Copperband with neurological or vision problem

[Paul B]

This (about) 10 year old copperband normally will eat all the clams you give him. But for the last few months he misses the food 9 out of 10 times.
In this video he gets one piece but misses all others. He aims short almost every time.

I am sure it is neurological and can't be fixed. Fish get tumors and cancers just as we do and you can't fix everything.

 

[reefsandrotts]

Have you tried feeding him with tongs,or maybe you could steampunk a feeding gadget for him.
If anyone can do it your the guy that can

 

[Paul B]

I do try to feed him like that. But he backs up and still misses. He tries hard though

 

[David]

How do you prep the clam? Since I have been following you for a while, that you don’t buy it prepared.

 

[Paul B]

I buy it live, slightly open it and throw it in the freezer next to me calamari that I made for dinner. There is no prep, it's a clam. Of course I do have to slice it up in sizes that the fish can eat as copperbands are not the Tyrannosaurus's of the sea.


I am not certain on the age of my Copperband because I am hardly certain of my age. She could be 8 or 18. (I could be 50 or 82)
I get fish, throw them in my tank and go out to dinner for some calamari and maybe try the Merlot.

Yesterday I bought an anthius. I already forgot what kind of anthius it is but I don't think I ever had one of these and I got him in a store which I don't like because I don't get a discount there and don't like the place. It is also filthy and the people working there seem like they would rather be working at Burger King running the French Fry machine.

My wife had a Dr. appointment near there and I go there to kill time because in her Doctors office the only magazines they have are Golf Digest and Pregnancy Today. Two books that I have always wanted to read but since they have those same two books for the three years we have been going there, I already read them.

The fish was 80 bucks and I probably could have gotten it in another place for $50.00 or less. But I was there and the fish kind of looked at me and caught my attention so I had to take him home.

(I will remember the name probably in August)
Of course I threw it in the tank and he is now behind the rocks but should be out today. (or last night he became bristle worm food)
Like usual I had the guy in the store feed him as I asked him to.

I asked what they feed him and he said flakes. I said, Do you feed your kids flakes? I want to see him eat something else so he threw in some frozen stuff which the fish ate.

It's a thick looking anthius with a reddish design on it's face sort of like an American Indian Mohican,
Or Native American Mohican, whatever is PC, I don't know. I myself am Italian, Sicilian actually but I was born in Brooklyn so I am American. I don't feel bad if you call me one of the many Italian slurs as I am not a snowflake, but you may wake up with a seahorse head in bed next to you. ;Meh

 

[Paul B]

Sunburst Anthius. I knew I would remember.

 

[Paul B]

I have been searching for information on the lifespan of copperband butterflies and it seems that ten years isn't bad.
I have also read that they are very hard to keep (which I totally disagree with).

I also read their lifespan is between 4-7 years. Then I read an informative article about them that says they live about ten years. Then I realized that I wrote that article so it doesn't help me.

I think a fish of that size should live about 15 years, of course I am guessing but maybe thats it. I have had many of them but I don't remember ever keeping them over ten years. They don't get sick, they normally just stop eating at about that age.

Mine wants to eat, it just can't focus on the food and misses almost 100% of the time so maybe that is her lifespan. If it is, I am happy. If it isn't, then she is not happy.

 

[Paul B]

My copperband used to eat like this.

 

[Paul B]

Copperband is still with me even though she has not eaten in almost two months. Healthy, non drugged fish can live a very long time.

The lack of food is showing in her fins and scales as she doesn't have that velvety smooth skin and perfect fins that a healthy fish should have. Her eyes are not as clear and her "expression" shows me how she is feeling.
(stop laughing, some day you will be able to know what a fish is thinking)

She is dying of either old age or a neurological condition, maybe a brain tumor as her vision is askew.
She still swims all over the tank and gets excited when I feed, but she knows she can't eat.

I am not sure how long Copperbands live but being a butterfly and not an angel, Maybe 10 years is close to their natural lifespan. But I doubt it. I don't remember ever keeping one for 10 years.
I am also not sure of her exact age as I don't keep records but this one is on my book cover and that picture is at least 5 years old and she is an adult there. I got her as a baby as I like to buy all my fish If I can.

This is her yesterday. She looks better than this as the picture is out of focus

 

[eholceker]

Copperband is still with me even though she has not eaten in almost two months. Healthy, non drugged fish can live a very long time.

