Finally caught my LPS picking Kole Tang

[rossco]

After a almost netting it a couple of times over the last 6 months I finally caught my Kole Tang in my packed SPS dominated mixed reef. Too bad it had to go, but it was not "reef safe" anymore. A friend of mine who doesn't keep the corals it targeted has it now.

After having in for 3 years, it had developed a habit of nipping on my Acan Lords and Bowerbankis, my best looking ones of course. It didn't focus on one particular colony, but it's "flight path" took it over them repeatedly until they retracted and then soon the skeleton behind the tissue between the polyps poked through, and then game over. Algae took hold and now there was Tang food on the acans. All the while though, neither my Purple Tang or Yellow Tang would touch them. I would move the damaged acans out of the flight path and the ones that replaced them with would be targeted. I ended up having to relocate 15 colonies to my frag tank to save them.

I started trying to catch it on July 10th, my strategy was feeding out of the fish net as it has worked in the past. . Since it was so cautious and my other fish so bold, I decided against a fish trap. Most of my other fish like the Purple Tang, Yellow Tang and all the Chromis will just camp out in the net and I actually have to shake them out. It jumped out of the net while it was still over the water the first time I got close back in June, and had another time maybe in September when it was a quick in and out. Since then, it would come close but never in a catch-able position. I'm sure glad thats over, and now I have nearly a thousand bucks worth of LPS back in the tank that I could have lost to a 45 dollar fish.

Just thought I would share - sometimes even a "reef safe" fish turns out not to be.

 

[JMLewis]

Dang, first time hearing about a kole tang doing that, at least you figured out the culprit usually that's half the battle.

 

[Tahoe61]

Congrats, I bet that is a huge relief. I would have lost sleep over it.

 

[rossco]

I sure would have been much more stressed about it if I didn't have the frag tank as a backup. After I caught it I put in in the frag tank for temporary holding until my friend could come get it. First thing I saw it do after it emerged from under the frag rack is take a nip from the back glass, then a couple nips from my 20 head Bowerbanki. I moved all the Acans and the Scoly back to the display right away after that.

 

[maroun.c]

first time I hear of a Kole tang nipping as well. its good yuor other fish didn't learn from it.

 

[Esage]

After a almost netting it a couple of times over the last 6 months I finally caught my Kole Tang in my packed SPS dominated mixed reef. Too bad it had to go, but it was not "reef safe" anymore. A friend of mine who doesn't keep the corals it targeted has it now.

After having in for 3 years, it had developed a habit of nipping on my Acan Lords and Bowerbankis, my best looking ones of course. It didn't focus on one particular colony, but it's "flight path" took it over them repeatedly until they retracted and then soon the skeleton behind the tissue between the polyps poked through, and then game over. Algae took hold and now there was Tang food on the acans. All the while though, neither my Purple Tang or Yellow Tang would touch them. I would move the damaged acans out of the flight path and the ones that replaced them with would be targeted. I ended up having to relocate 15 colonies to my frag tank to save them.

I started trying to catch it on July 10th, my strategy was feeding out of the fish net as it has worked in the past. . Since it was so cautious and my other fish so bold, I decided against a fish trap. Most of my other fish like the Purple Tang, Yellow Tang and all the Chromis will just camp out in the net and I actually have to shake them out. It jumped out of the net while it was still over the water the first time I got close back in June, and had another time maybe in September when it was a quick in and out. Since then, it would come close but never in a catch-able position. I'm sure glad thats over, and now I have nearly a thousand bucks worth of LPS back in the tank that I could have lost to a 45 dollar fish.

Just thought I would share - sometimes even a "reef safe" fish turns out not to be.

How did you end up catching him? I've been trying to catch my Kole tang for two months.

 

[rossco]

Like this. Put the food in the net and make them come get it. It will take a while, your most bold fish will dive in first. Make sure a little spills out so you're timid fish get a little. After a while you will be able to catch some of your fish just by dipping the net in the water. It's a cool party trick.

 

[kevindo123]

Like this. Put the food in the net and make them come get it. It will take a while, your most bold fish will dive in first. Make sure a little spills out so you're timid fish get a little. After a while you will be able to catch some of your fish just by dipping the net in the water. It's a cool party trick.

