My tangs just might be pigs

[crazyfishmom]

I have a gem, two yellow tangs and a fox face. The gem and yellows are about 7 inches so at around adult size. The fox face is about 5 inches. They’re all pigs!!!! They’ve been eating 2 full sheets of nori a day plus mysis, brine, calanus, and fish eggs. How much do you feed? My nutrients have been on the lower side so I’m feeding them a lot but man this seems like too much.

 

[vaguelyreeflike]

Big fish eat a lot, especially high metabolism grazers like tangs. You could try supplementing their diet with veggies if they’ll take them.
Spinach, romaine, broccoli, green beans etc all have high nutrient levels and are a lot cheaper than most fish foods.

Could do every second or third day as veggie day and then it will cut down on the nori and frozen they’re eating throughout the week.
If they dont go for them you could try soaking them in garlic, or mixing in a small bit of frozen and soaking them in that for a bit before feeding. Blanched or frozen veg is often a favorite if they’re picky with textures.

Could also get agar and blend up the veggies and make “jello” for them and it can be kept frozen for up to 6months and fed in pre-cut chunks or cubes.
I use different sized silicone ice tray molds for this personally, can also get fun shapes if you desire and customize the ingredients of the diet to your wishes.

I would also look at their body condition and make sure they’re not overweight, if they are it would be easy to cut back on feeding the high protein/fat foods. You can find body condition comparisons online.

For the low nutrients, I personally love Brightwell NeoNitro for nitrogen dosing, and it can help bring it up that last few ppm when the fish aren’t enough and you’re feeding to the max.
If phosphates being low are the issue, try feeding more pellets to the fish and tank, or use Brightwell NeoPhos. There are also tons of other brands that are just as good for dosing, Brightwell has just always been my go-to.

 

[crazyfishmom]

Big fish eat a lot, especially high metabolism grazers like tangs. You could try supplementing their diet with veggies if they’ll take them.
Spinach, romaine, broccoli, green beans etc all have high nutrient levels and are a lot cheaper than most fish foods.

Could do every second or third day as veggie day and then it will cut down on the nori and frozen they’re eating throughout the week.
If they dont go for them you could try soaking them in garlic, or mixing in a small bit of frozen and soaking them in that for a bit before feeding. Blanched or frozen veg is often a favorite if they’re picky with textures.

Could also get agar and blend up the veggies and make “jello” for them and it can be kept frozen for up to 6months and fed in pre-cut chunks or cubes.
I use different sized silicone ice tray molds for this personally, can also get fun shapes if you desire and customize the ingredients of the diet to your wishes.

I would also look at their body condition and make sure they’re not overweight, if they are it would be easy to cut back on feeding the high protein/fat foods. You can find body condition comparisons online.

For the low nutrients, I personally love Brightwell NeoNitro for nitrogen dosing, and it can help bring it up that last few ppm when the fish aren’t enough and you’re feeding to the max.
If phosphates being low are the issue, try feeding more pellets to the fish and tank, or use Brightwell NeoPhos. There are also tons of other brands that are just as good for dosing, Brightwell has just always been my go-to.

Thanks for the response and recommendations. I’ll give veggies a go.

I do dose some NeoNitro and between the heavy feeding and the fish poo my phosphate is holding pretty steady without any other intervention but I have neophosphate on hand just in case I get a drop. I was mostly wondering if I was over feeding these guys but it sounds like they’re just big and need lots of food. Since I have three tangs that look very similar to each other I have always tried to overfeed to minimize aggression. I also don’t have any algae in the tank since they even clean the power heads for me .

 

[ca1ore]

If you have an opportunity to see tangs in the wild, they graze almost constantly. I dont have as many tangs as I used to in my old 400, but I would generally give them two full nori sheets per day plus the meaty stuff all the other fish got. Active fish like tangs generally don’t get fat, it is the other way around. I would not personally give them terrestrial veggies. As long as your nutrients are controlled feed those piggies.

