Who's got a Powder Blue Tang, need help

[kirkster7]

Just got one today, and I was wondering if anybody out there has had some real luck with what they like to eat? I know algae, but what kind, brand, and any specifics that would really help me, I want to get him comfortable and start eating good immediately, I have always soaked my food in Marine C, and the results have been amazing, great color and immunity seems great, very active knock on wood healthy fish, Thanks kirkster7

 

[ophiura]

Can you give us some tank specs, like size, age, live rock, other fish, water parameters? This will help us a lot. THis is a very delicate fish and many people do not have success with them. Do you have it in a separate system, or in the main system?

 

[kirkster7]

75 gallon, he's 3-4 inches, the tank has about 110 lbs of live rock, half fiji and half from a diver collected in the caribbean, alot of coraline coverage, the tank is about 4 or 5 years old, I went with a sump filtration about 2 months ago (Amiracle wet/dry maxi reef 100) have a sterilizer that I use once every 2 months for about 24 hrs. and 2 powerheads a mag 7 pump for the sump, protein skimmer, everything is in good shape (trites, trates and so on) I add Kent superbuffer once a week for ph, (workswell) and tropic marin salt (high trace elements) I've got about 2-3 inches of live sand, and I have built roomy caves in the tank, really cool, lmk,

 

[michaelstern]

I have had my Powder Blue for over 1 year now. It eats great and is by far my favorite fish of all time. In the morning, I feed green seaweed selects in a lettuce clip. I give about 1/2 sheet per day. Also, when I first started, I put the clip at the top of the water level, and the pb would not come up for it. I now push the clip all the way down almost to the bottom of the tank, and the pb eats great every day.
I do not soak it in anything.
In the evening, I feed my whole tank frozen. I cannot remember the brand, but it is microencapsulated with vitamines. I get it at *****. The tang is usually rather picky. It will voraciously eat either brine or mysis shrimp, but will ignore anything else I have tried. I figure it is getting its needed vitamines from the frozen which is why I do not soak.
Good luck

 

[flamehawk]

I've had my PB for over 31/2 years. He's getting over a paresite infection of some sort. He eats great. Just about anything. Nori, Frozen mysis, brine,angel formaula,spectrum pellets to name a few. Everything is soaked in Selcon,Zoe and most recently Garlic. He's my fav.
Once you get them acclimated, they are great fish. Some will say 75 too small. I believe while it's a bit on the small size, s/b ok. The best of luck.

 

[kirkster7]

my other fish are on marine cuisine and emerald entree frozen soaked in vitamin C, when I fed tonight (mixture of the 2 above, he did not eat, I will try to find some Garlic... I hear that finicky fish eat the garlic soaked food, I also put some seaweed selects red algae in a clamp near the bottom of the tank, I'll see if he eats it, he set up in one of my caves and I put it near the entrance....... Thanks for all the advice.......