tangs looking thin but eating 1 or 2 times a day

[mos90]

i have 2 tangs in my 125g reef tank. a yellow and a powder blue. i feed them instant ocean herbivore pellets every day(they do like it) sometimes 2 times and i offer spiralina brine once a week, which they love. ive offered nori plenty of times on a vegi clip and they wont touch it for some reason.

they are not too thin yet but there lower belly looks a little indented and i am slightly concerned. any ideas?

 

[zachk]

1. Feed more
2. Mix in some meaty foods
3. Supplement feedings with Selcon, etc.


A healthy tang is constantly grazing/eating. IMO, 1 or 2 time won't cut it.

 

[mos90]

i wonder why they wont eat the nori. i have 3 differnet kinds and they dont touch any of it. i even have tried the live red tang heaven from my refugium and they wont eat it.

i will put some more nori in tonight see it they pick at it. i also have some formula 2 flakes i can see if they like.

 

[zachk]

Try adding some Garlic Extreme or something similar to it. That's helped me get tangs going before.

 

[aquaph8]

Tie some nori rubberbanded to a rock. Sometimes it takes a while to get them to not be freaked out by the clip. Feed them small portions multiple times a day. Variety is the spice of life.

 

[MCCOOL]

Tie some nori rubberbanded to a rock. Sometimes it takes a while to get them to not be freaked out by the clip. Feed them small portions multiple times a day. Variety is the spice of life.

This.

I don't have any tangs, but I do this to supplement my urchin. It took about 5 minutes for my leopard and fairy wrasses to realize it was edible, and now they finish it before the urchin even begins. I'm sure if my wrasses figured it out, a natural algae grazer like a tang should figure it out pretty quick.

 

[jcw]

Rod's food makes a herbivore blend.

Not for everyone, but I soak it in hufa, omega 3, and multivitamins.

Tangs eat constantly. Or so i've read. So if your tank doesn't have some micro/macro algae to munch on, two feedings may be inadequate.

 

[mos90]

I added some nori folded up on clip on the lower rear of the tank. The yellow tang ate some after 10 min. But the powder hasnt figured it out yet

 

[aquaph8]

Powder blues are freaks. Once he figures it out he'll be the biggest pig you have.

 

[Kahuna Tuna]

Keep feeding nori, it's a cheap and very healthful food for herbavores and in time all of your fish will eat it. I feed about a sheet a day and all of my fish love it. You are going to want to feed some meaty seafoods to tangs along with the algae, I also feed mysis, table shrimp, formula 1 & 2, and NSL pellets.

 

[SDguy]

If the fish will eat it, I prefer feeding flake/pellets often to fatten up tangs, not nori or meaty foods. They work best, IME.

 

[Reeftanks6]

My sailfin is a pig! Constantly is eating i feed at least two or three times a day mostly flakes and pellets and ever other day i feed nori! My tangs love it, they are also very fat. Maybe i can take a shot for you to see how fat he is

 

[T-Rex]

Try adding some Garlic Extreme or something similar to it. That's helped me get tangs going before.

+1 garlic extreme has never failed me.

 

[nikon187]

Feed More quality foods. New life spectrum pellets will fatten them up, i would up the feedings per day and quantity. I feed my tank heavily, daily with 4 tangs a mixture of 3 different NLS pellets, nori and a mixxture of frozen food

 

[jjk_reef00]

+1 on NLS pellets and on more frequent feedings. Try feeding 3-4 times a day if possible.

 

[Stanley-Reefer]

agreed with the pellets...in the beginning my tangs could not resist Hikari A pellets soaked in kent zoe so they were soft.

 

[Vili_Shark]

If you feed enough and your fish still looks think you might be looking at some internal parasites.
Can u post a pic of your fish?

 

[MrTuskfish]

Keep feeding nori, it's a cheap and very healthful food for herbavores and in time all of your fish will eat it. I feed about a sheet a day and all of my fish love it. You are going to want to feed some meaty seafoods to tangs along with the algae, I also feed mysis, table shrimp, formula 1 & 2, and NSL pellets.

I agree. although tangs are considered herbivores, I think they're close to omnivores. They eat a lot of small crustaceans while browsing. Tangs love mysis and spirulina enriched brine. If they ignore the nori, no big deal. tangs did just fine before it was even available. IMO, these fish are under-fed, they need more meat and veggies (spirulina is great). More variety in general.

BTW, how big is this tank and do they have plenty of LR to graze on?

 

[mos90]

i have no problem getting them to eat pellets and they picked at the nori. my system is 125g with plenty of live rock. i did order some spirulina brine. they seem to be looking better. i will offer them some green macro lettuce from my fuge and see if they like that.

 

[nikon187]

brine is candy for fish..feed mysis shrimp, its much better for them. New life spectrum pellets as well.. brine is ok once and a while