I'm looking for a sixth fish to add to my stock list for my 65 gallon reef. So far I have a pair of percula clowns, a sixline wrasse, and a royal gramma in quarantine. I also have a flame angel on hold at a LFS. I'm researching a copperband or big long nosed as my final fish for this tank. I've read the copperbands are difficult to get eat, but once eating are hardy fish. I would only consider a specimen that is eating well at a LFS for this reason. They are also generally regarded as reef safe, except for eating small feather dusters. My other fish in consideration is the big long-nosed butterfly (Forcipiger longirostris). Robert Fenner describes this fish as very hardy and easy to acclimate and start feeding as opposed to the copperband. Every reference I have seen says the BIG long nosed (Forcipiger longirostris not Forcipiger flavissimus) is completely reef safe. Does this seem like a sensible stocking list for my 65? Anyone with any experience with these two fish? I try to verify every (or at least most) decision I make with my friends here on TR.
Sorry we missed you at the frag show. Both the Copperband and the Long Nose Butterfly fish can be tricky to acclimate to captive foods. There's a whole new crop of foods on the market that should make it easier for you to accomplish your goal. Some of the best are from Reef Nutrition.
Check them out.
Dick
__________________ Amphibious
Reaching my 70th BD, I realize that I cannot help but grow old. However, I refuse to grow up!!! My wife would tell you, "He may be 70 but, He's going on 17". Life is wonderful with a woman like that.
also, IMHO, NO butterfly is COMPLETELY reef safe. i have had both fish, and i have to say that in my experience ... the copperband was the best fish i ever bought. i would still have him today if i did not have a pistol shrimp that dug up under the rock work and caused a rock slide in the tank, that pinned the copperband under some rocks and he died. this is what i looked like when i saw him ...
the long nose only lasted about a week for me, even with my insanely exceptional water quality and completely nuts acclimation process.
__________________ Bobby
"I FORMERLY glued animals to rocks" NO TANK RIGHT NOW, but you never know when I might throw one together !! I have everything I need but the time!!
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Thanks for the responses. So does this seem like a sensible stocking list? How "stocked" would you consider my 65 with this list? I'm just making sure I'm not sticking a tang in a 10 gallon so to speak. Should I worry about the flame angel harrasing the butterfly? I think ill add the flame last regardless.
Dick it is a real shame we couldn't meet up at the swap, albeit my own fault. How is the aquaculture buildling coming along? I'd love to make the drive up when your done and support a forum member.
The building has turned out to be quite a challenge for Sue and I to get together square and true to the world. It wants to take on a shape of it's own. I talked to the factory engineer last week and he made some suggestions which seems like they will work. I have to wait till my wife has some time off to work on it. That's the major problem to getting it done. One person cannot do it alone.
Dick
__________________ Amphibious
Reaching my 70th BD, I realize that I cannot help but grow old. However, I refuse to grow up!!! My wife would tell you, "He may be 70 but, He's going on 17". Life is wonderful with a woman like that.
I wanted to bring this post back before making a decision. A LFS owner claims that most of the copperbands he has seen nip at zoanthids. Anyone have any experience? Also how does my stock list look? To make it easier ill repost it here.
pair of percula clowns
royal gramma
sixline wrasse
flame angel
I appreciate any insight or personal experiences you guys can offer.
I'm on my 2nd copperband currently. The first one I really should have known better than to get. It was thin, and as soon as it was placed in the tank, it just hung out in the corner until it died about 36 hours later. The 2nd one was fat and happy looking at the LFS and I made sure he ate before he came home. He'sbeen in the tank since Wednesday, eats mysis and spirulina enriched brine, picks at the rocks and swims about the tank. He has not nipped at any corals or clams yet, but I guess we'll see. It realy is a gorgeous fish, and I'm thrilled he seems to be doing OK.
