Show us your tangs!

[klingsa]

I just love competitions to answer my questions! :lol: Thanks, guys. No, no rare fish for me. I'm all stocked up, except for coral. Thanks for the warning, though. Someone warn me to stop buying coral! Please!?

 

[Leopardshark]

here are mine

 

[Leopardshark]

ohhh, and sorry, I couln´t resist to post this pic with my heniochus starring at me

 

[klingsa]

Ok, finally, here's my yellow tang. Warning, horrible photographer on forum. Will you guys let me stay?? Please? I'm working on it, though, so I hope to take some better pics very soon.

Sara

 

[Leopardshark]

Sara, your tang looks he´s starving.
What are you feeding him??
I strngly recommend you to feed nori, they love it and they maintain their weight.
HTH
Marco

 

[klingsa]

He eats anything and everything. Brine shrimp that I feed my other fish, large pieces of silversides that he steals from my anemones, any macro algae in there, and daily dried algae. I looked at the picture again, and it does look that way. I think it's because it was such a crappy picture. I'll try to find a better one. He's a healthy monster, and is growing very fast. Thanks for the advice though, I may try nori anyway. Here's a better picture...

Sara

 

[Leopardshark]

Looks better but definitely he´s skinny IMHO.
Feed nori and you´ll see that makes a big difference. Remember tangs need to eat more than any other fish, they have a high metabolism so if you´re feeding them the same as the other fish, they´re gonna starve.
HTH
Marco

 

[wade1]

Just for clarification...

Tangs don't have a higher metabolism at all. What they (and many other strict herbivores, like rabbitfish) do have is a very short and inefficient digestive tract. (Seahorses fall in this catagory too, but they are carnivores) So, they eat lots of vegetation to make up for the poor nutrient exchange....

Like mentioned above, you should be feeding a variety of foods, but alot of nori/seaweed/etc to the tangs to keep them healthy.

Wade

 

[klingsa]

Ok, guys, thanks for the tips! I am going to feed him more often and see what happens. I'll post a pic when he fattens up a bit, and see if he looks better. You guys are great!

Sara

 

[Modo]

You can get sheets of Nori or different types of seaweed at your local grocery store or Oriental Specialty store. It's about half the price as "made for aquarium" products. It's used for making sushi rolls and soups. Just make sure it is not flavored or has anything added like preservatives. Just soak it in a little tank water and use a clip or rubber band it to a rock.

If you can't find it anywere you can order it from this website or any other Japanese/Oriental cooking site....

http://www.quickspice.com/cgi-bin/SoftC ... 1055972696

This is what my local grocery store carries, 10-sheets for like $2....

 

[Anonymous]

Don't some of you guys have a clip in the tank and you put some nori in it so that the tangs can simply eat whenever they want?

How about a photo of your tang feeding station.

Oop's, I see somebody posted that bit about the clip. Thanks!

 

[klingsa]

Yeah, I rubberband the sheet to a rock. I can post a picture of that, but I think you can probably conjure up your own picture. :lol: Ugly green rubberband, dead staghorn rock...does that help?? Tacky, but functional. I'll get some of that nori and see if he likes it.

Sara

 

[Stocker]

a picture of my blue tang. It's doubled in size since I've gotten him.

 

[Leopardshark]

Just for clarification,
tangs DO have a higher metabolism. Because in nature they travel really long distances, hence the need to feed a lot.
Marco

 

[Ralphyhp]

This is my Sailfin Tang and my Purple.

 

[Ralphyhp]

I forget the purple Tang. Here is.

 

[Expos Forever]

I love the rubber-banded feeding rock but when I get lazy I just put a piece of nori in between glass cleaning magnets. I found the clips would always fall (like anything else held with stinkin' suction cups).

 

[Modo]

Ralphy, That is one awesome Sailfin. I love those things I wish I could have one.

 

[Anonymous]

How is it some of you guys have super clean sand? Are you vacuuming the edges or are these newer tanks?

 

[wade1]

Just for clarification,
tangs DO have a higher metabolism. Because in nature they travel really long distances, hence the need to feed a lot.

What you are referring to is not metabolism. Its energy demand. And yes, they move constantly, but no more than many other non dimersal fishes. Not all tangs travel much at all in reality, although some of the larger shoals of them do indeed. Powder blues for instance don't leave a defined territory, although they cruise that area constantly. But then, most wrasses, parrots, damsels/chromis, and many many other reef fishes also never stop moving. Luckily, their digestive tract is as much as 10x longer than that of most Acanthurus.

Wade