The lack of food is showing in her fins and scales as she doesn't have that velvety smooth skin and perfect fins that a healthy fish should have. Her eyes are not as clear and her "expression" shows me how she is feeling.
(stop laughing, some day you will be able to know what a fish is thinking)

She is dying of either old age or a neurological condition, maybe a brain tumor as her vision is askew.
She still swims all over the tank and gets excited when I feed, but she knows she can't eat.

I am not sure how long Copperbands live but being a butterfly and not an angel, Maybe 10 years is close to their natural lifespan. But I doubt it. I don't remember ever keeping one for 10 years.
I am also not sure of her exact age as I don't keep records but this one is on my book cover and that picture is at least 5 years old and she is an adult there. I got her as a baby as I like to buy all my fish If I can.

This is her yesterday. She looks better than this as the picture is out of focus

Paul, have you tried masstick? Usually once a fish hits that age and stops eating it's time is up. The fish doesnt really look emanciated and still has fat reserve behind its head.

 

[Paul B]

It's not that he doesn't want to eat and live worms are his favorite food. He can't eat because his eyes are focusing a little off so he tries to bite the food but he always misses.
As you know a copperband is not the type of fish that you can just pick up and force feed like you could with a porcupine fish. A copperband would first of all get a heart attack and second, their spines are very sharp.

If I put a worm right in his face, he gets excited, then moves back, bites and misses and that pointy beak needs to be right on target.

 

[eholceker]

It's not that he doesn't want to eat and live worms are his favorite food. He can't eat because his eyes are focusing a little off so he tries to bite the food but he always misses.
As you know a copperband is not the type of fish that you can just pick up and force feed like you could with a porcupine fish. A copperband would first of all get a heart attack and second, their spines are very sharp.

If I put a worm right in his face, he gets excited, then moves back, bites and misses and that pointy beak needs to be right on target.

If it's still trying to eat you can probably keep the fish going with masstick. I would give it a try.

 

[Paul B]

Eholceker, thank you, but No matter what it is, he misses it even if it is stuck to the glass.I put clams and worms all over the place. He sees off to the side so he won't and cant eat it.

I don't use Masstick because although that is probably a great food, I rather go with a natural food like worms and clams.
I believe this fish is having old age symptoms and is not sick.

Now he realized he can't eat, so he looks at food, but stopped trying to bite it.

 

[Paul B]

My Copperband finally passed away peacefully. And she had the courtesy to die stuck to a powerhead near the front of the tank so it was simple to remove her and she didn't become bristleworm food.

No Ich, velvet, dropsy, bacteria , no nothing. Just old age, or maybe Alzheimers

If she was near the bottom, It wouldn't have been pretty .
She is the copperband that appears on the cover of my book.

I will get another one when I find a small, good one.

 

[diana a]

I am sorry

 

[Paul B]

She lived a good, long life.

 

[Sponge]

Very nice of you to share the loss and the experience. Beautiful fish that I am sure lived a nicer life under your care. Thanks Paul

 

[Paul B]

I think Copperbands are a little more delicate than most fish but I also think some of that has to do with quarantine. Some fish, like copperband butterflies, moorish Idols, mandarins, and some others do not take well to quarantine unless you can do it in a large well decorated tank filled with some sort of natural looking caves. They need to feel secure and have constant places they can stick their nose looking for worms.

They are just a nervous fish and they let their nerves get the best of them.
I have been keeping them since the 70s and have had many. I don't think I ever had one live past ten years, maybe that is close to their lifespan but I doubt it.
Here is one I had probably in the 80s or 90s.



I took this in Tahiti. Long nose butterflies are almost the exact same fish, they just don't know it. Copperbands come from southern Africa,



I see I had one here (In my Log Book) in 1974. This was before there were salt water medications and reefs. The tank at that time was 40 gallons and decorated with dead coral skeletons which I removed every two weeks to bleach.
Look at the medications I used. I am surprised the thing lived at all. I killed it with medication.

I didn't write everything in my Log Book. Just when something got sick or died. Thank God after losing so many fish, I saw the light.



I also had these fish in 1976. Including a moorish Idol



All those fish, including a French Angel, copperband, hippo tang, Moorish Idol etc. were in this tiny 40 gallon tank. If the tang police were born then, they would have put a bag of burning fish poop on my doorstep, rang the bell and ran away.

 

[reefsandrotts]

Have you considered keeping another idol?
Im sure in your hands it would thrive

 

[Paul B]

I may. My last one, in this picture lived about 5 years which is a complete failure. Where I used to live I could collect a sponge on floating docks that my idol would practically jump out of the water for. It doesn't grow where I live now and that was my major food. If I can find it growing here, I will get an Idol.