Too much romaine lettuce???

[beyondnp]

I have been feeding my tangs (blond, purple, yellow and achilles) and foxface some organic romaine lettuce bought from the grocery store. Every 3 days I would grab a large piece (8-9 inches long or so) and wrap it up around a piece of branch tonga and let them go to town (very fun to watch). I have been putting it near my pumping xenia for the past few weeks and have found recently that the coral is no longer there. it was thriving and rapidly reproducing and then it was gone. Might the lettuce have had something to do with it? I have found that the fish would ultimately eat all of the lettuce or it would ultimately get sucked up and end up in my refugium. A few other of my pieces are not looking healthy but I checked my water, did another water change and everything seems to be right. Should I take them out in the future or is it just that the xenia died and prob had nothing to do with the lettuce?

So is this an attack of the killer lettuce or just a figment of my imagination!

Thoughts appreciated...

beyondnp

 

[[JWS]wasabi]

well... there is the possibility of sprays or insecticide on the lettuce.. even organicly grown, they still might have some kind of agents on there... i wonder if a quick rinse under tapwater would really get rid of it all?

that being said, plenty of stores and people feed their tangs lettuce, so I would look for some other variable aside from the plant itself.

chemical agents on the lettuce would be my #1 concern...

eliminate the lettuce from the tank for a while and see if things start to get healthy again.

How long have you been using lettuce in the tank? anything else new in the past few weeks?

 

[glipper69]

you are better off with nori (sushi wrap) its seeweed so its more natural for them and they seem to like it better than any land grown stuff.

make sure you get the dry roasted some of them have an oil on them. so be careful.

Frank

 

[House of Laughter]

I would be worried about ANY food that doesn't get eaten within 2-3 minues of putting it in the tank - anything uneaten = waste -

Also, my tangs (3) Desjardin - 5", yellow - 4" and Hippo - 3" all eat Seaweed Selects - it costs about $6 and last me about 4-5 months - best $18 you'll spend in a year. Second guessing everyone elses practices -

Also, Zenia needs about perfect DkH and iodine supplement to survive -

Is there any predators that may have eaten the zenia?

House

 

[Acropora]

Tangs should not be fed lettuce since it has no nutritional value for them.They eat it because it reembles sea weed.As stated above,Nori is a very good food source and half the price of sea weed selects,which is the same thing.Nori will also release iodine into your tank.

 

[marrone]

I have alway feed all my tangs and angel fish Romaine lettuce, alone with other foods, and have had alot of succuss. As for having no nutritional value not everything in the wild that fish eat is high in nutritional value.

 

[Crakeur lost his password]

marrone, the whole point of eating is for nutritional value. Unlike humans, animals eat for a purpose (not enjoyment). I agree that it isn't bad to give them something to chew on as tangs are grazing fish and like to constantly be picking but you should give them something that will do more than clean their system.

 

[marrone]

Romaine lettuce doesn't just clean their system out it actually does put weight on the fish. And yes alot of it the fish craps out. What is important is to give your fish a well balance diet with an assortment of different food, not everything that you feed has a 100% nutritional value. The bottom line is to make sure that you fish is healthy and well feed and has a long life. All the fish that I have or have had have always been fed Romaine along with an assortment of other foods and they have had great growth and have been fat and healthy and live for many years.
Now if Romaine wasn't good for them that wouldn't have happen.

 

[Crakeur lost his password]

I agree that giving them a source of grazing material is beneficial, however, feeding them a food with no nutritional value whatsoever, does absolutely nothing to help their bodies. they don't fight disease more, they don't grow from it and they don't stay healthy from it. Feed them only romaine and they will die. I'm a strong believer in not messing with a working formula so I'm not saying you should stop. I'm merely pointing out that you're fish are far better served if you leave real seaweed in the water for them to graze on.

 

[marrone]

I never said to feed only Romaine but it should be part of a range of different foods that you feed your fish. There are some people that just feed their fish flake food which may have more nutritional value than Romaine but just feeding that is no good for them. Yes feeding them sea weed,nori, is great but you also should feed them different type of alage and other foods. Alot of people feed their fish spinach and broccoli, which I don't do as it really messes up the tank.

I don't want to make this into one of those RC war's, but what I getting at is you just need to feed you fish different things wether it 100% nutritional or less. So yes there are better things than Romaine but there is nothing wrong with feeding Romaine as part of the diet.

