Big Yellow Tang Will Not Eat

[karlaloveskrabs]

I bought a big yellow tang about 3 weeks ago... and I swear I have never seen him take a bite of food. He looks like he is dwindling away... I use flakes, frozen algae drops, krill, shrimp... he won't touch a thing.
Any suggestions on what he might eat?
I read a post that suggested some sort of clip and 'dried seaweed' Can someone elaborate on this?
Thanks!

 

[bunk97]

My big yellow tang loves live and frozen brine shrimp and spurlina flakes. He goes nuts when I put in frozen brine soaked in garlic juice. I would definetly try some garlic that should help him eat. Sometiems new fish need time to adjust before eating properly. Hope this helps a little.
bunk

 

[dolciflyer]

all the information and literature i've gathered on tangs suggests that they are mostly seaweed eaters. brine and other non seaweed foods are good to add to a seaweed diet for variety and diverse nutrition sources. i've got a yellow tang, sailfin tang, and koran angel, and the greatest part of their diet is dried seaweed. a bit annoying to use with the suction-cup seaweed clip, but i've had no problems with any of them at mealtime. they generally graze on it constantly, so i put a couple of sheets in per day. i wouldn't suggest buying this stuff at a pet store however, outrageously expensive being the reason. stop by an asian food store and pick up some nori. it's the exact same stuff - the seaweed used for making sushi rolls. just try to pick the stuff that doesn't seem to have salt crystals with it. the price difference is amazing.

 

[louny]

if he has red spots he may be stressed from high nitrates

 

[lharm]

Ive seen them eat algae off LR

 

[rop357]

kahle not sure how to spell it but its like lettuce just stick it in the water ad leave it for a while hellget to it soon enough.

 

[dolciflyer]

IMO and gathering of info, i've learned that regular lettuce and kale are not viable sources of nutrition for fish. especially iceberg lettuce, it is made up of mostly water and has almost no nutritional value whatsoever. greenleaf and redleaf lettuce however are o.k. just note, if you're going to use any type of lettuce from the grocery store, you must freeze it first. the plant fibers are very difficult for a fish's digestive system to break down. freezing breaks down the celulose cells so that the fish can digest this food source. i would say that nori, or roasted seaweed/algae is still a better choice. the roasting and drying has already broken down the cells, it's much more convienent to use and store, and cheaper in the long run if you get it from asian food stores. 100 gram package usually costs about 5 bux, whereas at pet stores a 12 gram package can run as much as $13. pretty crazy but it's the same exact stuff!!!

 

[karlaloveskrabs]

Thank you guys for all the info...
Unfortunately, he died.

I now know that he had ick... I have lost 3 more fish... so starting from 'scratch' again.

 

[dolciflyer]

yeah, i just lost a yellow tang to a ruptured swim bladder which caused complications. reacted too late.

 

[flamehawk]

FInd a local chinese deli and by Nori which is the same as the dried seaweed sold in LFS for about one fifth of the price. Fold the dried nori sheet and put it on a lettuce clip and watch your tang go to town. You should feed them this everyday. In addition try thawed out frozen brine soaked in selcon vitamin. Good luck.