Yellow Tang feeding

[jeff10]

Hey everyone, I got a Yellow Tang, have done my research but like always I like to ask the fine people here with their experiences and everything. He is shy of course at first and I have the little seaweed sheets for him.
BUT, what else, in your experience have you all found they like best? Seaweed pellets, flakes, the sheets? I know they would graze on rock, but this is more of a FO tank (yes I know) than a Reef tank.
Thanks as always for the information

 

[btldreef]

I'm not a fan of feeding pellets or flakes to any of my fish, so others may have different responses.
For tangs, a good frozen cubed food designed for tangs and other herbivores/ombivores would be good, I prefer Emerald Entree. Also, tangs are omnivores, and although their main diet should be algae/seaweed/vegitation, they do need meat in their diet in small amounts. Look into PE Mysis. It's expensive compared to other frozen fish food, BUT, I can guarantee that you'll notice a difference in the fish. People that feed PE Mysis have better looking and healthier fish. It's loaded with some really good stuff for them.

 

[ryancw01]

+1. Yellow tangs love Emerald Entree. They do need to graze though and you should give him pieces of the seaweed on a clip at least every other day for a while.

 

[jeff10]

Thank you very much for the answers, I have the clips and this confirms the emerald Entree!!! Really appreciate the answers

 

[scottnlisa]

Mine eats garlic seaweed sheets, mysis shrimp, marine cuisine, and squid.

 

[jeff10]

Nice Royal Gramma, looks like mine
I got some garlic from the store, cut it up and let it sit in water and its pretty garlicy now (yes I know garlicy is not a word). Is that decent or should I buy that "garlic extract" I have seen for sale at the LFS?

 

[jackri]

I think you'll find your yellow tang to be a pig and eat just about anything you put in there -- but do offer it greens frequently to eat.

 

[srfisher17]

YTs will eat about anything. They are herbivores, so they need a lot of greens- seaweed, algae sheets are fine. and mature LR for grazing really helps. IMO & IME they may be one of the hardiest fish that swims. Very easy to keep alive, but must have the usual good husbandry to thrive. A healthy YT is gorgeous, a pale one is pathetic. I agree with the above posts, ditch the flakes, they are for goldfish.There are many good frozen foods, as mentioned above. One thing seldom mentioned about herbivores: They also eat plenty of tiny crustaceans, worms, etc in the wild as they graze and need meaty items as well. I seldom use garlic, but I do like Selcon as a vitamin supplement for all fish.
BTW, your name says 40 gal--I hope you aren't planning to keep this fish in a 40 gal for long. These fish really need room and stress badly when cramped.

 

[btldreef]

Originally Posted by srfisher17
http:///forum/post/3280319
BTW, your name says 40 gal--I hope you aren't planning to keep this fish in a 40 gal for long. These fish really need room and stress badly when cramped.
+1
Good catch, I can't believe I missed this, since I'm normally the one being yelled at for being the "tang police"

 

[acrylic51]

Originally Posted by srfisher17
http:///forum/post/3280319
YTs will eat about anything. They are herbivores, so they need a lot of greens- seaweed, algae sheets are fine. and mature LR for grazing really helps. IMO & IME they may be one of the hardiest fish that swims. Very easy to keep alive, but must have the usual good husbandry to thrive. A healthy YT is gorgeous, a pale one is pathetic. I agree with the above posts, ditch the flakes, they are for goldfish.There are many good frozen foods, as mentioned above. One thing seldom mentioned about herbivores: They also eat plenty of tiny crustaceans, worms, etc in the wild as they graze and need meaty items as well. I seldom use garlic, but I do like Selcon as a vitamin supplement for all fish.
BTW, your name says 40 gal--I hope you aren't planning to keep this fish in a 40 gal for long. These fish really need room and stress badly when cramped.
+1 Very good info...

 

[jeff10]

He is in a 50 right now by himself, My first tank was a 40 which is why I have that. I have a 40, a 50, a 10 and I want a 90+ where I can put an Emperor or a Shark (kidding lol).

 

[beaslbob]

live macro algaes plus flake.
I had an in tank refugium and the YT was always grazing on the macros that poked through
my .02

 

[jeff10]

OK my yellow tang died. I had him in a 55 with a black and white Clown that is quite a bully TOWARDS ME lol (he does not like it when I put my hand in the tank, I just shoooh him away). But the Tang seemed to be fine, but my friend thought it looked as if the fins were bit??? I also noticed a discoloration in the mornings but it would then go away quickly when I cut the light on.
Another thing, his scales seemed to come off pretty easy when he died, like he was rotting.
My friend suggested moving the black and white clown and see if the next yellow tang lives longer than 8 days.
Any advice on Yellow Tangs would be great, or a link to a great page about them so

 

[btldreef]

I suggest you read through the disease forums just to make sure your tang didn't die from a disease or bacterial infection instead of the clown bullying.
Also, the clown may have killed it from bullying/stress, but if there was an underlying factor like disease/bacterial infection, the bullying would make it worse.

 

[jeff10]

Thanks BTL, appreciate the advice, I think the clown made it worse..Punk cant face him during the day lol, but I bought the tang at ***** which had better water than the LFS. There is a BIG TIME LFS but it is further out and way more expensive but I hear the fish are healthier...Think if I get a fish that is normally higher, I might as well go there and pay the extra $10 if they will live.

 

[btldreef]

Originally Posted by Jeff10
http:///forum/post/3283006
Thanks BTL, appreciate the advice, I think the clown made it worse..Punk cant face him during the day lol, but I bought the tang at ***** which had better water than the LFS. There is a BIG TIME LFS but it is further out and way more expensive but I hear the fish are healthier...Think if I get a fish that is normally higher, I might as well go there and pay the extra $10 if they will live.
Yes, I agree. I've paid a pretty penny for some common fish just to know that they came from healthy tanks.
If this clownfish was able to beat on a yellow tang, you might want to consider getting rid of the clown or replacing it. YT's usually can hold their own and are semi aggressive, a clown shouldn't have been able to kill it without another factor playing a role...but like everything in this hobby, there is always an exception.
I suggest that you quarantine any new fish, regardless of where you purchase them from. Also, you may want to remove the clown and quarantine it while you're adding other fish. Once you add more fish, return the clown to the DT and that should cut down on the aggression. The clown will have to establish new territory with what's left from the other fish and might learn its role.

 

[jeff10]

yeah, I moved the clown in a 10 gallon by himself. I am pretty sure, the Clown messed with him at night, not during the day when the YT was up and moving, not kind of docile...this according to my friend. After looking at the pics in the disease thread, he could have had stress, HLLE, and an infection...One or all three.

 

[btldreef]

Usually stress can bring on the other two, so that makes sense. Glad to hear that you were able to get the little monster out of the tank!
My female was the same way for the longest time until I got her an anemone, now she could care less who or what comes in the tank, just stay away from her home, LOL.
Nothing can be as bad as the clown I had in my 14G, it would attack me all the time, and there isn't exactly a lot of room for your hand to go in a 14G. It also ate LPS corals

 

[mkroher]

Clowns are Damsels, that's why they can be aggressive.
How about you pick out a different fish until you get your "90"?

 

[jeff10]

Thanks BTL, appreciate it!!