Shy Yellow Eyed (Kole) Tang

Patrick Cox

Patrick Cox

Active member
I just introduced a Yellow-eyed (Kole) Tang to my aquarium and he won't hardly come out from under the rocks. I can tell that he has been eating some of the algae on the outside of the rocks near the cave entrance but I have barely seen him for 2 days. How long should I expect it to take before he emerges with people in the room? I am also a bit worried about him getting hungry. There is plenty of algae for him to eat in the front of the tank if he will come out though. I also bought algae sheets.

Thanks
Pat
 
Pat,

They are pretty shy at first but will eventually come around and start grazing all the time. It may take a week or so but i wouldnt be too worried yet
 
psusocr said:
Pat,

They are pretty shy at first but will eventually come around and start grazing all the time. It may take a week or so but i wouldnt be too worried yet
Click to expand...

Thanks. One more question. What food should I supplement if the tang eats all of the algae on the rocks?

Thanks.
 
Hey patrick - I have a kole as well. If you have access to "Formula 2" frozen cubes by ocean nutrition & frozen mysis I'd give that a try. My kole has never eaten sheets of alge - goes nuts for this combo though. I put 1/2 a cube of each in a shot glass & add 2-3 drops of zoecon in w/ some tank water to defrost.

Just a suggestion - btw mine is still skitish to this day. Good luck & keep us updated!
 
You would be suprised how algae on rocks , glass, and sand never seems to run out, but eventually they will eat alot of other foods, nori sheets, formula one, sometimes mysis or bloodworms
 
Well, here is a quick update. My tang has at least started to come out from under the rocks but if he sees a person he doesn't stay out for long. I can tell though that he has been grazing in areas that he previously would not touch (namely the front of the tank!) Most of the algae in my tank is about gone so I am hoping I can get him to eat prepared foods. I have tried seaweed sheets but he has not shown an interest in this. And he certainly does not emerge while I am feeding the other fish in my tank. So, question - any tips on getting him to eat prepared foods? I know I probably should have QT'd him if for no other reason than getting him used to eating prepared foods, but I didn't. If I buy some veggie cubes or something like this, should I place the food in a certain spot in the tank? Like try to sprinkle on rocks...etc? Thanks!
 
Give him some time, he will eat. Try some meatie foods, try some veggie cubes etc. Just put them in the tank and when he is hungry he will come out to eat. Alot of fish wont eat for days(weeks) when they are new in the tank, but when they are hungry you better beleive they will come out and grab and grab some food.
 
Patrick Cox said:
If I buy some veggie cubes or something like this, should I place the food in a certain spot in the tank? Like try to sprinkle on rocks...etc? Thanks!
Click to expand...

If it's healthy - I think they have an impressive sense of smell - I've dropped food in my tank & watched him cruise by "hunting" for it , then making a b-line to it's exact location. Again, mine hates to watched up close, so I stand 3-5 feet back from the tank & watch it do his thing ... I wouldn't drop a whole frozen cube in there. Maybe a 10% water change too (kinda like changing the sheets feeling)
 
Well, it's taken a little over one week but my Kole Tang has finally gotten comfortable in his new home. See for yourself! :)

<object width="640" height="390"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/HzzMEWJ6wqg?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/HzzMEWJ6wqg?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="390"></embed></object>
 
Last edited:
Glad to hear this. I just purchased a Kole Tang on Thursday evening and he's been very skittish in the QT. Anytime anyone is near he'll hide. I haven't seen him eat but know he's either eating or the algae sheets are swimming away on their own. The only way I've been able to look at him is at night time. I turn on the tank light and keep all room lights off so he doesn't see me. Hoping mine comes out of his shell too. I'm also a little concerned because he's about 4" long so I'd guess he was caught at an older age and may have more trouble acclimating to captivity.
 
I have a blue spotted Kole tang that shared the shyness. I wanted that after having a Atlantic Blue Tang that got developed roid rage after eating mysis shrimp. The Kole will eat black worms and mysis too and that is a great way to get them to come out more. However, I don't think he will ever develop into the bruiser the Atlantic was.
 
My little kole guy was timid, too. After 3 months, he's brave and his his little territory. Like others have said, mine also does not take algae off a clip! One thing I've found that mine LOVES....New Life Spectrum algae wafers. They're small, round wafers that supposedly hold together for up to 24hrs. Not sure on that, though...I drop a couple into the tank in the morning & during my nightly feedings. He's a maniac, eats them all! I highly recommend them. Found the bigger bottles of them on clearance at Petco, too.

Minr also likes mysis, spirulina flake, even formula 1 pellets.
 
Cool, I like these guys.
Your anthias looks lonely though, I'd get a couple more if I were you, they do better in groups.
Cool music.
 
davocean said:
Cool, I like these guys.
Your anthias looks lonely though, I'd get a couple more if I were you, they do better in groups.
Cool music.
Click to expand...

Hi,
Could I add another anthias after I have started with only one? So, do you need to add in pairs (or more) like you generally do with clowns?

Thanks.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

L
Kole Blue Eye Tang Circular Gash
Replies
8
Views
1K
leebca
L
C
Tang aggression
Replies
3
Views
1K
OrionN
OrionN
OrionN
Naso elegans, the Blonde Naso
Replies
1
Views
262
OrionN
OrionN
H
25 year old yellow tang dying :(
Replies
10
Views
2K
sallypur
S
Tamara Marshall
๐‚๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ซ๐ž๐ก๐ž๐ง๐ฌ๐ข๐ฏ๐ž ๐€๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐œ๐ฅ๐ž ๐€๐›๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐“๐š๐ง๐ ๐ฌ - ๐Œ๐š๐ง๐ญ๐š ๐’๐ฒ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ž๐ฆ๐ฌ ๐€๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐œ๐ฅ๐ž
Replies
0
Views
94
Tamara Marshall
Tamara Marshall
Back
Top