lesson learned the hard way with Tangs and Angles

[Luca_Brasi]

Whenever I learn a lesson the hard way I like to pass it on so that others don't have to.

Awhile back I was looking to get 2 large striped damsels out of my main tank. So I moved all the other fish out (I had several tanks) and were starving them so that they would eat food from a trap. They went 2 months without eating. I asked my local fish shop about how this was possible and he said that marine fish really don't need to eat very much and they can find a lot to eat on their own in a reef tank especially; pods, algae, etc. This shaped my philosophy of feeding a great deal - sparingly. Later on I built bigger tanks and tried adding bigger fish. I had kept dwarf angels successfully for a long time but moved to tangs and large angels.

With all my corals and fish healthy and perfect water parameters I added a juvenile koran angel. About 3 weeks from the time that I bought it, it started acting funny, laid down and died with no visible illnesses or infections. I tried again with a powder blue tang, same result. I thought I had some terrible ocean funk in my tank that was slowly going to kill everything. My local fish shop recommended running a UV light over low water flow for a while so I did. Then I tried another angel and another powder blue, same result again. I gave up on angles and tangs for a while and my tank was fairly bare fishwise for several months.

One day at the LFS I saw a super cool powder blue and I decided to try one more time. As soon as I got him home he started showing signs of not being well. He developed white cloudy spots on him and he was swimming weird and lethargic. I called a friend of mine for advise and he said "As long as he is eating, feed him as much as he'll eat." So I did. Not only did he get better, he has lasted longer than any other tang or angel that I have owned. I finally realized that I was starving my other fish. Even though I knew that Tangs and Angles are not damsels when it comes to how much food they need, I didn't realize how much more food they need. I now feed my powder blue tang a strip of green algae twice a day compared to one strip every other day or so before. He is happy and healthy.
The moral of the story, don't be afraid to feed your fish. It goes a long way to fighting off disease and keeping them strong. Just make sure you have enough filtration and scavengers to keep the tank clean.

 

[MrTuskfish]

I think a lot of folks under-feed. The term "bio-load" is almost as abused as the word "stress". Almost any decent bio-filter can handle additional fish/food waste when the load isn't increased too rapidly.

 

[Luca_Brasi]

Good point. I also think under feeding is more common than people realize. I now feed my fish more than most people would say is proper and it has never caused a problem. My fish have had zero issues with disease. If anyone is considering feeding your fish more I would just beef up your cleaning crew a little and make sure you keep up with all the usual maintenance.

My cleaing crew includes a healthy amount of emerald crabs, blue legs, snails, serpent starfish, cleaner shrimp, and a pencil urchin.

 

[Spyderturbo007]

Feeding my one little fish is my favorite part of having my tank. Too bad my one and only fish (Purple Firefish) doesn't come out of her hiding spot too terribly much. The tank has only been up since late June which is why I only have one fish.

If she does when it's not dinner time, she only hangs out in one area. I just wish she would swim around in the tank but for some reason she's scared.

Anyway, dinner time is my favorite part of maintaining a reef and being new at this I'm sure I'm overfeeding anyway.

 

[h2so4hurts]

I think most "experts" on RC would say I drastically overfeed, but you need to know the demands of the animals in your tank. Angels, Tangs, Idols, etc all have very high metabolisms. Just compare their respiration rate to other fish in your tank (gill flaps per minute). It's probably in the range of 2-4 fold higher respiration so a good rule of thumb is 2-4x as much food as the other fish in the tank. If you have a monster skimmer, the recommended amount of live rock, and good husbandry this amount of feeding will not be an issue...even in an SPS tank.

 

[MrTuskfish]

I think most "experts" on RC would say I drastically overfeed, but you need to know the demands of the animals in your tank. Angels, Tangs, Idols, etc all have very high metabolisms. Just compare their respiration rate to other fish in your tank (gill flaps per minute). It's probably in the range of 2-4 fold higher respiration so a good rule of thumb is 2-4x as much food as the other fish in the tank. If you have a monster skimmer, the recommended amount of live rock, and good husbandry this amount of feeding will not be an issue...even in an SPS tank.

Also; fish that eat lots of veggie matter need a lot more to eat to get proper. nourishment. Herbivore/omnivore fish graze all day; a carnivore might just need a big mouthful every few days. Cows eat non-stop; most dogs just once a day----same thing with fish.

 

[Luca_Brasi]

Also; fish that eat lots of veggie matter need a lot more to eat to get proper. nourishment. Herbivore/omnivore fish graze all day; a carnivore might just need a big mouthful every few days. Cows eat non-stop; most dogs just once a day----same thing with fish.

I never thought of it that way but I think you're right. I don't know of anyone who recommends feeding at least twice a day but I really think for tangs and large angles it's necessary.