Feeding with Veggies

[rnhrtfan]

I have seen in many of my reef publications and have hobbyist friends who feed their tangs and such with produce (zuchini, broccoli, lettuce etc.) how do you go about this.....do you feed it raw or does it need steamed or something???? thanks for the input

 

[adnantz]

Tagging along to see if you get any responses as I have been wondering the same thing.

 

[lunner]

I don't feed any land based greens to my tangs.

I just don't want to add anything like pesticide to my tanks...
Plus nutrition and protein is different.

 

[BangkokMatt]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13238307#post13238307 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by lunner
I don't feed any land based greens to my tangs.

Me neither. There is cheap Nori available at most decent stores or you can get algae sheets from your LFS. imo its not a good idea to feed land vegetation. It simply doesn't exist in the ocean.

 

[Recty]

To answer your question, yes, you need to "blanch" the terrestrial greens in hot water. Just get some water boiling and throw the veggies in for 30 seconds or so. It helps break down some of the plant cells that fish cant do on their own.

And definitely it helps to wash them, I would do a fresh water rinse on them, then boil them, then probably rinse again real quick. You really dont want to put pesticides into your tank.

Plus, most terrestrial greens are high in phosphates from fertilizer, so know that you'll be adding that to your tank.

I agree with the other who who said they dont do it, I wouldnt recommend it either, but if you're going to, then there ya go.

 

[thor32766]

Ok, I will post on my personal experiences. I acquired a blonde naso that was raised for 5 yrs entirely on romaine lettuce. He is a beauty and grew at a great rate while in his care. I never knew of using romaine until buying this fish from a fellow reefer.
I have 13 tangs and feed them 4 huge leafs a day along with 4 sheets of nori a day. I have had all my tangs over three years and am proud to say they are beautiful. My growth rate is crazy. All fish have double and even tripled in size. I feel after 3 yrs of success of feeding romaine, I can honestly say I couldn't imagine not using it. It works.
I don't steam or anything. I just clean and throw in the tank.
If my personal experience don't help you. The georiga aquarium feeds romaine and broccolli daily to its reef tank.

 

[Recty]

Just curious, do you think your tangs prefer the nori or the romaine?

 

[thor32766]

I don't think they prefer one over the other. When I watch them eat they will eat nori and then go over to the romaine and back and forth. Pretty even I would say. Sometimes the romaine goes first, sometimes nori. So I don't observe them liking one more then the other. HTH. Sorry to be all over the place.

 

[LauraCline]

Rod's food has carrots and broccoli in it. My toby puffer loves a nice little piece of raw broccoli, he will tear it up in seconds but neither of my tangs eat it really. I just wash a little piece and put it in there about once or twice a week.

 

[Chibils]

To avoid breaching confidence, a certain very famous aquarium and its curator use carrots in the food they make.

 

[chefssaltyballs]

I feed brocoli to my tangs weekly.. I just clip it on the seeweed clip... no steaming or boiling, they love it going to try romain soon...
cfsb

 

[rnhrtfan]

Thanks guys this has been a big help. I am bringing home a yelloweye kole in a couple of days (my first tang) and want him to be a healthy fish like the rest in the tank....

 

[ricks]

Thor..

You have 12 large Tangs in a 29 gallon inwall????

Happy Reefing