Acanthurus leucosternon

[Nelson Pena]

hello i´m portuguese and i have a tank with 270 gallons.
When i decided start with my tank (4 months ago) i decided that will have one acanthurus leucostern because i think that is fascinanting and the challenge because is vey difficult feed them...
i have one zebrassoma flavscens,paracnthurus hepathus,chelmon rostratus and more small fishes...
I´m still having problems with the alimentation of the acanthurus and i would like to know other feeds than brine shrimp.i also give nori .
I would like to know other think.I have a euphilyas ,gonioporas,pleogyras and other hard corals and i would like to now if live phytopalncton is very important i don´t have and i can´t find in portugal...i only give red plancton that is in the "ice frigory".please sorry for my english but i´m trying to improve them...
please if anyone now a company that sell phytoplancon in the europe or the equipment to produce them tell my...
thanks

 

[Len]

Hey Nelson,
Welcome to Reefs.org. Your english is perfectly fine

You might want to try live foods. Here is a recent thread about some members' fish food recipes: http://reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=32050

Live brine doesn't have much nutrition unless you are feeding baby brine. I don't know if you have this in Portugal, but Selcon or Zoe are good additives to add to brine to make them more nutritious. If your A.leucosternon already eats nori, you're in pretty good shape.

Anyone with a Powder Blue Tang that can offer recommendations on what your's eats?

As for phytoplankton, don't worry about it. The corals you listed are photosynthetic and don't require phytoplankton feeding. Phytoplankton is a good idea for some other animals in your tank but if you can't find it easily, it's ok. By the way, Goniopora are very hard to keep for a long time, and I recommend that you don't buy this species anymore.

 

[Anonymous]

Goniopora need to be fed, IIRC.

I will reiterate what my non-tubular friend has above about the nutritional supplement, Selcon is a favorite.

Along with the nori, you can offer (free feed as you would hay to a horse) dark-leafed lettuce (here where I am our local public aquarium uses romaine lettuce), as well as krill, shrimp (mince these things), clam, squid, and/or octopus. I wouldn't expect this fish to take so much of the meaty foods, but the other residents certainly will, he'll nibble for sure. In the past I used to either parboil or microwave the leafy greens (to break down the cellulose) for the fish before eating, but at the public aquarium I have never seen this done, and the fish eat VERY well!

If he seems to be eating and eating, but either not gaining weight or actually getting thinner, he may have been exposed to cyanide. If this is the case, it will not matter how much you feed him, as his gut is no longer able to metabolize any nutrients or calories.

However, we know that these fish are known for being a bit picky anyway, and hopefully all he needs is a better variety of foods from which to choose.

 

[Nelson Pena]

thanks by the simpaty...
I only have the goniopora because it was my father that one day offer my without now is difficult and is hardy but is also a challenge for my.i ask about phytoplancton also because i have a huge tubastrea aurea and you now that don´t have zooxantellas and i´m horry about the alimentation.I woul try to put some photos of my tank for you give a look...
thanks