krisfal, what type of clam meat and where'd you get it?
Also, what you be the minimum tank for CBB?
I use razor clam as we go dig these up for fun
locally. When we dig we usually end up with a few that are crushed in the process. I freeze these and use them in my blender mush but will also freeze some clam (after running it whole through the food processor) seperately to entice picky eaters. I have also heard of people buying live clams at the fish market (or occasionally a grocery store will have them) freezing them whole and when they are thawed the shell will pop open. You can then place the whole clam in the tank for the fish to eat. (Tip from Lee, make sure the clam is alive before freezing, a live clam will be very hard to open up). The clam is good for getting a fish to eat but cannot be the fishes sole food. Once my butterfly was eating clam I began introducing other types of food. It seemed to only take food that was white in color so I created a blender mush with whole clam, whole shrimp, mysid and vitamins. I was constantly trying to get my CBB to accept other foods, usually placing them in the rock where we began the feeding process, however, it would always spit most things out. Unfortunately I lost this fish when I introduced ich into my tank (A lesson hard learned, always, always quarantine new fish, or you will lose your favorite) I am planning to get another CBB soon.
As far as tank size, the following web site shows 55 gal minimum.
http://www.marinecenter.com/fish/butterflyfish/copperbandbutterfly/
From experience these fish are grazers so the more room, the more rock = happier fish, IMO. Lee has indicated the the CBB is one of the leaner reef fish
Kris,
The 'lean' fishes are those that are particularly stremlined and/or laterally compressed.
and therefore have less of a bio load impact than other fish. However I do not think the bio load capacity alone should be the determining factor. We also need to consider our ability to allow the fish to thrive, not just survive. A fish that likes to pick and graze on the live rock all day needs a lot of live rock to pick at. If the live rock is covered in coral the fish might resort to picking on the coral. Many factors need to be considered when deciding on adding a particular fish. Lee has a couple of great threads on this topic.
http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29287
Ok Lee where is that thread where you discuss thriving vs. surviving??
Hope this helps
From Charlotte, NC (this week)