ok got myself a yellow tang about 9 days ago. now it was my undersdanding that these were herbavores so i got a clip and tried feeding him assorted greens, lettuce broccoly ect but he didn't look twice. went to the lfs and got some dried seaweed (porpyra umbillicalis) but he won't eat it either. it's not that he won't eat, he is a pig on frozen meaty food like mysts and bloodworms even prime reef. i used to feel one and a half cubes but now feed four and he probably takes 90% of it. but still, he was fat when i got him and looks a little thinner now. i am just baffled. do i keep trying to give him his veggies or just accept that he likes only meat? what do you make of the weight loss.
yellow tang's eating habits odd
- Thread starter reefsRcool
- Start date
She needs veggies to survive.
Try feeding here nori soaked in garlic extract
and put it in a flow or drop sinking spirulina discs on the bottom. Feed nothing else.
The garlic acts as an attractant and can be used when fish don't feed or are fussy.
You should use the garlic extract anyway as tangs are inclined to get ich and the extract acts as a preventative
Try feeding here nori soaked in garlic extract
and put it in a flow or drop sinking spirulina discs on the bottom. Feed nothing else.
The garlic acts as an attractant and can be used when fish don't feed or are fussy.
You should use the garlic extract anyway as tangs are inclined to get ich and the extract acts as a preventative
Get away from the brine shrimp and mysis or your tang will die QUICK.
I'm not kidding.
I lost 2 or 3 tangs to them eating brine shrimp I was giving the carnivores and corals.
Seriously, be careful with meats.
No joke.
Get spirulina flake food, Formula 2, red and green seaweeds, etc.
No more brineshrimp. Your tang will eat it. Your tang will die.
I'm not kidding.
I lost 2 or 3 tangs to them eating brine shrimp I was giving the carnivores and corals.
Seriously, be careful with meats.
No joke.
Get spirulina flake food, Formula 2, red and green seaweeds, etc.
No more brineshrimp. Your tang will eat it. Your tang will die.
My Tang is very fat! It is picky on what it eats. I have tried several seaweed varieties including the RED seaweed selects, brown and you can just tell it does not like it much at all. He will eat frozen food but.....
However the Green Seaweed Selects is the food of choice for mine! I can't keep it in there. He just goes crazy for this stuff.
I would try Seaweed selects Green and buy some Selcon and Zoe to soak it in a few times per week. I don't soak every day. Put in the Seaweed green every day and your tang will get very fat.
Jeff
However the Green Seaweed Selects is the food of choice for mine! I can't keep it in there. He just goes crazy for this stuff.
I would try Seaweed selects Green and buy some Selcon and Zoe to soak it in a few times per week. I don't soak every day. Put in the Seaweed green every day and your tang will get very fat.
Jeff
It will probably eat dry food, you can use spirulina as emily is as a supplement, and if you keep offering the seaweed (and quit putting so much frozen shrimp in there) it will eventually eat the seaweed. The nori stuff works well, my favorite is dulse... most zebrasoma tangs will eat dulse very well. You should see my passer angels and vlamingi tang fight over it when I drop a clip full into their tank.
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ok thanks i'll go back to my regular pre tang feeding level of the meaty foods, but i doubt i can actually get him to stop going for them. he eats that stuff up so quickly some of my less assertive fish hardly get anything. on a positive note i put some of kent marines garlic extreme on the purple seaweed and i watched him pick at it allittle last night but it's mostly still in there, hopfully when he gets hungry....
You should start by offering only a small strip of seaweed, and remove after 12 hours. Keep doing this for at least a week, your tang will grow used to the presence of the nori clip and come forward to munch on it. Nori/seaweed on a clip is not something they normally see in ocean. In the mean time, keep offering spirulina flakes. Soak flakes in selco/selcon/garlic before feeding.
Good Luck
Good Luck
Sorry to be so aggro about your tang.
I've lost too many tangs to them attacking meaty food.
I won't keep them anymore because they go after brineshrimp regardless of the options and the danger it presents them.
I just want to save you from the heartache I've experienced in watching my tangs go on a meat binge.
I mean real heartache. I lost my beloved Desjardanii and Yellow when I fed shrimp to my corals and anemones. They went right after the shrimp.
Next morning I awoke to tragedy. I'd never wish that on anyone. Especially more precious tangs.
They will eat the brineshrimp. Sadly, that's the problem.
I've lost too many tangs to them attacking meaty food.
I won't keep them anymore because they go after brineshrimp regardless of the options and the danger it presents them.
