A tang that dosent eat alge?

[klavmaister]

had this tang fish for 6 months, never seen it eat algae, has brown algae but it doesn't touch it.

it keeps nibbling on glass and rocks. tried offering sea grass as well, but it won't touch it, both green and brown

 

[MnFish1]

I assume it's eating other things though - can you mention what you're feeding? Not every tank eats every algae - a picture of the tank and the algae you have would help! (looks like a nice fish)

 

[TardWrangler]

had this tang fish for 6 months, never seen it eat algae, has brown algae but it doesn't touch it.

it keeps nibbling on glass and rocks. tried offering sea grass as well, but it won't touch it, both green and brown

You offered it seagrass? you mean some sort of sheet algae or actual seagrass? This is a bristletooth tang which means they like to scrape film algae/detritus/biofilm off of substrate. You seeing it nibble on rocks and glass is what it should be doing. Just make sure it gets enough to eat and doesn’t get skinny. Offer it some nori

 

[klavmaister]

You offered it seagrass? you mean some sort of sheet algae or actual seagrass? This is a bristletooth tang which means they like to scrape film algae/detritus/biofilm off of substrate. You seeing it nibble on rocks and glass is what it should be doing. Just make sure it gets enough to eat and doesn’t get skinny. Offer it some nori

I meant nori its not a good picture but it is what i have right now.

 

[klavmaister]

I feed the tank tre times a day with pellets and maybee 3 times a week with frozen mysis/artemia

 

[klavmaister]

Tank pic

 

[twentyleagues]

I meant nori its not a good picture but it is what i have right now.

That looks like hair algae. No Kole tangs dont usually eat hair algae. Like stated above they tend to film algae off rocks and the glass.

 

[klavmaister]

How to remove it / what eats it?

 

[twentyleagues]

Best method is manual removal. Some snails astraea and turbo, and urchins will eat it. For anything to eat it you will need to remove the long flowing parts at the least. Tangs not the kole type (cant remember scientific name) may eat it fox face may eat it. In my previous life I always had a tang in the tank from the Zebrasoma or acanthurus family and the sails listed above and had little to no algae issues.

 

[PharmrJohn]

How to remove it / what eats it?

Well, if your a sea urchin fan, there are a few that should do the job. A pincushion urchin (Lytechinus variegatus) or tuxedo urchins (Mespilia globulus or Mespilia cf globulus). Now, I've never dealt with urchins, so if anyone has any experience with 'em, I would love to hear comments from those who have these in their tanks. Be aware that they can mess with an aquascape that lacks stability and can mess with coral placement.

 

[twentyleagues]

Well, if your a sea urchin fan, there are a few that should do the job. A pincushion urchin (Lytechinus variegatus) or tuxedo urchins (Mespilia globulus or Mespilia cf globulus). Now, I've never dealt with urchins, so if anyone has any experience with 'em, I would love to hear comments from those who have these in their tanks. Be aware that they can mess with an aquascape that lacks stability and can mess with coral placement.

Thats the reason I dont like urchins. They grab all your stuff and sometimes go rouge and eat something they shouldnt, but those will usually eat hair algae.

 

[PharmrJohn]

Thats the reason I dont like urchins. They grab all your stuff and sometimes go rouge and eat something they shouldnt, but those will usually eat hair algae.

Which is why I won't have one in my tank. They are effective, sure, but there is definitely the not so good side of 'em. That and if your not careful you can get a piece of the spike in your hand. That would suck.