Powder blue tang primer

[surfjeepzx]

I just added a smaller PBT at about 2" to my tank. No quarantine time as she spent about 2 weeks in the LFS holding tank and was eating well and behaving well. I did catch and remove my yellow tang which was getting a tad large for the tank and starting to become a bully. He went to the LFS and found a new home the next day.

The PBT went into the tank and after about 1 minute of swimming around immediately started picking at the seaweed clip. His tank mates gave him one look and went about their business. Last week I introduced a new fish, a female Japanese Swallowtail Angelfish. The Yellow Tang gave her a hard time for a few days and after a week was OK with her but would still bully her once in a while. Also in the tank are mated pair of false percs, sixline wrasse, strawberry basslet, cleaner shrimp, crabbs and snails.

So far so good. I did notice that she seems slightly thin but that may be due to 2 weeks in the holding tank at the LFS. I don't really have an algae problem so there isn't much to pic at on the rocks but I see her nipping occasionally at the rocks so she must see something there.

 

[kgk]

Here's my PBT. This was about a month after I got him. He was emaciated when I got him, and he's been getting healthier ever since I got him home. He has been off and on with Ich, but he eats well, and has gained weight. He pretty much ignores his tankmates (a medium percula clown, a damsel, and a Lawnmower Blenny) and he'll eat as much Nori as I put in the tank. He also likes meaty foods, but avoids flakes & pellets. I don't blame him.

He's in a 75 gallon now, and is moving to a 90 gallon home in the next month or so. Both are 4' tanks, and I dread the day I wake up & realize he's outgrown the tank.

 

[cpittmx]

my PBT stays busy picking algae off of back glass and LR. He also now eats green Nori like a pig. He will not eat shrimp or flakes is this ok? Will he be fine on just algae?

 

[SMOOTHIE]

my PBT stays busy picking algae off of back glass and LR. He also now eats green Nori like a pig. He will not eat shrimp or flakes is this ok? Will he be fine on just algae?

Add vitamin supplements until he comes around like selcon and garlic

 

[wsz594]

Could I keep one with a purple tang in 75g for a year both fish are under 3 inches

 

[wsz594]

also is red or green algae better for these guys?

 

[wsz594]

Mine also gets white stripes down his side when he gets angry, they fade away in seconds though, its really wierd

 

[SMOOTHIE]

WSZ594 posts- 1 I wouldn't do it. 2 Feed him both. Give him a variety. 3- Fish do that displaying different emotions

 

[Amoore311]

Hes in the tank with 1 yellow tang, 1 purple tang, 1 sailfin, 1 red sea sailfin, 2 true percs, 1 cleaner wrasse, 1 dragon goby, and 1 foxface rabbitfish.

I'd be very surprised if these fish co-exist for more than a year.

 

[Finsky]

Healthy Fish

Healthy Fish

my PBT stays busy picking algae off of back glass and LR. He also now eats green Nori like a pig. He will not eat shrimp or flakes is this ok? Will he be fine on just algae?

The Powder Blue Tang is susceptible to Ich and Head & Lateral Line Erosion Disease, a long time developing and a long time healing if treated with the best water quality you can provide, treating your tank daily with a specific vitamin C product like Kent Marine-C, food soaked in Vitamin C and a good multiple vitamin product and/or Selcon which touts its fatty acids and some vitamins.

I personally treat my tank every day with Kent Marine-C and I soak my food in Selcon and a few drops of Kent Marine-C and will continue this feeding regime for the life of the tank and its inhabitants. I would not stop dosing the tank with Vitamin C since I saw my only fish with a healthy problem start to get better with Kent Marine-C. All my fish have perfect complexion except for a slight whitening of the skin around the eyes of my Regal Angel. I was told this is the very beginning of HLLE which was probably caused by a vitamin deficient diet and it could be reversed with Vitamin C. After approximately a month of dosing the tank with Kent Marine-C and adding it to food, my Regals facial skin is starting to turn back to the color of the surrounding skin. I was told I had caught it early with the two white lines above the the eyes as a specific identifier of HLLE.

I get the 8 oz bottle of Kent Marine-C although I think Brightwell Aquatics had a vitamin C product. I personally use both companies products as I dose my corals with Brightwell Aquatics Zooplantoos.

 

[Amoore311]

You can get powdered vitamin c (ascorbic acid I think) from vitamin stores.

You will spend a fraction of the price of the Kent stuff, and will get a lot more use out of it.

 

[Finsky]

Dosing

Dosing

How would you figure out a safe dose? Aren't health food store vitamins expensive? You say the Vitamin C comes in powder as well as the usual way in pill form.

