Harlequin Tuskfish Question

[Cliff519]

I'm thinking about getting a harlequin tuskfish for 180 gallon tank that I am getting ready to get up. I do not plan on any shrimp feather dusters or coco-worms which I have read they are known to eat. I'm mostly planning just soft corals and a few carpet anemones with a CUC mostly of snails

Based on everything that I have read, these guys will eat smaller snails and crabs that you have in the tank with them. The one thing that I'm trying to find out is if they have a preference to any specific type of snail or crab.


Would anyone know if harlequin tuskfish will prey on certain types of snails and crabs or is it more a matter of them preying on all types of smaller snails and crabs?

 

[phk36]

I have an aussie with juvi spots I have turbo snails and hermit and margarittia he does not bother them yet he has been in the tank for a week . I think if you get them young you can get them to eat pellets and flakes and I also feed mysid but thats only once with the mysid a day. He eats the pellets and flake the other times. I wanted a red sea tusk but the one in the store was larger and eating silver sides so no hope for pellets or flake

 

[MrTuskfish]

Most HTs I've known will eat any snail or crab the come across..

 

[MrTuskfish]

I have an aussie with juvi spots I have turbo snails and hermit and margarittia he does not bother them yet he has been in the tank for a week . I think if you get them young you can get them to eat pellets and flakes and I also feed mysid but thats only once with the mysid a day. He eats the pellets and flake the other times. I wanted a red sea tusk but the one in the store was larger and eating silver sides so no hope for pellets or flake

I've never seen a Ref Sea HT, the "premium HTs come from Australia, less colorful HTs from Indonesia 9Bali). A HT can easily be weaned off silversides. Mine eat anything, including other fish once in a while. Raw shrimp, squid, pellets, frozen foods, etc.

 

[bullitr]

My small ht is been with me for over a year now
Eats pretty much everything but the 90% of its diet is pellets

I try another one but its aggressive toward it so I will get a much larger later on

 

[Cliff519]

It's good to hear that some people have had luck getting their HT to eat some pellets.

I'm guessing that would not be too common tho. I just might give one of these guys a try

Thanks for all the input guys

 

[jon1985]

I picked one up almost 2 weeks ago and it eats everything I put in the tank. It started eating on the second day in the tank.

 

[phk36]

I started on mysid and put some pellets in with the mysid and he started to eat it . If the mysid is in the water thats what he will eat most. I just found the tusk under a rock and my cleaner shrimp I picked up yesterday is cleaning him now. Hey mr tusk I have to tell you the tusk I am told is from the red sea has more color than the aussie I have and the aussie and I have seen in two other stores and the aussie and red sea were same size . The red sea one was 329 !! but I have never seen such nice color . Looks like the tusk you would see nine years ago in stores

 

[anbosu]

Mine started eating pellets immediately. It does seem to prefer shrimp over everything else, but it houses pellets.

 

[MrTuskfish]

It's good to hear that some people have had luck getting their HT to eat some pellets.

I'm guessing that would not be too common tho. I just might give one of these guys a try

Thanks for all the input guys

Sure, its very common. What the fish happens to be eating at the LFS isn't what you need to feed it long-term. The fish may go hungry until he's used to new food, but most fish will eat anything appropriate. A varied diet is best in almost all cases. HTs will eat shrimp, fish, squid, scallop, pellets, nori and just about anything else.