Greens for tangs (asides from Nori)

wakeboardgeek

New member
Does anyone feed any other veggies asides from Nori to their tangs? Our tang gets rods/pellets (formula 1 & 2)/nori. Interested to hear what other varieties people feed.
 
I've heard of lettuce but haven't tried it! I would also like to know what other veggies will tangs eat, so that i can expand their menu ;)
 
I raised a lot of tangs before nori was really popular, and I still feed broccoli and zucchini on occasion. My tangs & most angels love it. I believe Scott Michael recommends this stuff too. Although tangs are considered to be herbivores, I think they get so many meaty little inverts along with their algae, on the reef that maybe they are really omnivores. Don't ignore tangs need for meaty stuff, either. But most tangs will scarf any meaty food with no problem.
 
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I've heard of lettuce but haven't tried it! I would also like to know what other veggies will tangs eat, so that i can expand their menu ;)

Romaine lettuce (not the common iceberg) was THE staple before dried nori became readily available. In addition to the two in my post above; I've also fed turnip greens (my favorite leafy veggie), fresh spinach, etc.
 
I raised a lot of tangs before nori was really popular, and I still feed broccoli and zucchini on occasion. My tangs & most angels love it. I believe Scott Michael recommends this stuff too.

Ill have to try the broccoli and spinach! sounds good hehe xD
 
Ill have to try the broccoli and spinach! sounds good hehe xD

BTW, most land veggies (not zucchini) need to be softened a bit. Freezing, slight blanching, or just a soak in hot water will usually do it.. If you want to keep some on hand; freeze the individual pieces on a cookie sheet so they don't stick together and freeze in a plastic bag and its always ready. I sound like whats-her-name...oh yeah, Heloise (prettier, though!)
There is a school of thought in the hobby that says marine fish should only be fed marine-based foods. I think this may be the result of feeding very fatty goldfish. However; PE Mysis (IMO the best, and certainly the most popular mysis) comes from FW lakes and spirulina algae is usually harvested from FW sources.
 
Although tangs are considered to be herbivores, I think they get so many meaty little inverts along with their algae, on the reef that maybe they are really omnivores. Don't ignore tangs need for meaty stuff, either. But most tangs will scarf any meaty food with no problem.

Tangs aren't considered herbivores, they are omnivores...with some (hippo tang for example) being more of a meat eater than algae eater.
 
Tangs aren't considered herbivores, they are omnivores...with some (hippo tang for example) being more of a meat eater than algae eater.

I agree but most online dealers (LA,BZ, SWF.C) refer to most tangs as herbivores. Bob Fenner does too.
Edit: So does the sticky on this site:http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1946007 With that sort of press, I imagine most hobbiests (perhaps not most scientists) would call them herbivores.
 
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I agree but most online dealers (LA,BZ, SWF.C) refer to most tangs as herbivores. Bob Fenner does too.
Edit: So does the sticky on this site:http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1946007 With that sort of press, I imagine most hobbyists (perhaps not most scientists) would call them herbivores.

Not too sure if you can really trust what you read on that website...... :jester:

The link does say 'primarily herbivorous' which leaves an opening for omnivores and carnivores.
 
I feed formula 1/2 pellets, mysis shrimp, freshly hatched bbs, spinach, and nori. I'll try some cooked broccoli soon.

edit: Interestingly, it took my pacific sailfin tang 6 months to start accepting the mysis and pellets!
 
I use romaine, broccoli, spinach and carrots. All my tangs have eaten all of these and most the tangs I currently have, have been with me over 8 years now.
 
I feed formula 1/2 pellets, mysis shrimp, freshly hatched bbs, spinach, and nori. I'll try some cooked broccoli soon.

edit: Interestingly, it took my pacific sailfin tang 6 months to start accepting the mysis and pellets!

Don't cook the broccoli, just quickly blanch it---it just needs to soften a little. Feed the buds, that's their favorite part.
 
I feed my tangs with nori (the regular one we find at Asian market for making sushi) and either my clowns love it.
My tang also eat green hair algae which I have a lot but they only eat the algae floating around in my tank. I never see them pick it on my live rock. May be I feed them too much?
 
I have a refugium where I grow chaetomorpha and grape caulerpa.I feed them some of that at least once a week(it lasts more than one day).
 
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