Chelmon Soc Dis F

FAQs on Chelmon Butterflyfishes Social Disease

FAQs on Chelmon Disease: Chelmon Disease 1, Chelmon Disease 2, Chelmon Disease 3, Chelmon Disease 4,
FAQs on Chelmon Disease by Category: Diagnosis, Environmental, Nutritional, Trauma, Infectious, Parasitic, Social, Treatments
FAQs on Butterflyfish Disease: Butterflyfish Disease 1, Butterflyfish Disease 2, Angels and Butterflyfishes & Crypt,
FAQs on Butterflyfish Disease by Category: Diagnosis, Environmental, Nutritional, Trauma, Infectious, Parasitic, Treatments

Related Articles: Chelmon Butterflyfishes, Foods/Feeding/Nutrition,

Butterflyfishes for Marine Aquariums
Diversity, Selection & Care
New eBook on Amazon: Available here
New Print Book on Create Space: Available here

by Robert (Bob) Fenner

Copperband disease 4/12/11
Hi,
<Bonjour>
I would need some help finding out what's wrong with this Copperband butterfly
http://www.youtube.com/user/dioube45?feature=mhum
he eats well, have a comportment normal it's been 10 days that he has these white spots, it don't get worst... but don't seem to heal either :(
Thank you for your help
Marie
<These appear to be "sores" from some sort of chemical sting... Likely the Zoanthids so frequently in the background. Nothing to do here really than maintain good conditions, assure this animal is getting sufficient food/s. Bob Fenner>
Re Copperband disease 4/12/11
Thank you very much for this fast reply :)
<Welcome Marie. BobF>

Copperband Butterfly death. Compatibility. 6/1/10
Hi everyone.
<Hello Brian>
This is a great website and a wonderful source of information, thank you all!
<Tanks back!>
I purchased a Copperband Butterfly on Apr. 26th which looked healthy when I bought him. I did ask the LFS to feed him and he ate well there.
<Good protocol, but did you quarantine the fish as well?>
I understand the Copperbands poor track record in captivity.
<Yes>
I also understand Brine Shrimp is virtually useless as far as nutrition goes, but that's all he would eat. He did eat Mysis when I offered it about a week ago.
<This is a much better food>
He also would pick on the live rock often.
<Sounds ok so far>
Tank is 75 gallons, about 45 pd.s. of live rock with skimmer. Ammonia, nitrites and nitrates are zero. Salinity 1.023 <A bit low> and PH 8.2. He was doing well until last Friday when I introduced a Yellow Belly Regal Tang, about 4 inches,
<75 gallons is far too small for this fish, http://www.wetwebmedia.com/paracsysfaqs.htm
and again no quarantine?>
roughly the same size as the Copperband. The Regal would harass him a bit but not too aggressively.
<Most of this aggression is subliminal messages betwixt the fishes that we cannot see>
The Copperband started breathing rapidly and so did the Tang actually. I assumed it was due to stress. There were no signs of parasites at all.
<Heavy breathing can be a sign of both stress and parasites>
Copperband ate well up until the day before it died, his breathing quickened even more and I had a feeling it wouldn't be long. My question is, what do you think could of caused his death? I'm guessing its either due to stress from the tang,
<This, yes. The tang needed/ needs more space. The Copperband should have been the largest fish in this volume. It is no coincidence that as soon as you added the Tang, the problems with the Butterfly began.>
poor nutrition from eating only brine shrimp
<Unless you saw some thinning of the Butterfly, particularly around the head, this is not likely the cause in such a short space of time. You state he has been picking on the live rocks and eating Mysis also>
and essentially starving even though it was eating a lot of it or maybe it caught something internal from the Tang.
<If he has caught anything it is more likely to be external parasites, crypt et. Al. External parasites will infest the gills first, where you cant see them, making breathing difficult for the fish. Since you make no mention of quarantine anywhere here I am assuming that it has not been done>
The Tang still breathes very rapidly, albeit with no signs of parasites.
<As stated, this is a potential sign>
Could the breathing be due to his activity?
<Either, and/ or both. He is stressed from being in such a small setting. This will not change, only get worse. The delicate Copperband probably could not stand being in the same small pen as this horse of a fish>.
He has boundless energy and eats like a horse. The whole ordeal has been quite discouraging to say the least. Any advice or suggestions are greatly appreciated!
<I think you need to get a bigger tank (six foot at least), or return the Tang for credit. And quarantine all your fishes in future. Have a read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/QuarMarFishes.htm
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-10/sp/feature/index.php >
Thanks in advance.
<No problem>
Brian
<Simon>
Re: Copperband Butterfly death. Compatibility. 6/2/10
<Hello Brian>
Thanks for the advice.
<Pleasure>
I'll be taking the Tang back to my LFS. I've read and heard so much conflicting information regarding tank size for these creatures.
<Yes, these and many others as well>
I did read over WWM for hours on end and I feel I'm getting a better understanding of the hobby overall. And I will be setting up a quarantine tank soon.
<Great!>
Are there any Tangs that are suitable to a 75 gallon tank or is it just too small?
<At an uncrowded push you might be ok with one of the smaller Ctenochaetus tangs, such as the Kole, but really I do think this is too small a setting for any Tang.>
Thanks again!
<No problem>
Brian
<Simon>

