How to feed a tang

Shilpan Patel · Jul 25, 2018

Hey guys I currently have a sailfin tang in quarantine. I was reading about HLLE disease etc and I've learnt about the importance of good nutrient diversity so I feed seachem chorella flakes, omega one pellets soaked in garlic, omega one nori sheets, omega one veggie rounds and mysis.
Do you guys have some guide to work out the amount of food to feed the tang? My 2 clowns and 1 chromis eat 1 cube of frozen food over 4-5 days so they don't eat much at all and I suspect the sailfin tang eats much more.
Currently I'm feeding a 1inch by 2inch sheet of nori one day, and then I feed 10 or so pellets OR one veggie round OR a pinch of flakes the next day, and then back to the seaweed on day three and I continue alternating.

Is this too little? The fish is like 10x the size of my clownfish. I'm worried that if I underfeed it for a month (2.5 weeks actually) in quarantine it'll be in trouble.

Thank you for your help

reef lover · Jul 25, 2018

I leave algae sheets available all day for my tangs and then they get whatever i feed the rest of the tank.

Dr. Reef · Jul 25, 2018

I used to leave half sheet daily in qt for tang to eat but now i mix my own food and chop up nor in it. So every time i feed (3 times a day) they get a little nori in food)
Regarding how much to feed. A basic rule is as much a fish can eat in 3 min.
How many times is debatable some feed once a day to 3 to 4 times a day.
I personally do 3 times a day.

Shilpan Patel · Jul 25, 2018

Ok thank you that 3 minuet rule seems useful. The food I feed currently only lasts about 10 seconds, so I should probably feed more.

In regards to the nori reef lover does it last all day? My piece gets finished in a few minutes...

Dr. Reef · Jul 25, 2018

let me clarify 3 min rule. it doesnt mean to dump a whole bunch in there and let them eat 3 min out of it. initially add little bit let them eat then add little more till 3 min are over. after a while you will know exactly how much food to put for fish that they will consume in 3 min.
Tangs in wild are always on the hunt/graze for algae so providing a sheet a day or mixed in food like i do will be almost identical to their natural hunt for it. Yes they are out on graze all times but that doesnt mean they get to eat it all the time in wild either.
Provide a sheet a day and they can eat it in 10 min for 24 hrs. as long as there is some nori they will be happy.

4FordFamily · Jul 25, 2018

I leave enough nori in the tank that the tangs can graze for 1/2 to 3/4 of the day. They graze all day in the wild. Any more than this and the nori fouls the water and falls apart it seems— but definitely don’t leave leftovers in overnight.