How long does it take to train them?

 

[kevindo123]

My blue hippo tang all of a sudden had a taste for green polyp toadstool. I put a barrier in the tank to protect the toadstool for a whole month. After removing the barrier he was back to his old habit.

I net him out using the same barrier and kept him locked up in a small area of the tank for easy retrieval. I just had to remove one rock out of the way. You can make the barrier out of egg crate or a sheet of acrylic with holes drills in it.

 

[renato120]

My blue hippo use to nip on my acans. Almost killed one colony. He is long gone!

 

[rossco]

How long does it take to train them?

Pretty quick for the bold ones. Maybe a week or so. Tangs are pretty easy. Some never will though, my purple dottyback still won't come close after 5 years.

 

[edosan]

Blue Hippo, take a big bite on a Trachy, out of the tank inmediatly.

 

[AQSstudent]

IME any fish that grazes on the bottom sand/rocks for food, can convert themselves to being a "coral muncher" in captivity. They are dealing with much different parameters and stresses than they would in the wild, so their behaviors can change quite drastically. The only fish that are truly reef safe forever are the planktivorous water column feeders.

 

[dewboy1127]

I had a kole tang as well one first fish i got had for lil over two yrs and then like op stated it started takin a liking yo some acans and other lps and mine also developed a this is my tank syndrome and started bullying all other fish until i finally one day drained my tank full of coral down to about 2" of water above sand bed and had still dig him out from under the rock work...i was going to just qt him for a while but while he was housing in a 10gal i replaced him with a whitecheek tang and took the kole in for trade in ...whitecheeksoon also got to big for tank and began bullying so i decided i am d ok ne with tangs for now as they get kind big and really need that lengthy tank to swim and grave around

 

[dacianb]

Koles are grazers - they dont really care if is glass, rock, snails or a coral structure ( a bit dumb fish ). But I dont think they really hunt for corals. Maybe coral had algae on it? Or tang is not fed enough greens? My full belly tang dont even graze anymore - just swim.

What I noticed, sometimes when a shrimp pass with those pointy legs above euphyllias, those retract suddenly and release a brown gelly stuff in the tank. That jelly stuff is a real candy for my yellow tang - but never touch the coral itself.

 

[dacianb]

I think nothing is really reef safe - shrimps pass and makes everything to retract in their path (my BTA is stressed 2-3 times a day by cleaner shrimps trying to clean it). Tangs graze, angels nips, etc.
I had a clownfish who sucked zoas - take a polyp in his mouth and such it like a baby on the milk bottle. Never eat it, but that polyp was closed for days after.
In the end, healthy corals, great water params and an equilibrated and sufficient fish/creatures feeding is enough to keep a tank happy.

PS - my daughter licked walls when she was small. We went to a doctor and they discovered a calcium deficit in her body. So instincts try to feed the body with missing elements - I think is applicable for fishes too

 

[rossco]

Nope no algae on the acans. The polyps were nice and puffy, until repeated grazing - which is a better description - caused them to retract. Healthy acans placed where the targeted ones used to be suffered the same fate. They all recovered in the frag tank.

 

[dacianb]

Nope no algae on the acans. The polyps were nice and puffy, until repeated grazing - which is a better description - caused them to retract. Healthy acans placed where the targeted ones used to be suffered the same fate. They all recovered in the frag tank.

Probably only a psychologist can treat the poor tang then .

 

[Eckolancer]

My blue tang nips at mine a lot but I let him do what he wants. They still find time to grow.

 

[hart24601]

I had a kole tang that nipped at lps, only green fleshy ones. Gave it away. Got a tomini tang, it picked on clam mantles. Gave it away.


Bought a expensive white tail tang and a purple tang. They BOTH picked on some green lps and I saw them both hit clam mantles. Sold them.

No, it wasn't algae on them - it's very obvious when one starts eating slime off a coral. And yes, they all got fed plenty of nori, lrs and apex pellets (auto feeder 6x a day).

It happens, I had particularly bad luck. You have to watch sometimes for hours and hours. And hours, lol, before you see it. I actually now think many ppl that have clam issues really have fish that bite it, but never see it happen. Doesn't take much, 1/2 second every couple hours, but will do things in.