Copperband fdg./beh. and dither fish 02/03/2008 Hello crew! <<Hello, Andrew today>> I have a quick question that is a slight spin on something that you have addressed very thoroughly in several other FAQ's. I purchased a Copperband butterfly four days ago. I had the LFS hold the fish for a week after receipt. It was eating frozen Mysis quite energetically after the third day or so despite being in a crowded tank with several tangs and Rabbitfish. Because of this display, I felt assured that I was purchasing a more viable specimen. My planned habitat was a 125 gallon frag tank with 125 lbs of live rock. The tank has been up and running for about a year with stable parameters: Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate undetectable; Ca 430 kH 11.2, pH 8.1, ORP 375. <<Sounds like a nice home>> I planned to have the Copperband as the sole inhabitant to control Aiptasia. Because I planned for this to be the only fish in the system and because I was worried about keeping this species (definitely more touchy than the fish I've kept before) I decided to forego my usual 4 week quarantine and just do the fresh water dip. <<Not a wise step forward with any newly purchased inhabitant. All new fish should be quarantined for your good, as well as the fish. Even delicate fish will be fine in quarantine for the usual 4 week period>> I expected that this would be less traumatic and would give the fish a more soothing environment than my QT tank. Anyway it's been four days and the CBB just hides in one of a couple of caves in the LR not venturing for food or much else. He was actually exploring more actively the first day or two and has since become more secretive. I have tried feeding Selcon enriched foods with garlic extreme such as Mysis and Cyclop-Eeze to no avail. I will try the clam/oyster trick today. My main question though is, could the CBB, who was quite energetic in a crowded display at the LFS, be distraught at being the only fish and might the addition of a few Chromis or some other fish be helpful in coaxing him from his hiding spots? I'm afraid that adding a few dither fish just might exacerbate the problem so I thought I'd check with you first. <<Did you acclimatize the fish at all? Sounds like its just suffering from stress. Give the fish time to settle in to the new home, keep tempting it to feed with the foods you have mentioned, it should be fine>> Your advice is always appreciated. Thanks, Jeff <<Thanks for the questions. A Nixon>>

Copperband Quarantine ? Hi Bob, One of my favorite fish is the Copperband Butterfly. Unfortunately, I lost (killed???) two already. <A beauty, but often beat, touchy... easily lost> The first one was in bad shape when I got him (mercy purchase) and based on your advice I nursed him to health and he was fine and hand-feeding. ....until I added a purple tang who bullied him and eventually the poor thing died...I loved that fish because he managed to fight back from his ill condition and became a healthy friendly pet in my reef tank. <Ahh...> The second one was a small baby about 3" long. He suffered from Ich since I did not quarantine him. After other such losses, I will always quarantine and perform a Methylene blue/fresh water dip before and after the 2-3 week quarantine period. <A good commitment> Anyway, I want to get another Copperband but this time I want to do it right and quarantine the fish. However, since Copperbands eat copepods, and since my quarantine tank does not contain any live rock, will the Copperband starve ? I will try to feed it but I just wanted to check with you before purchasing so that I can avoid another loss. Also, is there anything that Copperbands find irresistible other than copepods that I could feed during quarantine ? <The food will not immediately die... try temporarily offering such foods with the equally temporary placement of a bit of live rock.> Thanks again friend, Chuck Spyropulos <You are certainly welcome. Kia orana. Bob Fenner>

Butterflyfishes for Marine Aquariums
Diversity, Selection & Care
New eBook on Amazon: Available here
New Print Book on Create Space: Available here

by Robert (Bob) Fenner

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