The Copperband Butterfly is such a dramatic fish. Another one of my favorites but, CAUTION must be the word on these. Most come from the Philippines and many are still being caught with cyanide. Cyanide caught fish are doomed. That is why it is against the law but alas, that law is seldom enforced because of the lack of funds, personnel and the size of the range.
This is not a fish for the newbie or a new tank plus, they should be housed in nothing smaller than a 100 gal, in my humble opinion!!! I got bit by one about a year ago...
Beautiful, isn't it? By all accounts this is a healthy CB. It is large, fat, alert, swimming normal, breathing normal, it nibbled at live brine at the store and didn't look stressed. I bit, $75 worth, and within two weeks it developed a patch of raised scales on it's right shoulder area. Within 2 or 3 days from that showing up, it died. Buyer be aware on CBs.
Dick
__________________ Amphibious
Reaching my 70th BD, I realize that I cannot help but grow old. However, I refuse to grow up!!! My wife would tell you, "He may be 70 but, He's going on 17". Life is wonderful with a woman like that.
I'm 0/3 on CBBs with one living 4 months, the other two only lasting a couple days. Even with a huge aiptasia population (not by choice), I couldn't keep them very long. I think most of them are too starved to survive by the time we get 'em.
__________________ I have Attention Defic...HEY LOOK, A FISH!
Update:
My LFS got a copperband in that was too hard for me to resist. First day I saw him he was eating live brine. I went back this past friday (4-5 days later) and he was eating frozen foods so I took a chance and brought him home.
I'm glad to say he has been eating frozen mysid and brine immediately since being put in the QT. Wish me luck, I hope this little guy does not have a taste for corals.
Really sad news, I found my copperband dead this morning. This fish was eating vigorously and swimming out in the open, he would even come up to the glass to take a look at me whenever I was around. By all I could tell this was a perfectly healthy fish. Yesterday afternoon he was not looking great though. When I got home from work he was breathing fast hanging around the bottom (he was also twitched a fin once or twice) and I could not get him to eat brine or mysid (which he was chowing down until then). I quickly tested the water and found nothing out of the normal. PH: a lil low around 7.9-8.0 Ammonia: 0ppm Nitrite:0ppm Nitrate: about 10-15ppm
Temp:81 deg F (never really deviates from this) Salinity: 1.025
There was a good amount of detritus collecting at the bottom of the quarantine tank, so even though the parameters looked ok I decided to do a water change in case something got into the tank that I wasnt measuring. I did a fairly large water change (about 50%). I used water from my DT for the water change. I went to the local Petco to get some bloodworms which I had seen him eating at the LFS. I couldnt get him to even look at those either. My royal gramma acted exactly like this the day before he came down with ich, so I decided to dose the QT with copper as I had done for the gramma. I dosed the copper and tested the level to be sure I was around 2ppm. I woke up today to find him dead. No spots, fungus, raised scales or anything like that. He did look thin though, but this fish had been eating well. I'm REALLY down about this and hope to at least learn something. What could I have done differently? Can anyone give possibilities to what might have caused his death given the symptoms I observed. What really surprised me is how quickly he went from looking great to dead. I try to care for my fish to the best of my abilities and something like this really bums me out.
you say he was fat when you bought him, and thin when he died ?? sounds like some type of internal parasite (maybe worms) problem to me. looks like he was there for about 9-10 days ... could also be a cyanide issue, the time line sounds about right. if you try another one ... TRY AUSTRAILIAN !! (wait until V sees that !!)
dont let it get you down, it happens to everyone.
__________________ Bobby
"I FORMERLY glued animals to rocks" NO TANK RIGHT NOW, but you never know when I might throw one together !! I have everything I need but the time!!
Show people you appreciate their advice! Click the icon under their name to add to their reputation.
you say he was fat when you bought him, and thin when he died ?? sounds like some type of internal parasite (maybe worms) problem to me. looks like he was there for about 9-10 days ... could also be a cyanide issue, the time line sounds about right. if you try another one ... TRY AUSTRAILIAN !! (wait until V sees that !!)
icon under their name to add to their reputation. 