I just want to save you from the heartache I've experienced in watching my tangs go on a meat binge.
I mean real heartache. I lost my beloved Desjardanii and Yellow when I fed shrimp to my corals and anemones. They went right after the shrimp.
Next morning I awoke to tragedy. I'd never wish that on anyone. Especially more precious tangs.
They will eat the brineshrimp. Sadly, that's the problem.
Ok, there are some definite misconceptions going on in this thread.
Yes, it is bad to feed your tang ALL meaty food.
Tangs eating *some* brine or mysis shrimp isn't going to kill them. You do not have to stop feeding shrimp completely, just don't feed tons of it. In the wild tangs get some invertebrate protein by eating bugs and such that are hiding in the seaweed they are eating. As far as the lifespan of tangs, I have several here that are in the 3-4 year old range, and know people who have kept them 10+ years feeding varieties of food, the key is to avoid extremes.
Yes, it is bad to feed your tang ALL meaty food.
Tangs eating *some* brine or mysis shrimp isn't going to kill them. You do not have to stop feeding shrimp completely, just don't feed tons of it. In the wild tangs get some invertebrate protein by eating bugs and such that are hiding in the seaweed they are eating. As far as the lifespan of tangs, I have several here that are in the 3-4 year old range, and know people who have kept them 10+ years feeding varieties of food, the key is to avoid extremes.
just an update i havn't fed the tank yet today and the seaweed is still in there. i am pulling out what i put in yesterday and going to add a new batch with garlic. how long worst case senario do you think it will take for the tang to get hungry enough to eat the seaweed? i'm not really comfortable with makeing everyone else starve, they should be fine for one day without food but going more then that seems mean.
I've just found it a tough balancing act with the shrimp. Yes, they will eat shrimp.
Yes a little is probably okay.
But I've seen them pick at krill and brineshrimp. I had 1 oz. of brineshrimp in my tank, a 135, when my tangs went wild on it and got sick.
A little is okay, perhaps, but I'm serious about erring on the side of caution.
Erring away from caution can result in death. I've watched it happen. It is a real phenomenon.
PS try Formula 2 and spirulina-heavy foods - all fish can eat those and stay healthy.
Yes a little is probably okay.
But I've seen them pick at krill and brineshrimp. I had 1 oz. of brineshrimp in my tank, a 135, when my tangs went wild on it and got sick.
A little is okay, perhaps, but I'm serious about erring on the side of caution.
Erring away from caution can result in death. I've watched it happen. It is a real phenomenon.
PS try Formula 2 and spirulina-heavy foods - all fish can eat those and stay healthy.
How can tangs get "sick" eating brineshrimp? I don't get it. Unless you are pouring in tons of them, otherwise, I don't see how that is possible. You can also gut load Live artemia by bathing them in phyto-rich water and aerate the container for 24 hours before feeding.
Also, folks, if you have to use live artemia for continuous feeding, you should have a 5 gal tank prepared for the sole use of gut-loading brineshrimps before feeding. That being said, as un-nutritious as plain brineshrimp is, unless you are feeding too much, fishes shouldn't get "sick" over them.
Also, folks, if you have to use live artemia for continuous feeding, you should have a 5 gal tank prepared for the sole use of gut-loading brineshrimps before feeding. That being said, as un-nutritious as plain brineshrimp is, unless you are feeding too much, fishes shouldn't get "sick" over them.
One more thing, most tangs are omnivores in nature. That means they are capable of eating a wide variety of food. It's not uncommon for tangs to eat meaty foods. Just bear in mind that it is important to incorporate vegi-matters into their balanced diet to keep tangs healthy. As aforementioned, their vegi diet can be derived from seaweed product, natural macro algae or prepared spirulina based flakes. In the past, I always start with spirulina flakes to keep their belly full and immune system up before I train them taking seaweed. Training tangs to eat prepared seaweed takes patience and requires starving them for a few days when nothing is offered to the whole tank other then seaweed. This can't be done safely if the specimen is not healthy to begin with.
You don't see yellow tang munching down on crabs/shrimps in nature because the way their mouth is structured, they are not capable of crunching through their thick skeletons, and they don't have the agility to chase after some fast moving inverts. But that doesn't mean they don't eat meaty food when the opportunity presents in the wild.
You don't see yellow tang munching down on crabs/shrimps in nature because the way their mouth is structured, they are not capable of crunching through their thick skeletons, and they don't have the agility to chase after some fast moving inverts. But that doesn't mean they don't eat meaty food when the opportunity presents in the wild.
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