Coral Beauty Diet

[MacWilliams]

So I moved a Coral Beauty into my DT a couple weeks back and she has eaten like a pig since day 1. I feed New Life Spectrum Pellets and Marine Cuisine / Carnivore frozen a few times a day to the tank. Is there anything else i can add to the feeding that will make my fish happier? If you could provide a link to where i can purchase that would be great.


The reason i ask is my Angel has started to develop some weird marks on either side of her head area just behind the eyes. They are uniform and look like scraps but there is no red or white showing through. Just Purple. I ruled out scraping because of the uniformity of the marks. Thanks.

 

[Rea17]

Could she be developing HLLE (head and lateral line disease)? I would feed her lots of mysis and prepared angel formula with sponges, along with sheet nori. You can also soak her foods in Zoe, selcon, and/or vitachem.

What size is the tank? Tankmates? Age of the setup? Water conditions?

 

[MacWilliams]

The tank is a 60 cube. Her tank mates are 2 Oce Clowns. 1 Yellow Wrasse. 1 Peppermint Shrimp. 1 Skunk Cleaner Shrimp. 1 Pistol Shrimp. CUC is 2 Turbo Snails. Then hermit crabs and other random snails.

No stinging corals. Just some Zoas, xenia, gsp and mushrooms.

The tank has been up since february.

Water conditions are good as of last friday. I need to do another test to get you exact numbers tho.

 

[MacWilliams]

I dont know how broad a term HLLE is. I have looked up many pictures of it and it looks more like long thin lines of corrosion. This looks more like clean scraps that didnt go through to the tissue. I cant get a good photo of her or i would put one up. All i have is my iPhone camera.

 

[Rea17]

I dont know how broad a term HLLE is. I have looked up many pictures of it and it looks more like long thin lines of corrosion. This looks more like clean scraps that didnt go through to the tissue. I cant get a good photo of her or i would put one up. All i have is my iPhone camera.

Well there are many stages of the disease, when it is first beginning it can look pretty minor. Symmetry and the location you described is what sparked that train of thought. I would go ahead and give her lots of good food and see what happens. Tank size and tankmates looked fine.

 

[MacWilliams]

Alright. Thank you for the quick response. Ill stop by the LFS and get what i can from the list you recommmended. Their selection is very limited.

 

[Rea17]

Alright. Thank you for the quick response. Ill stop by the LFS and get what i can from the list you recommended. Their selection is very limited.

No problem. I think most every LFS carries mysis and nori. I personally love feeding my fish the NLS pellets, and they love it more, but variety is very important in the diet of our fish. I'm not a big fan of the marine cuisine, it isn't as chunky as I'd like and it seems like it makes a mess. Not every LFS carries the angel formula, but maybe they could get it in for you if you ask. I use the stuff made by Hikari, and try to incorporate it in a few times a week.

 

[MacWilliams]

Ok. Yes i have noticed that about the Marine Cuisine but the fish look like the love it. But im not too sure about how much they actually eat. Sorry for the noob question but Nori is the seaweed right? Cause i wanted to get some and clip it in there for the angel and wrasse to munch on throughout the day. Just something they can snack on while im at work. I also want to get a automatic feeder but the pellets dont like to sink unless i throw them in with some force.

 

[Rea17]

Ok. Yes i have noticed that about the Marine Cuisine but the fish look like the love it. But im not too sure about how much they actually eat. Sorry for the noob question but Nori is the seaweed right? Cause i wanted to get some and clip it in there for the angel and wrasse to munch on throughout the day. Just something they can snack on while im at work. I also want to get a automatic feeder but the pellets dont like to sink unless i throw them in with some force.

Yes, seaweed. Ocean Nutrition and Julian Sprung make the best ones IMO/IME. It's thick and has some substance to it. Don't feed a full sheet, try to get a feel for how much they eat in a reasonable amount of time while you are at home. If it's left in there too long oftentimes it will just float off and cause excess waste.

Depending on what you have access to, there are other "blends" like Rod's that are really great. You could look at a marine cuisine alternative like that, or even make up your own. I like to mix up cubes of mysis, clam, chopped krill, sometimes squid, and angel preparation when I feed. I'll keep a bowl of it in the fridge and feed it several times throughout the day. Also, if you have a powerhead aimed towards the surface of the water to break surface tension and allow gas exchange, it will help make the pellets sink. Place the feeder near the point of highest flow.

 

[MacWilliams]

Ok, ya i will have to redirect the flow or figure something out. Cause i have the return pump doing that right now and i have it angled more towards the center to get the entire surface moving. Now that im finally done with the Brine Shrimp i bought months ago i will be purchasing some better foods with more protiens.

Again, thanks for the advice. Ill head to the LFS when i get off work and see what i can get.

 

[Rea17]

In that case I would add flow... There are cheap powerheads on eBay and such, you can buy a couple for $40 or something. Aim one straight across to provide the tank with good flow, and have one on the opposing side aimed towards the surface.

I forgot to mention the seaweed comes in different colors. The easiest ones to work with are Ocean Nutrition green and red, and Julian Sprung green and purple. Be aware the purple comes apart a bit easier.

 

[MacWilliams]

This is the stuff that comes in the dry packs right? The LFS here has some of that. But i dont think they have more than 1 type.

Also, about that powerheads. I am purchasing a new hydor next week to add to the tank. I have 2 hydors in there right now. 1 is much too small for the tank but was given to me by a friend which i may use to add more flow at the surface. i had a maxjet 1200 in there for a while but could never get that laser beam of a flow to work and it was a massive powerhead that i could never hide enough to not cringe every time i looked at the tank.

 

[Rea17]

Yep, I'm referring to the dry stuff. The hydors should work great, it's amazing what some extra flow can accomplish.

My LFS doesn't have great selection either, so I have to order most of my food online. It hurts a little bit on frozen, but most of the time I can order enough that the special frozen food shipping makes up for itself because the food is so much cheaper.

 

[hogfanreefer]

If you have problems with your NLS pellets floating, put them in a small glass container with a little tank water. Swirl them around till they're all at the bottom and they will sink nicely when you poor the water back in the tank.

 

[MacWilliams]

Oh, thats a good idea hogfanreefer. Thank you for the advice.

I really like the hydor powerheads. They look good and blend in nicely while making a nice even wide flow.

 

[MacWilliams]

Got some ocean nutrition prime reef flakes and the Angel absolutely loved it. The other fish ate it a bit but no where near as aggressively as the angel. They will probably learn to love it as much later.

The LFS didn't have any nori in stock but will be getting some soon. So im going to get some from a friend to try it out.