 

[Crakeur lost his password]

I didn't say you were feeding only romaine and I agreed that tangs need to graze and have a constant source of "food"

all I was saying is that romaine is not a source of nutrition. As I said several posts back, My father puts it in the office tank all the time. The tangs pick at it all day long. They are also fed a diet of flake and nori and other nutrition. It's like feeding brine shrimp to the tank. they'll get eaten but if they haven't been fed with something nourishing, they are of little nutritional value.

Not really an argument. no go fix a caesar salad for the tangs.

 

[Acropora]

No one is trying to be arguementive, this is a place where we can all learn something from each other.However continuing to do something because one has always done it that way, does not hold water.
Simply stated Romaine lettuce will not provide your tangs with any nutrients and will only add waste products into your system. Tangs love to eat all day and romaine looks like seaweed. They will pick on it an eat it all day. It will eventually become fish dung and add too your bio-load without any benefit to your fish, other then keeping them regular. This can also be accomplished when your fish eat seaweed/Nori, which is highly nutritious.Nori can also be gotten inexpensively at Asian food stores.

 

[marrone]

This is not a case of doing "something because one has always done it that way" I have been feeding my fish Romaine lettuce for years and years as have other people and with great success. Yes nori and some other items have more nutritional value and if you have those thing then yes you should feed it to your fish along with other foods. As for all of it becoming waste that not the case. All my fish have gain considerable weight and size from eating it and have remined very healty. And just because something new comes out or something that was done before is now out of favor doesn't mean people should stop doing it.

 

[Acropora]

marrone
It is obvious that you care about your fish and I am not implying anything different.However,Nori/seaweed is not something new.Seaweed is as old as time and it has been available as Nori from Asian food stores for many years.The fact that your fish are fat is due temporarily from all the romaine lettuce they eat,which will bulge their stomachs.The fact that your fish are doing so well is only due to everything else you feed them. As I said earlier,Nori is readily available, and is inexpensive. It also has a much longer shelf life then romaine lettuce. So there is no reason to continue to feed tangs lettuce, spinach or brocolli, since none of these items are found in the sea,where these fish are the healthiest. Good luck with your fishes.

 

[House of Laughter]

Folks,

One of the things I have found in this very difficult hobby is that what works for me (and I might think is an industry standard) might not work for others - somewhere above someone said, if it works for you, then do it - if it doesn't, then stop it -

Bottom line, no one is right and both are right - either way, we should respect each others opinions and approaches (not saying there is disrespect going on here) but keep in mind that while the industry might not embrace it as a best practice, doesn't mean it doesn't work somewhere.

I too tried the romaine (actually bib lettuce)and found that my fish like it - I dind't, so I invested in the Nori - one man's music is another man's noise

Just my $.02

House

 

[marrone]

Anthony

I've been keeping saltwater fish for over 20years and feeding them all kinds of food. The increase in size of my fish have to do with everything that I feed them, which ranges from romaine lettuce, nori, forumla food and different kinds of flake food. I know you don't want to hear this but my fish have increased in size from feeding them romaine lettuce and it's hasn't been temporary.

This also doesn't have to do with that nori being inexpensive and not hard to find or having a longer self live than Romaine or any other greens, which in my case a large head of romaine doesn't last that long as my fish will finish a head off very fast and the same goes for nori, spinach and brocolli.

As for having nutritional value not everything that fish eat in the ocean has high nutritional value they eat what they can find.

Michael

 

[marrone]

Originally posted by House of Laughter:
Folks,

One of the things I have found in this very difficult hobby is that what works for me (and I might think is an industry standard) might not work for others - somewhere above someone said, if it works for you, then do it - if it doesn't, then stop it -

Bottom line, no one is right and both are right - either way, we should respect each others opinions and approaches (not saying there is disrespect going on here) but keep in mind that while the industry might not embrace it as a best practice, doesn't mean it doesn't work somewhere.

I too tried the romaine (actually bib lettuce)and found that my fish like it - I dind't, so I invested in the Nori - one man's music is another man's noise

Just my $.02

House

House

That why I didn't want to turn this into one of those RC treades where you just go back and forth.

I also try Brocolli and my fish liked it but what a mess it made in my tank.

 

[beyondnp]

Wow...
I must say I love the passion that this post recieved. And of course, want to thank all of you for your insight and support. Unfortunately, it seems like my electric green carpet is also being impacted so I am cutting out the lettuce for now. Will try the Nori after I see a rebound. Thanks again,