Copperband Butterfly dying I think

[etsaxman]

Hello,

I have an aiptasia problem that I cannot solve with Joes Juice alone as some of them are growing behind my live rock where I cannot reach them.

I just got a Copperband butterfly from the LFS. I have had one before in this tank that did fine for years. The owner told me that the fish has been there for a month and has been eating. It was also pretty big. (3-1/2) inches. I placed the fish into a 75 gallon reef tank along with a yellow tang, a small mandarin dragon and a huge pacific sailfin tang. (4 1/2) inches long and when the sail is extended, looks like it is about 7 inches tall.

The butterfly is not eating and is on the top of the tank in the corner wagging his tail fin extremely fast. He's using up a lot of energy.

I've tried frozen Mysis, frozen brine, and live brine shrimp by the way. He won't go near it.

Also, the sailfin tang is the big bully of the tank. I call him "Big Greedy" He has gotten the biggest because he is the most aggressive in the tank. I have witnessed him going over and worrying the copperband. The new fish is so scared it is almost jumping out of the tank when he comes near. The rest of the fish just slowly move out of his way.

So what should I be doing to keep this fish alive long enough to get used to the big sailfin and start eating? I don't think he will last but a few more days if I don't solve this.

[leebca]

WELCOME TO REEFLAND!

Sorry it was the current situation that brought you to put up your first post here on Reefland.

The fish will likely die. It is not acclimating to the main display. Not a very good idea to put a new fish into a display that has 'old' tankmates. It is one of the reasons for doing a quarantine process. Please read at least the first few paragraphs of this post: A Fish Quarantine Process

I don't know how it was put into your display. By that I mean its acclimation from LFS to your tank. If it didn't follow these suggestions, it may part of the problem: It Was Acclimation, I know. . .

Once a Sailfin has ruled the tank, it will not likely yield to another fish. In the grouping of Butterflyfish and Tang, Butterflyfishes are always added first.

I do note that the tank has become too small for the Tang and that will make the Tang even more dominant and less tolerant of newcomers, in the confines of that space.

Unless you've actually seen the fish enthusiastically eating, then always assume it isn't eating. That is to say, take no one's word that a fish is eating. The LFS could have been mistaking this fish for another, lying, or unsure and rather say, 'Yes' than 'I don't know.' There is even a chance the fish once was eating (a few days ago) and that is all the help at the LFS remember.

For now, the fish should be removed to a quarantine tank and allowed to acclimate further, alone. Lastly, find another home for the Copperband or Tang.

[etsaxman]

Thanks for the QT tank instructions. Initially I tried to place a divider in the tank that kept out the sailfin. The yellow tang got in but did not bother the copperband much. The copperband started looking better but still was not eating. I decided to return him to the store and got some peppermint shrimp instead to eat the aptasia.

I'll look at setting up a QT next time I decide to add any more fish to the tank.