algae sheets okay?

[jenni620]

I have a bristletooth tomini tang. I have been putting algae sheets (green and purple) in the tank for him. He LOVES it, which I was glad to see because I have heard they can sometimes be difficult when it comes to feeding. Anyway, is this good enough for him?? I read somewhere that algae sheets are more of a treat than actual food. He has been picking at the rocks in the tank a lot too. He looks very healthy (and fat!) but is there something else I should give him? I have frozen formula 2. Maybe I could try that as well? Thanks!

 

[mike22cha]

I feed algae sheets with formula one pellets and Tetra Marine flakes. more of a variety, IMO.

 

[jenni620]

i have formula one and two flakes, but the tang doesn't seem too interested. my foxface sure scarfs them down though! lol I guess as long as the tang is eating the sheets and picking off the rocks he should be okay. He is definately not starving...he is really fat lol

thanks!!!

 

[rbrockm1]

you could throw in some romane lettuce or other types of greens if you want to vary their diet.

 

[shinobi9119]

Originally Posted by rbrockm1
you could throw in some romane lettuce or other types of greens if you want to vary their diet.
thats interesting

 

[nereef]

tangs eat algae almost exclusively in the wild. algae sheets are a great part of a tangs diet in captivity. if you read the nutrition facts on those things, they're about 1/3 protein.

 

[scotty37]

How do you feed algae sheets? Clips? Is there a more appealing option?

 

[nereef]

clips are the most user-friendly. another more natural option is to rubberband it to a piece of rock rubble. this is the easiest way to get the fish to eat it at first.

 

[rbrockm1]

NEreef said. i feed my algea sheets on a small piece of rock with a rubber band and a long piece of fishing line tied to the rock so i can pull it out real easy when they are done. i also used a decent size rock that had some weight to it cause my dragon goby would run off with the rock and algea all by himself.

 

[stanlalee]

Originally Posted by jenni620
I read somewhere that algae sheets are more of a treat than actual food.

very false. Algae sheets should be the staple diet for tangs. the meaty stuff are the treats.

 

[nereef]

agreed, especially zebrasoma spp. man, it makes me cringe when someone comes into the store and says they've been feeding brine to their yellow tang.
hippo tangs, i believe, eat quite a bit of meaty foods in the wild.

 

[mike22cha]

Anyone's FoxFace eat it too? Mine does.

 

[nereef]

definately. a foxface is the best fish for eating hair algae also, btw.

 

[mike22cha]

I don't have hair algae, maybe that's why.

 

[nereef]

ha, could be.

 

[mike22cha]

I don't know I don't deal with algae to bad except on the glass. That's about it. I think it's more of the filters.

 

[jenni620]

cool, thanks everyone! i just wanted to be sure he was getting the right stuff. now if i could just get my urchin to stop stealing the algae clip off the glass, everything would be cool. lol

 

[digitydash]

Mine eat the alage off the rock but when I feed my other fish brite shrimp the tang also eat it to.So I think they eat more than just alage.