Skinny Yellow Tang

[eskimoigloo]

After comments were made regarding the weight of my yellow tang after i had put my first photos in the photo section, I thought I had better ask what I am doing wrong? I have 1 yellow Tang, 2 humbug damsels, and 2 small common clowns. I feed a piece of dried seaweed (is this what you guys call Nori?) about 1/2 the size of a drinks coaster every night (in one of those clip things). I put in a cube of home made prawn and algae pellet (cichlid pellets) mix, and sometimes I swap this for either a cube of brineshimp or gamma shrimp. I have just started putting a cap full of "reef solution" in every day also, as recommended by my LFS. Should i be feeding more than this? I don't want to start introducing nitrate and phosphate problems, which are always zero. He has very little tank algae to graze on as the turbos (4) and hermits (10) keep that well down.

Any help appreciated, I don't want my tang to suffer. :(

Thanks, Chris.

[ADAM26]

started feeding mine krill (is it), that and wimplefish and seen the weight pile on they love the stuff but thats just what ive been feeding them that and mysis and seaweed :)

[keith hellyar]

I think it would help to increase the amount of Nori that you feed. I have two Tangs (Yellow and Regal) and they devour at least a half sheet per day and a whole sheet occasionally. My Yellow also loves Mysis shrimp. They need more than just Nori in their diet IMO

Keith

[Johnt]

I would feed it at least half a sheet of Norri a day, Yellow Tangs normally graze all day so it would be better to feed two or three times a day rather than all at once. I've got a Fox face a Yellow Tang and a Regal Tang I feed them Norri twice a day using two clips to prevent squabling and use one sheet a day.

John.

[Wombat]

I agree (Although I would recommend you stop using a cichlid diet though, if I understand your first post correctly, and switch to a good Marine pellet or flake, especially one rich in marine algae)

If you want to increase the energy content of the foods enrich it with Selco, Algaemac 2000 or the New Era Aegis range of liposome sprays.

There is a chance the chap could have worms and I'd point you to Zeus's post in fish health section for a read to see if you think those symptoms fit your tang's problem

[Wombat]

Just seen the photo and wow he is thin, given he has a gut full of food but is really pinched behind the head and down the spine where there should be some body fat, this suggests a few things to think about

1 he is a new import and hasn't been fed properly for some time (Starvin' Marvin Syndrome)
2 he has a bad case of worms (see above)
3 he has some form of metabolic disease and can't digest his food properly (e.g. pancreas problems)
4 he's on the wrong diet which he can't digest properly

[eskimoigloo]

Ok, got some Herbivore flake, some frozen mysis shrimp, some frozen marine mix, and some more seaweed today! Going to start putting a 1/4 sheet of seaweed in the tank in the morning, and 1/4 in the evening, so 1/2 a sheet a day, and feed 1/2 cube of mysis, and 1/2 a cube of marine mix twice a day, plus a pinch of flake twice a day. So in a day they will have 1/2 sheet seaweed, 2 pinches of flake, 1 cube mysis, 1 cube marine mix, and i will occasionally swap one of them for either brine shrimp or gamma shrimp (bit bigger chunks). This is shared between my yellow tang, 2 small clowns, and 2 humbug damsels, the rest cleaned up by 10 hermits. Does this sound ok to you guys going forward then? I will of course monitor my nitrates over the next 2-3 weeks to ensure this is not too much. I will post pictures of my tang going forward too, see if you guys think he's getting better! He does now have a VERY fat belly, so is definitely eating lots of what I put in!

Again, any help is greatly appreciated!

Chris.

[Johnt]

Ok, got some Herbivore flake, some frozen mysis shrimp, some frozen marine mix, and some more seaweed today! Going to start putting a 1/4 sheet of seaweed in the tank in the morning, and 1/4 in the evening, so 1/2 a sheet a day, and feed 1/2 cube of mysis, and 1/2 a cube of marine mix twice a day, plus a pinch of flake twice a day. So in a day they will have 1/2 sheet seaweed, 2 pinches of flake, 1 cube mysis, 1 cube marine mix, and i will occasionally swap one of them for either brine shrimp or gamma shrimp (bit bigger chunks). This is shared between my yellow tang, 2 small clowns, and 2 humbug damsels, the rest cleaned up by 10 hermits. Does this sound ok to you guys going forward then? I will of course monitor my nitrates over the next 2-3 weeks to ensure this is not too much. I will post pictures of my tang going forward too, see if you guys think he's getting better! He does now have a VERY fat belly, so is definitely eating lots of what I put in!

Again, any help is greatly appreciated!

Chris.

Yes Chris that sounds fine to me. :cool:

John.

[Wombat]

Yep I'd go with that too

[eskimoigloo]

Ok, quick update - 'Bubbles' the tang is already putting on considerable weight after under a weeks extra feeding, can't get a decent pic as I haven't cleaned my glass for a few days and it needs a good scraping (think I might be feeding a bit too much as now have brown furry algae growing on rocks and glass). All other inhabitents also looking decidedly plump... expecially the clowns, which now "waddle" after feeding time as they gorge themselves and look like little orange baloons for an hour or 2!
Will post pics as soon as I am not reading this forum and get around to cleaning my glass

Chris.

[Johnt]

Glad to hear it's improving.

John.

[rockaria]

sounds like hes on a much healthier diet... once hes nice and fat and in good health you can always cut back slightly and try and gauge the right amount for the fish and yet not too much for the algae :)