feeding a longnose butterfly

[RichV]

I got a longnose butterfly about 2 months ago. Initially, he eliminated all of the small tube worms in the tank and continually picks at the rock. The only thing he'll eat otherwise is frozen mysis. Is that enough for its diet, or is there something else I could try?

Thanks, Rich

 

[leebca]

All fish should be quarantined before being put into a display tank. In the QT the fish can be trained what to eat and to get acclimated to captive life.

Put into a display tank after transportation from its natural home, the fish resumes its natural hunt for food and may fail to learn what foods it should be eating.

Please use a quarantine process in the future. This is a step-by-step guide to that and I wish you would at least read the first couple of sections of this post: A Quarantine Procedure

For now, read this post and see if anything in that post can help you get the fish eating prepared foods. If you don't succeed, the fish will starve to death, so keep trying. I'm glad you posted for help! Here's that post:
My New Fish Won't Eat -- Tips

 

[RichV]

Thanks Lee,
I know I broke the rules by not quarantining the fish. I used to always do it, but had some bad outcomes I attributed to keeping the quarantine tank seeded. I'll try your sponge filter idea. Do you have a good commerical option to train him on? I'm currently feeding the other fish in the tank dried seaweed and homemade frozen seafood mixture.

Rich

 

[trekel]

i feed mine live tubifex worms 2 to 3 a week he goes nuts for them

 

[krisfal]

I had a CBB I taught to eat food by smashing clam into a piece of live rock, I used the same spot each time I fed. He would pick at the rock and eat the clam, after a few days he began to come to my hand as I reached into the tank and started eating the pieces that would get away. At that point I quit smashing it into the rock as he would take food from the water column.

 

[Red C Aquarium]

frozen cyclopeeze is the ticket ,works well ,very fatty helps build body weight
plus they are small and red www.freezerbar.com

 

[leebca]

Fish don't eat because they haven't acclimated to captive life. When the time is right, the fish will eat IF it acclimates.

It really isn't the kind of food so much as how the food is presented. Try some of the techniques from that post and favor pod-type foods and finely chopped raw marine shrimp tail.

Good luck!