Blue Tang

[sh4n]

Hello I currently have a Blue Tang and 2 Clown fish in my aquariam. I purchased my Blue tang last week, he is adorable he swims around with my clown fish all day, at first he would not eat the pellets that I feed my clown fish, so i fed him some brine shrimp which they loved. Now when I feed my Clown fish normal pellets he swims extremely fast and eats all the pellets before my clown fish can! I only feed them once a day, but my blue tang is always eating off my live rock and in my marine-gravel... Is this normal? shall I feed more, or less? or any suggestions!? thanks!

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by SH4N http:///forum/thread/382273/blue-tang#post_3335045
Hello I currently have a Blue Tang and 2 Clown fish in my aquariam. I purchased my Blue tang last week, he is adorable he swims around with my clown fish all day, at first he would not eat the pellets that I feed my clown fish, so i fed him some brine shrimp which they loved. Now when I feed my Clown fish normal pellets he swims extremely fast and eats all the pellets before my clown fish can! I only feed them once a day, but my blue tang is always eating off my live rock and in my marine-gravel... Is this normal? shall I feed more, or less? or any suggestions!? thanks!

Mysis shrimp is better than brine and pellets are bad for polluting the tank...So I thin you should change your food. What size tank? Yes picking at the live rock is normal.
Edit:
I looked at your profile...a 48g tank is way too small for a blue hippo tang.

 

[sh4n]

oh =( the guy at my lfs said the tank size was fine. I only put in enough pellets for them to eat, so they dont drop to the bottom

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by SH4N http:///forum/thread/382273/blue-tang#post_3335049
oh =( the guy at my lfs said the tank size was fine. I only put in enough pellets for them to eat, so they dont drop to the bottom

Pellets are not nutritious enough, Mysis is a good food and change up with other food. If your tang is really small you can keep it until it outgrows the tank. A year maybe.

 

[sh4n]

ok thanks flower, but is the behaviour eating so much noirmal for a tang?

 

[deejeff442]

lfs giving bad advice .thats a new one (sarcastically)
well flower on occasion i do agree with everything you said )
fish are always hungry when they are healthy

 

[sh4n]

none of the lfs here have mysis shrimp, however i bought some green vegies sea weed marine food so hopefully thats better. thanks for the advice

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by SH4N http:///forum/thread/382273/blue-tang#post_3335401
none of the lfs here have mysis shrimp, however i bought some green vegies sea weed marine food so hopefully thats better. thanks for the advice

Algae sheets are a must..you did good. Ask your LFS to order the frozen mysis shrimp. I'm sure they will start to carry it if they have someone who wants it.

 

[sh4n]

ok thanks flower, i will ask next time im in town..
Also is a UV steralizer worth buying? my tanks only 185 litres (48gallons)

 

[deejeff442]

dont waste the money on a uv

 

[indy2009]

Quote:
Originally Posted by deejeff442 http:///forum/thread/382273/blue-tang#post_3335691
dont waste the money on a uv
I disagree!! I strongly believe a must if you have sensitive fish...just make sure the flow is slow or its not effective..since you do have a Hippo Tang..I have 2 as well, along with 4 other tangs..they need plenty of vegetation if you lack enough algae in your system, u can purchase either at your LFS or online live red Ogo algae or high quality nori sheets (make sure red in color) green is low quality and check that it is not produced in China, I use both red ogo that I grow and nori that my family send me from Japan, I add either zoe or selcon to the dry nori for extra vitamins...brine shrimp has no nutritional value better to use mysis either dried or frozen which you can also add the zoe or selcon supplement..if you want some of my nori I will more than happy to send you a few sheets to try out..PM me with your address and i'll send you a few sheets my expense..and I'll give you detailed instructions how to feed your tang..

 

[sh4n]

Wow thank you so much for the advice! I will send you a PM

 

[srfisher17]

Before you invest in anymore fish; I'd suggest you get a good book on SW fish and fishkeeping. Scott Michael's book "Marine Fish" is a great reference. You can get a copy, slightly used, for a few bucks on Amazon. It will pay for itself many times over. Doing research, prior to purchase, is vital for success in this great hobby/addiction.....Good luck!

 

[flower]

These little books have saved me a fortune..I am including a page so you can see the info they offer.

 

[deejeff442]

i had the fish addition a long time ago .great book have no idea where it went to?
do they make one about corals?
would love to get one of those.i was going past a lfs today doing a job estimate.havnt been to this place for a few years.fricken sweet set up.he has his corals in 75 gallon tanks on steps .the prices were like $20 ,$25,$30 on each tank up to $55 then the big price tank.nice set up.i wasnt planning on getting anything but yea but ) i had like $300 in my pocket so i figured a couple small corals wouldnt hurt.i bought an orange monti about 3 inches for $30 and a colt coral for $20 abouty 3 inches high.not bad for a lfs.
this guy has a frag farm at his house.all the small corals are on cement plugs which is sweet for tank placement.i almost bought a 4 inch maxima clam for $65.but i need to get through the holidays before i spend on me.(

 

[sh4n]

sounds great ill purchase a few =)

 

[tangs rule]

I'd pass on a UV unit. It is best to keep any parasites from entering the system thru quarentine, and NEVER put anything live in the main tank without it spending 4-6 weeks in quarentine. Once in your tank, parasites (esp. skin types) are impossible to remove as long as there are fish in there. UV units may kill the ones that pass thru it, but there will be dozens or hundereds buried in the substrate or liverock that can ONLY be killed of by removing their hosts for 6 weeks.
UV units can help alage growths slightly, but water quality and lighting quality will control alage much better. All tangs are SO susecpatble to skin parasites, it is best to assume EVERY new addition - invert/fish/coral is corrupt with somthing. If one doesn't quarentine, the tang will be the first to suffer. it usually shows up within 2-3 weeks of an un-quarentined addition.