Feeding a Blue Angel

[Rick83]

I have had a blue angel in my 150g for about 3 weeks now and all I can get him to eat is nori with a nori clip.

I have tried feeding him all of the following soaked in garlic: Angel formula, Formula 1 & 2, frozen brine, emerald entree, frozen mysis, marine cuisine, butterfly and angel, pellets, and flake. basically everything my fish store carries and once or twice I've seen him nibble on a piece or 2 but then he usually spits it back out and returns to the nori.

Is it ok for him to just eat the nori and if so how much should I be feeding him, he is no more than 3" long and doesnt seem to be getting thin or fat for that matter.

Thanks,
Rick

 

[philter4]

Keep trying, one thing that most info doesn't tell people is that in the wild the all of the Holocanthus angels, not just the rock beauty, suck as blues, queens, and the others feed mainly on sponges so keep trying the angel formula. I've found that once they start eathing other foods they usually become good aggressive feeders.

Good luck

 

[rachenbrazil]

What are the other fishes in your 150 G tank ? My queen is bold and agressive after a week feeding on nori only...even when in QT feed well on pellets... all due my agressive blue tang but after settlement...the queen is feeding well with pellets and frozen as well ...nori is just snack for my working hours period...
So maybe your need some time specially if it is not a juvenile one...

 

[Rick83]

The other fish in the tank are all really small and the angel is the aggressor of the tank. so far I have 2 percula clowns, a queen anthias, flame wrasse, and a purple psudochromis.

Last night I fed the angel formula again and the angel did take a few bites without spitting them out but far from being an aggressive eater like the rest of the fish in the tank. I took a piece of nori and tore it up and mixed it with the food and the angel ate the nori like crazy...

is nori enough for the fish to survive long term? if so how much per day should it eat? is a 2"x2" piece enough each day or should it be more than that? I've been trying to keep the clip stocked as much as possible so it can eat whenever it feels like it but I am going to be adding a purple tang soon which will also need some of that nori as well.

Thanks again, Rick

 

[Gwynhidwy]

I agree with the other posters, keep trying and don't panic. Your angel can probably go quite a while on just nori. If you find that your clip is always empty when you add the tang you could try multiple clips which will also help limit any aggression problems. You might also want to soak your nori in a vitamin supplement.

I don't know how much nori an angel of that size should eat by itself. I think that as long as you don't see a pinched belly you are feeding enough nori. I'm not saying that you should purposefully withhold food, but keep in mind that generally a slightly hungry fish is more likely to try new foods, so being full ALL the time may not be best.