Yellow tang woes

[JKurtz]

Hello all! My yellow tang recently made the delightful discovery that if it nips at my open brain coral shortly after it's been fed, it will expel what it's eaten, providing a free meal for the tang (you've got to admire the little guy's ingenuity!).
The problem is, it tends to nip at the poor coral too frequently now, causing it to contract. My efforts to catch the tang have succeeded only in providing a source of amusement for my wife (okay, baiting a hook with Formula II was a bit absurd, but I was getting desperate).
Any suggestions for capturing the bugger?

 

[Gatortailale1]

Sounds like you are not providing it enough food/nori seaweed. Try leaving a sheet/ or 1/2 of dried nori in the tank so the tang can feed all or most of the day. Tangs love to graze all day.

 

[JKurtz]

You may be right, Gator. I'm so neurotic about keeping dissolved organics low that I probably tend to underfeed. I do provide nori, but only for a short period each day. I'm also going to increase the amount of protein I offer (I read someone's previous posting that suggested this might discourage the tang's tendency to nibble on inverts).

JK

 

[schroom]

If you want to catch the tang, wait till the lights go off and then get out the flashlight. All you have to do is locate him and scoop. I use this method all the time when I need to remove a fish from my reef. It takes just minutes rather then hours.

 

[schroom]

If you want to catch the tang, wait till the lights go off and then get out the flashlight. All you have to do is locate him and scoop. I use this method all the time when I need to remove a fish from my reef. It takes just minutes rather then hours.

 

[rotorh60]

I keep nori available 24/7 for my purple tang, yellow tang, and foxface. They will go through a clip full in a days time. Minor hassle, but they leave the corals alone, and they are fat and happy. I have never had a problem with dissolved organics, my skimmer does a good job.