How do you not feed a Hippo Tang everyday?

[tomtoro]

I have a reef tank with five fish. One is a Hippo Tang and he eats a lot. Others tell me not to feed everyday or i'll pollute the tank. Some people feed twice a week. If I go one day without feeding this guy, his stomach pinches in. Is there a secret to this? Can a big fish live with food twice a week? I don't want him to suffer. I've had him for many years, but I'd like to avoid the high nutrient plagues.
Thanks,
Tom

 

[anonome]

Feeding your fish only every other day or less will only bring on stress, which will in turn bring on diseases. There is a difference in feeding sparingly and starving your fish. I have 3 tangs, and like you I couldn't imagine not feeding them every day. Feed only what they can eat in a couple minutes. If done right no or very little food ever reaches the floor of the tank. Some days they only get algae strips, other days they get frozen and flake. Good maintenance, water changes and a good skimmer will go along way in keeping good water quality without starving your fish.

 

[curtis1158]

I feed every day, with appx 2 rips of algae sheets. Feed enough that they eat all in a short time. I actually unplug my surface skimmer during feeding so less food is sucked out, seems to work for me.

 

[dogstar]

Alot has to do with '' what '' you feed them....I feed my tangs ( all my fish ) on average once every other day. A variety of quality foods....have had them for years and they are healthy and not skinny.

 

[lion_crazz]

I agree, Dogstar. Some days I will go without feeding the fish and there is never any noticable differences. Then again, if you are feeding quality foods and you have a ton of live rock, you should not have a problem.
What are you feeding and how much live rock do you have?

 

[curtis1158]

I have appx 100-125 lbs of LR in in my 75 Gl FOWLR system. Fish are active and healthy.

 

[tomtoro]

Originally Posted by lion_crazz
I agree, Dogstar. Some days I will go without feeding the fish and there is never any noticable differences. Then again, if you are feeding quality foods and you have a ton of live rock, you should not have a problem.
What are you feeding and how much live rock do you have?
I have approx. 165lbs of LR in a 100gal tank. I have another 20lbs curing in another tank. Almost ready for the main tank.
I feed Flakes:Formula 1, Form 2, Prime Reef , Frozen: baby brine and cyclopeze(for the sun coral), brine shrimp, squid, mysis shrimp, a saltwater multipack. All soaked in a few drops of garlic extract and all on different days of course. I also use some red caulerpa from the refugium on a clip in the display tank. The live rock doesn't have any discernable algae that the hippo can graze on.

 

[hatessushi]

You shouldn't have a problem feeding every day with that much live rock. Keep in mind that fish don't metabolize like people do so feeding everyday is not neccessary unless the fish is sick then fieed 3 times a day with vitamins and such. It's normal for us to want to feed the fish at least once a day since as people we eat more then than and just naturally equate the fish food needs with our own. Fish can go days without eating just fine and feeding every other day works fine and is recommended if your tank is getting to many nutrients.
Is your Hippo not grazing algea in your tank? If he is nipping at the sides and nipping at the rocks then he's got to be getting something. My Kole tang nips all day long. I feed my fish once a day and late in the day clip some nori onto the side and they eat it. I have 100lbs. of LR and water is fine.

 

[tomtoro]

Originally Posted by HatesSushi
You shouldn't have a problem feeding every day with that much live rock. Keep in mind that fish don't metabolize like people do so feeding everyday is not neccessary unless the fish is sick then fieed 3 times a day with vitamins and such. It's normal for us to want to feed the fish at least once a day since as people we eat more then than and just naturally equate the fish food needs with our own. Fish can go days without eating just fine and feeding every other day works fine and is recommended if your tank is getting to many nutrients.
Is your Hippo not grazing algea in your tank? If he is nipping at the sides and nipping at the rocks then he's got to be getting something. My Kole tang nips all day long. I feed my fish once a day and late in the day clip some nori onto the side and they eat it. I have 100lbs. of LR and water is fine.

The only thing my Hippo does is wait for the powerhead to blow the food into his mouth, move rocks out of his cave and try to slash the other occupants. The Yellow tang is always grazing and does eat the red algae I clip in the tank. I haven't seen the Hippo eat any algae yet. The Lawnmower blennie doesn't leave any on the live rock either.
I'm thinking my nutrients are rising because I've seen a couple of nuisance anemones (mejano and aptasia) pop up. My water parameters are good, but folks say sometimes phosphates won't show up for some reason.