 

[YOYOYOReefer]

2-3 sheet a day sounds about right for that amount of tangs

 

[crazyfishmom]

If you have an opportunity to see tangs in the wild, they graze almost constantly. I dont have as many tangs as I used to in my old 400, but I would generally give them two full nori sheets per day plus the meaty stuff all the other fish got. Active fish like tangs generally don’t get fat, it is the other way around. I would not personally give them terrestrial veggies. As long as your nutrients are controlled feed those piggies.

They definitely don’t look fat just really healthy.

They definitely seem to eat every other second. It never stops. Especially my gem, he’s constantly picking/munching on something. They’re really fun fish; I love all tangs!

 

[crazyfishmom]

2-3 sheet a day sounds about right for that amount of tangs

Then I’ll just keep feeding them that much. I just thought I might hurt them by feeding so much. These are the largest fish I’ve had, my other tangs that I lost to ich were still babies (the biggest was 2 inches) so this is new to me. Thanks for the response!

 

[vetteguy53081]

I have a gem, two yellow tangs and a fox face. The gem and yellows are about 7 inches so at around adult size. The fox face is about 5 inches. They’re all pigs!!!! They’ve been eating 2 full sheets of nori a day plus mysis, brine, calanus, and fish eggs. How much do you feed? My nutrients have been on the lower side so I’m feeding them a lot but man this seems like too much.

Mine will eat a 12" x 12" sheet of Seaweed in under a minute

 

[crazyfishmom]

Mine will eat a 12" x 12" sheet of Seaweed in under a minute

Your yellow gang OMG! They’re all amazing! I just ordered this type of nori clip from BRS… how do you like them? The other ones are kinda driving me crazy.

Your tusk is gorgeous! What is it like behavior wise? I would love one but have heard mixed reviews.

 

[YOYOYOReefer]

if You have a fige you might try feeding them macro algae from that as well.

 

[crazyfishmom]

if You have a fige you might try feeding them macro algae from that as well.

I have a planned refugium but haven’t added the macro yet. Been watching the tank and seeing if I need to go there. This tank is still fairly new and it’s doing amazing, even growing acros but still having to watch nutrients very closely so I’m waiting for it to mature a bit more before I add more nutrient management. Maybe I can just grow some macro in a spare 20 gallon tank just as a source of food. Maybe I can grow macro algae and pods in it. New project!

 

[YOYOYOReefer]

Ya if you have sticks I would do it in a separate system. I only run cryptic fuge on stick tank

 

[ejsanchez92399]

Big fish eat a lot, especially high metabolism grazers like tangs. You could try supplementing their diet with veggies if they’ll take them.
Spinach, romaine, broccoli, green beans etc all have high nutrient levels and are a lot cheaper than most fish foods.

Could do every second or third day as veggie day and then it will cut down on the nori and frozen they’re eating throughout the week.
If they dont go for them you could try soaking them in garlic, or mixing in a small bit of frozen and soaking them in that for a bit before feeding. Blanched or frozen veg is often a favorite if they’re picky with textures.

Could also get agar and blend up the veggies and make “jello” for them and it can be kept frozen for up to 6months and fed in pre-cut chunks or cubes.
I use different sized silicone ice tray molds for this personally, can also get fun shapes if you desire and customize the ingredients of the diet to your wishes.

I would also look at their body condition and make sure they’re not overweight, if they are it would be easy to cut back on feeding the high protein/fat foods. You can find body condition comparisons online.

For the low nutrients, I personally love Brightwell NeoNitro for nitrogen dosing, and it can help bring it up that last few ppm when the fish aren’t enough and you’re feeding to the max.
If phosphates being low are the issue, try feeding more pellets to the fish and tank, or use Brightwell NeoPhos. There are also tons of other brands that are just as good for dosing, Brightwell has just always been my go-to.

How do you feed broccoli?
Does it not fall apart and float all around and maybe get clogged in your filtration?

Thanks

 

[vaguelyreeflike]

How do you feed broccoli?
Does it not fall apart and float all around and maybe get clogged in your filtration?

Thanks

You can avoid chunks by grinding them up and putting in an agar gel mix, or just put smaller pieces/stem only. Blanched veg is best and would break down fairly fast in the tank. I dont recommend putting enough to be able to clog filtration