I calculate three months of tank dosing for my 120 reef with an 8 oz bottle of Kent Marine-C.

 

[LKGRenegade22]

I've never posted in here but considering I have 2 PBT's (not in the same tank) and have bought and QT'd all the ones my friends have I will give my experience. I've had a PBT for over 2 years and I have never really had any aggression issues. My purple tang has always been the boss. The powders just seem to always be swimming and eating or looking for food. The one in my 180 is about 5" and fat as can be. I have noticed if you don't feed enough, they get stressed or your water quality is not the best they always break out with a little ich before anyone else does.

Now about QT'ing them. I would never QT one in a small tank. I put a 3" PBT in a 30G alone way back and the fish freaked out after a few days and almost killed itself. A 55G is the minimum size I use and they have all seemed to be much happier if the flow in the QT tank is rather high. They also MUST have something that can hide in. They are active fish and don't need smaller tanks. The smaller the tank they are in the more exponentially you increase your chances of having problems. However with that being said I kept a 4" PBT in a 75G with a purple and scopas tang for over a year and he was the model citizen.

 

[LamboBoy]

Just got mine Hybrid PBT yesterday from BlueZooAquatics.com and it is a beauty. Came in nice and chubby and was crazing as soon as I put him in the refugium.

Yeah, yeah.... I know, I should QT it but my QT is only 29 gallons and too small for a 5.5" Tang so I decided to put it in the refug for observation, to make sure it gets acclimated to eating. Going to the 300 DT next week if everything is ok.

 

[Finsky]

What is a Hybrid Powder Blue Tang? Do I have one?

What is a Hybrid Powder Blue Tang? Do I have one?

Just got mine Hybrid PBT yesterday from BlueZooAquatics.com and it is a beauty. Came in nice and chubby and was crazing as soon as I put him in the refugium.

Yeah, yeah.... I know, I should QT it but my QT is only 29 gallons and too small for a 5.5" Tang so I decided to put it in the refug for observation, to make sure it gets acclimated to eating. Going to the 300 DT next week if everything is ok.

My Powder Blue Tang who shares a tank with a Purple Tang, Regal Angel, and Blue Girdled Angel.:bounce3:

 

[MTH]

I've had my PBT for a while and in the beginning battled some sort of small fungal infection. Looked like a tiny gray BB on its side. He also came in pretty thin. From the advice of others, I fed a variety of foods laced with garlic and plenty of nori. I also introduced a cleaner wrasse which I think helped. The little BB of fungus disappeared and he has become a nice and healthy PB with great weight. I would say the key in my experience is give them a good amount of room to swim, plenty of rock to peck at and swim around and a wide variety of food. He resides with 2 purple and 2 yellow tang along with a sprinkling of smaller fish.

Forgot to add that they can be picky toward certain types of food so giving them a wide variety helps give them choices. Mine doesn't really like mysis but loves pellets, flake and nori.

 

[StripestheEel]

Here is my PBT.

He is a few years old (tank life) and has lived in 3 tanks.

- 3x2x2 (another reefer passed it on to another reefer) which then went into a
- 4x3x2 (was then removed as it was pacing) which now resides in my
- 7x5x2.2

He no longer displays the pacing and erratic behaviour that he did when in the other tanks and he looks happy (which is the best thing to see).

He does not swim crazily, he just cruises the tank and when he wants to bursts around the tank without hassle.

A great fish, that did not cost me anything (which is a bonus)

Diet: It will eat anything. I feed a DIY mixture of mussell, squid, prawn (shrimp), fish fillet, nori, garlic as well as the odd sheet of nori every couple of days.

The PBT is roughly 5-6 inches. Give or take some.

Here is some pics and a video.

 

[powder blue boi]

He looks very healthy!!!

 

[LamboBoy]

Last night I moved my PBT into my DT where 1 mean Purple Tang and 3 Yellow Tangs reside.

After vacuuming the gravel and moving some rocks around just before the lights went out, I introduced the PBT into my DT. This morning I find that the Purple Tang is still chasing the Yellow Tangs around but he will not chase the PBT at all. So far the PBT is a model citizen, not chasing anyone but grazing all over the tank.

While in QT, the PBT ate just about anything I threw in the tank including pellets and flake food.

This coming Thursday I have a harem of Flame Angels coming (1 male + 3 females) hoping the PBT won't pick at them. I'll keep you posted....

 

[SMOOTHIE]

My flame angel and powder blue get along great. Flame was added 2.5 years after the PB. He eats right off of the clip with him. A harem from my experience would stand and even better chance of success