Raceimage
Premium Member
The Pittsburgh Zoo made a grazing station so the tangs can eat as they naturally would in the ocean. Since their design was too large for a home tank, I purchased a plastic drain cover and plastic cap in the plumbing section of my local hardware store. I filled the cap with sand, pulled the stocks of some kale through the slots in the drain cover, and snapped the two pieces (drain cover and cap) together.
The zoo normally uses romaine lettuce and endive and also suggested spinach, kale, and chicory as alternatives. Normally, I ziptied dried seaweed to a piece of rock and within 15minutes it would fall apart and end up in the filter sock. The kale has been in the tank for 10 hours with a vortech and a sump return line blowing on it and it is still standing tall. It looks like a natural marine plant and the plastic base can be disguised by gluing sand or rocks to it.
It took several hours for the tangs to go near it; but once an urchin started plowing through it, the tangs started picking at the kale. Now the tangs are eating off of it regularily and the urchin has been in it all day. I puchased the organic kale at a local supermarket for $1. It really makes the display look natural and the food stays firm for atleast an entire day.
The zoo normally uses romaine lettuce and endive and also suggested spinach, kale, and chicory as alternatives. Normally, I ziptied dried seaweed to a piece of rock and within 15minutes it would fall apart and end up in the filter sock. The kale has been in the tank for 10 hours with a vortech and a sump return line blowing on it and it is still standing tall. It looks like a natural marine plant and the plastic base can be disguised by gluing sand or rocks to it.
It took several hours for the tangs to go near it; but once an urchin started plowing through it, the tangs started picking at the kale. Now the tangs are eating off of it regularily and the urchin has been in it all day. I puchased the organic kale at a local supermarket for $1. It really makes the display look natural and the food stays firm for atleast an entire day.
