with food. I will take a slurry of every frozen food and dry food I can get ahold of and add a small squirt hourly or 10+ times a day until they are eating well. I love mastic after using it to get my Prognathodes to eat, I like to mix it with a frozen, food, usually an angelfish or butterflyfish prep with a large variety of ingredients, or something like brine or mysis, and smear it on a rock. Live foods are fantastic to trigger a feeding response, be that brine or worms. It's fairly easy to hatch brine at home, so that could be worth a try. Dither fish can also be helpful, like a black molly, or another docile fish. I sometimes will add a clump of macroalgae from my sump to the QT to provide a source of pods, for the fish to snack on. I like to have a ton of cover in my QT tanks, be it live plants, pipes, or other inert decorations, to give the fish plenty of area to explore and hide. Few things to consider and try before possibly introducing pathogens to your display.

 

[jy808]

I don't buy the whole you can't QT copper bands. I have QT'd a few myself and they took it fine. I wouldn't cut QT short and hope for different results in the display. The risk to my established fish is too high. Some things to consider. How often are you feeding? With finicky feeders I like to hammer them with food. I will take a slurry of every frozen food and dry food I can get ahold of and add a small squirt hourly or 10+ times a day until they are eating well. I love mastic after using it to get my Prognathodes to eat, I like to mix it with a frozen, food, usually an angelfish or butterflyfish prep with a large variety of ingredients, or something like brine or mysis, and smear it on a rock. Live foods are fantastic to trigger a feeding response, be that brine or worms. It's fairly easy to hatch brine at home, so that could be worth a try. Dither fish can also be helpful, like a black molly, or another docile fish. I sometimes will add a clump of macroalgae from my sump to the QT to provide a source of pods, for the fish to snack on. I like to have a ton of cover in my QT tanks, be it live plants, pipes, or other inert decorations, to give the fish plenty of area to explore and hide. Few things to consider and try before possibly introducing pathogens to your display.

How often are you feeding? With finicky feeders I like to hammer them with food. I will take a slurry of every frozen food and dry food I can get ahold of and add a small squirt hourly or 10+ times a day until they are eating well. I love mastic after using it to get my Prognathodes to eat, I like to mix it with a frozen, food, usually an angelfish or butterflyfish prep with a large variety of ingredients, or something like brine or mysis, and smear it on a rock.

I am doing this to some extent. I have been alternating between frozen mysis, brozen brine, masstick, frozen copepods. I put in a fair bit. It reacts... but I have yet to try 10+ times a day. I may increase my attempts, as I am only currently trying three times a day.

 

[pcon]

I am doing this to some extent. I have been alternating between frozen mysis, brozen brine, masstick, frozen copepods. I put in a fair bit. It reacts... but I have yet to try 10+ times a day. I may increase my attempts, as I am only currently trying three times a day.

I would start with increasing cover and feeding as often as you can, I tend to include a whole variety at once then it can pick what it wants, might like the smell of one thing and the look or taste of another. then when it comes down to narrowing down foods later you can just observe what it is picking from the slurry. You may want to have a wider variety of foods, I like the angel and butterfly preps because they have things like polychaete worms and other things that might entice it.

I forgot to mention this in my first post but you can even rotate in rocks in from the display to add microfauna to the QT.

 

[jwshiver]

I've had my CB for about two years now. I had him in QT for 6 weeks as I do all my fish. Don't give up on QT. With that small of a tank I would do water changes every 2 to 3 days. Do you have a ammonia badge on the tank? If not get one!! Ammonia could be the problem. I have always had good success with finicky eaters in QT by offering fish eggs. It seems to be the secret weapon for me. Both LRS and Rod's offer fish eggs.
BTW I purchased him because my tank was severely overrun with aptasia. He decimated them in about 2 months and I haven't seen one since. He is one of the most aggressive eaters at feeding time muscling his way in the mix between a very large Magnificent Foxface (top right of picture) and a large Black Tang and multiple wrasses.

 

[jt17]

My CBB had a red sore on its side at the LFS so I did a QT with the trifecta. Normally would have passed but this guy was eating flake and I had been looking for a while. What’s worked best for me is a feeder that is specialized for their mouth. CBB hunt and peck in the wild so I built this feeder so they can mimic their natural behavior.

That is a worm feeder that I drilled holes into it. He’s especially likes the hole in the bottom.

 

[jy808]

It has finally happened. I have witnessed my CBB eat some frozen mysis on 6 seperate occasions in a single feeding. Didn't think I would see this!

Will see if it occurs again tomorrow!

 

[jy808]

A little bit of an update guys.
Day 2 and is eating, which is excellent news.

I also dosed the QT with praziquantel again for flukes as per instructions from bottle. It was recommended a second dose after a few days to ensure its completely gone. A full day and it is still sraping it's side on a rock.

Other than flukes, would there be anything else that could be bothering it? Injured body from all the scraping on the rock?

 

[pcon]

good to hear you got it eating. It could be worth treating for internal parasites, now that it is eating, or going on with copper as both ich and velvet can cause the itching described.

 

[jy808]

good to hear you got it eating. It could be worth treating for internal parasites, now that it is eating, or going on with copper as both ich and velvet can cause the itching described.

Sounds like a reasonable step, shall do.

 

[ReefHog]

I also dosed the QT with praziquantel again for flukes as per instructions from bottle. It was recommended a second dose after a few days to ensure its completely gone. A full day and it is still sraping it's side on a rock.

For timing the 2nd dose of prazi I use this calendar.

Marine Parasites

Marine Parasites is a resource for the study of parasites in south Australian fishes.

www.marineparasites.com

 

[SDK]

My CBB had a red sore on its side at the LFS so I did a QT with the trifecta. Normally would have passed but this guy was eating flake and I had been looking for a while. What’s worked best for me is a feeder that is specialized for their mouth. CBB hunt and peck in the wild so I built this feeder so they can mimic their natural behavior.

That is a worm feeder that I drilled holes into it. He’s especially likes the hole in the bottom.

What size holes did you drill? They look about 1/8"...

 

[jt17]

I think they are 1/4”.

 

[jy808]

Just abit of an update following this.

Copperband completed second dose of praziquantel. Have done two 25% water changes and put carbon in to remove praziquantel.

Now I'm not sure if it's flukes coming back but something seems to be like it's coming out of its skin. I could probably get a tweezer and pick it out (is what it looks like, I'm not going to actually do that). Or it may have hurt itself?
It was like this for 4 or so days before copper treatment.

Took out carbon and started copper treatment anyway.

Should i do a freshwater dip again or wait until copper treatment is complete

 

[Big G]

Does it look cottony, fibrous, or cauliflower like in texture? If so it's probably lymphocystis. Very common on CBBs. It's a usually harmless virus. It can present under the skin or on the outside of the skin. Best treatment is pristine water quality, high quality foods + vitamins. Beta Glucan in particular, when mixed with food, can tremendously boost the fish's immune system.