Powder Blue Tang

[atnaquariums]

Hey everyone, I recently got my powder blue tang from divers den. He has been in the tank for around a week and is really bright and active. He has a strong appetite for spirlina brine shrimp, but that is all he will eat. When I feed mysis and rods food he picks at it and spits it out. Is this normal? I even feed him green algae sheets and he picks at them but spits them out. I have never kept a powder blue tang until now so I don't have much experience. Tank parameters are great and he isn't being bother by any other fish. Thanks for any input!

120 gallon fowlr
Juvenile Harlequin Tusk
Ornate Wrasse
Flame Angelfish
Coral Beauty Angelfish
Tahitian Butterflyfish
Powder Blue Tang
Yellow Tail Damsel
Diamond goby

 

[OrionN]

He needs a large tank. I hope your tank is large enough.
Regarding diet, he will eventually eat more variety, once he get use to captivity. Mine really torn though Nori once he is comfortable.
I would mixed the food together and feed it. Good to feed a variety of food, a little smaller than all the food they can eat. This will get them to eat aggressively. If you feed them multiple times a day, in small amount, they will eat anything. I use an automated feeder that feed 8 times a day, plus Nori and frozen food in AM.
Here was mine when I first got him, thin sick, full of Ich

More recent pictures:

 

[ROlympia]

I assume Blue's and Brown's have very similar diets. My brown will eat Rod's except for the shrimp and greens. It also eats a considerable amount of green and purple seaweed and the algae that grows in the tank. It will spit out shrimp of any kind.

 

[ROlympia]

It also eats green star polyp if it doesn't get fed enough.

 

[atnaquariums]

Thanks for the input. He is in a 120 gallon tank (5 feet long) and is about 4 inches.

 

[hkgar]

Here is a guide to tank sizes for tangs. Length of tank is more important than volume. Tangs need a lot of swimming space.

I feed my tangs and Two Barred Rabbitfish Romaine lettuce. One large leaf per day and also 1/2 sheet NEED vegetation even though they will eat meaty food. The are herbivores, not omnivores.

Did you QT or do TTM before introducing to the DT? Tangs are known Ick carriers.