Yellow Tang nutrition

[TripsReef]

I have a small 3" yellow tang that seems quite healthy and has very vibrant color. He's been in my tank for about 2-3 weeks, however he doesn't seem very interested in any kind of food except for some hair algae and other algae that is on some of my live rock. He grazes these rocks all day, constantly eating. Is this a sufficient diet for my tang?

 

[Allmost]

for now, yes.

but try to give it some meaty stuff as well.

later on you can tie nori to the rocks so he takes that too.

 

[roenicknewf]

Eventually he will pick the rocks of most algaes and will need something more ..
I feed my tangs seaweed selects (green and brown) formula 2(frozen type) hikari marine A pellets and NLS thera+ A pellets..Also add vita-chem (or at least some sort of vitamin supplements) to the marine A..i used to put it on the NLS pellets but they don't soak it in nearly as well..
While tangs will eat meat (all of ours do) they need to be fed mostly a herbivore diet ..
i also feed mine spinach and celery leaves from time to time

 

[Dr Colliebreath]

Over time, you should try to get it to eat.spiraling flakes, Two Little Fishes seaweed, and pieces of nori rubberbanded to a rock, plus some meaty foods like frozen mysis.

 

[Dmorty217]

Greens are very important for tangs in the wild, but in our aquariums that's where it ends. Most people on here feed their tangs way more meaty food then greens. Most tangs will do very well on a mostly meaty diet if enriched with vitamins. Wouldn't worry too much about what they eat in the wild and trying to mimic that, unless you live in Hawaii

 

[thor32766]

Feed him seaweed u can buy it from asian food markets for cheap compared to buying it with the label for aquariums. Also romaine lettuece. Feeding a tang meat everyday is like eating ice cream everyday for us.

 

[Reefnation.Jon]

Asian market seaweed is very good for tangs. you can also buy it very cheap on ebay. any and every lettuce product has virtually no nutritional value for tangs. spectrum pellets are very goos as well.

 

[Dmorty217]

Also turnip greens are very nutritional, if you freeze a leaf or two it softens them up to make it easier for your tang to eat

 

[Jax Reef]

any and every lettuce product has virtually no nutritional value for tangs.

That's not true. I have sustained yellow tangs for years on just romaine lettuce with some flake food to round out the diet. They love romaine. These days, it doesn't make sense to use only romaine and other terrestrial greens now that various dried seaweeds are readily available and cheap. However, it is perfectly fine in my experience.

-Jax Reef-

 

[o2manyfish]

Alot depends on the size of and health of your tank. For many many years I kept healthy tangs in a reef tank with their only food being that which the tank produced. In my outdoor tanks I keep an assortment of tangs, whose only diets is what the sun grows. The fish are fat, healthy and colorful off the all algae diet.

But you have to have a tank which is producing enough food to keep them plump and happy.

Having kept tangs that feed off of just algae, feed off of the best of supplied foods, and fed just pellets and romaine - I can't say that I can tell you that there is any difference between the fish with different diets. The best looking fish by far, are those out in the sunlight feeding what the sun produces. But having kept an assortment of tangs for up to 15 years on pellets and romaine - For those using that method I don't think they are doing anything wrong.

Dave B