Copperband in a Reef?...Sure! - 07/27/06
Hello,
<<Howdy>>
I was hoping to get a Copperband Butterfly after hearing they eat Aiptasia and because they are so beautiful.
<<Indeed...striking fish>>
My questions are... well I have a reef tank.. so I have many questions.  I read from a few sources that they will eat feather dusters and possibly anemones and I read from your FAQ's that butterflies in general will eat mushrooms and polyp coral.  Will in your opinion a Copperband butterfly eat clams, star polyps, xenia, Acros, Montipora capricornis, Stylophora, LPS, Ricordea, shrimp or starfish?
<<I've kept these fish in varying systems with no problems over the years (have one in my current reef tank) regarding the organisms you've just listed.  They will quickly decimate featherdusters, spaghetti worms, etc....and they will occasionally pick at a clam (though I think this is mostly a case of mistaken identity where the fish goes after a "worm-like" protuberance, or goes for a food item that has drifted inside the clam), but never persistently/causing permanent damage in my experience.  There's always the chance a certain individual will be problematic...but this fish is worth the gamble in my opinion>>
I hate to ask so many detailed and tedious thing so a Y , N or a maybe after each item would suffice as I don’t want to waste TOO much of your time.
<<No worries mate>>
One last thing, I currently have a 4-inch Pacific Sailfin Tang that has been in the tank for a year now.
<<I hope this is a big tank>>
Will the tang pick on the butterfly or do they look different enough.
<<Mmm, is likely the tang won't like the butterfly to start.  But again, in my experience, it's not been a lasting issue with Copperbands and Tangs>>
Thanks for the help.
Adam  
<<Regards, EricR>>

Copperband Butterfly acting lethargic  - 2/11/2006
Hello WWM Crew!  First, let me thank you for your site and great information.  I have been reading for the last 2 hours or so (not for the
first time!) but haven't been able to spot the answer I'm looking for.  So if I've overlooked it somewhere please do not think ill of me.
<Mmm, no. And if you have ideas on how to arrange the content here, to make it more readily accessible, assimilable, please do speak up>
I have a 75g tank w/a 30g sump that has been up for about 2.5 months with LR, and fish and inverts for about 6 weeks.  I let the LR cure for two months prior to
putting it into the tank, and it seemed to cycle during that period.  Since setting up the tank, I had my original cycle and my NH3, NO2 and NO3 have
all been staying pretty much at 0.  Ca was low at about 320 ppm but I managed to increase it to 450 over the last 10 days.  I add a small amount
of Iodine (<5 ml) once a week.  Same with Kent essential elements.  I change out about 10 gallons per week with fresh saltwater.  My SG=1.025, Ph=8.2,
KH=11.  I have about 75-80 # LR in the main tank, maybe another 15# in the sump, and am running UV and a protein skimmer.  I run a 1200 gph pump from
the tank through the sump and have a 2nd closed loop system w/a Squid and an 850 Eheim pump. total flow in the tank seems pretty good.  I have one pearly
jawfish, one sailfin blenny, 2 clowns, 1 blue tang, 1 copperband butterfly, 2 Turbos, several Astreas, several Trochus, and about a dozen total hermits
(blue, red and scarlet).  I overfed a bit when starting out and have some algae growth and a little Cyano started in the areas out of the main
current.  I am getting these under control now but still am working on cleaning it up a little.  Last week 2 emeralds died within a day of each
other, and two Turbos mysteriously bit the dust.  All the inverts and fish seem healthy with the exception of the butterfly.  So I guess I have two
questions.  Any idea why the emeralds and snails would have died?
<Mmm, possibly from some sort of "imbalance" from the addition of the supplements... though these should be discounted due to your water changes... or a biological agent/poisoning in situ>
And now for the big question!  My copperband, who I love dearly, went from being perfectly normal and eating well one day, to laying on the bottom, gasping
and not eating the next.
<... am gravitating more to the latter stated cause>
He was eating Mysis and then decided one day he would only eat live brine shrimp.  (I guess even fish love McDonalds, eh?)
<Don't supersize!>
Anyway, I tried a variety of things to get hm back on Mysis but he just wouldn't eat.  Eventually he showed what I was told by my LFS is a
lymphocystis growth on his lower lip.
<Environmental/stress related/direct>
I was told to not worry about it as it would go away on its own in a month or so,
<Yes, good advice>
and it never seemed to bother him eating.  So in an effort to keep him well fed while getting rid of his wart, I kept giving him brine shrimp though I added Zoe and Zoecon vitamins
and a garlic elixir to the shrimp as well as feeding them to gut load then before feeding.  Unfortunately he seems to now be in bad shape - drifting
around the tank, wont eat, and even looks somewhat emaciated even though he ate as recently as last night.  I haven't noticed any cysts on him and his
color is good.  He looks normal with the exception of his laying on the bottom on his side and slight pumping of his gills.  Is it possible for him
to starve to death eating brine shrimp?
<Yes... not uncommon>
Could he have some sort of parasite?
<Yes>
Would a freshwater dip help him?
<Not likely>
Also, it seems that I noticed the tang scratch the LR a couple of times when I first added him to the tank about 3 weeks ago but he is fine now, and he was fine at the LFS for the
week they had him.
<They do this...>
Did I introduce a parasite to my tank with the tang?
<Possibly... am sure you're aware of the benefits of quarantine>
I know - I should have isolated him first but it seemed sort of foolish since I had just bought all the other fish from the same LFS the in the previous
couple of weeks before.  Sorry for the long note but I wanted to make sure you had as much info as I could remember to type!
Thanks in advance - Rob
<Mmm, I would add a unit/pad of Polyfilter in your filter flow path here... allow the calcium concentration to drift down into the upper 300 ppms... and suspend the addition of supplements for a while. Bob Fenner>