Powder Brown Tang....

[Reef1589]

So i picked up a powder brown tang like a week ago and he doesnt seem to eat any of the algae clips i put in the tank... BUT what he does eat is my New Life Spectrum Thera+A Pellets... eats them like a PIG!!!!... will also nip at meaty stuff i feed the tank from time to time...

is this a good enough diet for him? Tera+A Pellets and Meaty things?..
he just doesnt want to take to any algae clips.. and i know tangs require algae of some sort..

 

[Triton_Z]

I would continue to try to feed algae sheets, maybe vary the location in the tank or rubberband some to a rock. The tang will be fine with the pellets and other meaty foods for the time being and likely will start feeding on other algae. Soak your pellets in a supplement like Selcon to help.

I have a large Naso lituratus who refuses to eat any pellets, but devours algae sheets, mysis, and Ocean Nutrition cubes (broken up). It's been more than a year and don't expect any change in its habit.

Take a look over this thread for some other pellet options. I think trying a spirulina heavy pellet would be another good option for your tang.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2151683&highlight=spirulina+pellets

 

[trinidiver]

I've got a 5" PBT and when first introduced into my reef he didnt eat the food i was feeding my other fish in the tank for 2 days............spectrum garlic pellets, mysis, two little fishies seaweed, and marine chips. He jus picked at little algae on rocks and on the sand bed. He gradually started to take pellets a few days after, but didnt start to eat the seaweed until 2 mths after. That was about 7mths ago............... Now he devours anything that hits the water. My hippo took longer to eat the seaweed and i had him even longer. Dont worry, he'll settle in soon and he'll be the pig in the tank......LOL

 

[agreeive?fish]

some take longer than others to readily accept food or the food we want them to eat

i have had extreme carnivores eat algae before other foods and i have seen extreme vegetarians eat everything but veggie matter and then i have seen strict vegetarians eat nothing but nori for months on end then one day decide all the other food feed to the tank is good stuff to eat as well

each fish is different and if the pellets your feeding have a high enough marine algae content i would not be worried he hasn't eaten nori yet.

 

[Reef1589]

Alright thnks for all the info was just a small concern of mine, i figure since it was eating all was good... but i knew they needed some algae at some point. he's still looking really healthy, and fat and active

 

[trinidiver]

dont worry, he'll start to eat it soon enough

 

[MrTuskfish]

As long as he's eating plenty of something, don't worry. Not all fish read the info on what they are supposed to eat. BTW, tangs are considered "herbivores''; but they eat plenty of small animal life too.