 

[dogstar]

Hippos do not generally graze the live rock....however they do need lots of algea in their diet.....caulerpa is OK now and then but really IMO should be feeding it and the Yellow lots of nori/seaweed sheets.
Pest anemones are IMO, not a sign of too much nutriants.

 

[anthropo]

does everyone on this post realize that tangs have high metabolisms and that feeding them that little is torture for them. in the wild they are constant grazers and should be fed 3 times a day whether u feed with algae sheets or anything else. if you have the proper filtration you will be fine in a reef tank. i have a tang in my reef and i have a lot of filtration in the tank. i also have perfect water quality and feed 3 times a day plus algae strips.

 

[tomtoro]

Originally Posted by anthropo
does everyone on this post realize that tangs have high metabolisms and that feeding them that little is torture for them. in the wild they are constant grazers and should be fed 3 times a day whether u feed with algae sheets or anything else. if you have the proper filtration you will be fine in a reef tank. i have a tang in my reef and i have a lot of filtration in the tank. i also have perfect water quality and feed 3 times a day plus algae strips.
I give you credit for your success. I still have to find the right balance, but I won't starve my tangs. Maybe the additional LR I'm adding will help or I might have to increase my water changes to twice a month instead of every 20 days. Also, where do I get Nori?
Thanks for the help, everybody,
Tom

 

[anthropo]

well i have a lot of filtration so that helps, but you can get nori at any petstore really, i usually get mine at ***** or petsmart.

 

[tomtoro]

Originally Posted by anthropo
well i have a lot of filtration so that helps, but you can get nori at any petstore really, i usually get mine at ***** or petsmart.
What filtration do you have? Mine is only LR, a skimmer, water movement, GAC and a refugium/caulerpa.

 

[hatessushi]

You can get nori at lots of food stores way cheaper then at the pet store. It's use in making sushi rolls. I believe at the store it's actualy called nori where at the lfs it usually called algea or seaweed.

 

[anthropo]

i have 2 hangon filters, one is an emperor 280 and the other is an aquaclear 70. i also have powerheads for the movement to help the filtration. i have about 100 pounds of live rock along with my corals. that is true what the above said, u can get nori aka seaweed aka algae strips at the grocery stores in the sushi sections. it's the same stuff they use to wrap sushi in. it's cheaper and you can buy it in bulk.

 

[julie853]

I also feed mine everyday twice everyday and never have any problems with my water parimeters.The thought of feeding them every other day even only once a day just seems so cruel to me.I have no agression issues in my tank with SFeel or my angel,tang and I believe one of the reasons is that they arn't hungry.Just my two cents. ***)

 

[cjml]

Hello! I feed daily-sometimes twice a day- but I do weekly water changes too. My tangs and wrasses are big eaters. I want them to be happy and healthy! :happyfish

 

[tomtoro]

Originally Posted by anthropo
i have 2 hangon filters, one is an emperor 280 and the other is an aquaclear 70. i also have powerheads for the movement to help the filtration. i have about 100 pounds of live rock along with my corals. that is true what the above said, u can get nori aka seaweed aka algae strips at the grocery stores in the sushi sections. it's the same stuff they use to wrap sushi in. it's cheaper and you can buy it in bulk.
Maybe i should add a mechanical filter other than the skimmer. Then it will remove the solids before they hit the skimmer. Do you have a surface skimmer attachment for the hang ons? Also, are you using a removable floss pad? No problem with nitrates if using floss? How often do you change the pads? I'm always up for more filtration, but most Folks say they're nitrate sinks if not rinsed or changed constantly.
Thanks,
Tom

 

[anthropo]

i had a skimmer, but i got rid of it cause it was blowing out too many bubbles in the tank and i have yet to find a skimmer that can hang on the back that won't be a disturbance to the tank. i would love it if i could find a prism for my size tank but have yet to find one without going too large. instead to make up for it i do water changes every 2 weeks. the filter media i use are the cartridges that the emperors use and same for the aquaclear. i run carbon in my tanks as well as my emperor has a bio-wheel to help with nitrates and nitrites. the live rock also helps with this. i change the cartridges in the filters once a month, but when i put a new cartridge in i rinse it and wait 2 weeks and rinse it again. the month aniversary of the cartridge i throw it away. the aqua clear u just rinse the sponge out and throw away the carbon.