clown tang wont eat

[vikz]

hi guys

i have been desperatly after a clown tang for ages....

when i came across one in the shop i was quick to snap it up...

i asked to see it feed and it was fed frozen, but it only ate the odd bit here or there...

i was a bit reluctant but the chap said he would feed better in a reef tank, and that i could not reserve him, so i bought him

now surprise surprise he doenst feed well at all, and is in fact getting very very thin......well actually he grazez off the rock but its not enough food foer him, hence the thinning

i had a similar prob with a pbt b4 but he's doing fine now (not in the same tank, obviously)

i have tried frozen, flake, pellet, cyclopeeze powder and flake, nori on a clip and even live food today

he just isnt interested in anything, eats the odd piece of frozen brineshrimp but thats it. i have even soaked the food in the kent garlic stuff but he's still not bothered.

frozen doents have much goodness in it and he doesnt eat much of it.

is there anything else i can do, i would hate to see him die, he wud have been better off in the ocean if i cant do something soon to save him.

all tank parameters etc are good (sps tank) and no other fish harass him, he is the main 'show' fish

please help me save this magnificant fish.....

vikz

[arrows]

sound like the shop wanted rid fast as they knew it was a problem, if it will not feed i would call the shop and tell them and see if you could take it back, good luck

[Wombat]

I tend to agree with arrows

You could make a paste of food (a high energy mix e.g. a good herbivore flake mixed to a thick paste with fish oil, avaliable from a health food shop (not vegtable oils)) and spread thinly onto a rock to allow it to graze off it. A long shot but I have had success with this method for getting difficult fish onto feed.

[Tiggsy]

i had a similar prob with my gem tangs....they ignored the nori and only ate frozen - so i soaked the nori and some herbivore flake in a mix of various frozen foods and added that on a clip - they loved it and now (after only a few days) they eat nori fine

[stingray]

hhave you tryed that zoolife?? reefgel you can mix it with mysis ect into a paste and you can put it on the rocks in tank ie sqeeze it into hole and if he is picking at rocks he may eat it not cheep but maybe worth a go

[vikz]

yes mate i had some of that and gave it a go

nope not interested

i didnt think these fish were that hard to keep, i have seen many big healthy specimens in ppls tanks....

i ususally mix frozen with a few bits of flake, add the new era spray and some galric extreme

but he doenst eat and i cant keep feeding like a psycho coz of water quality issues

if i chuck in 3 cubes of defrosted frozen with all the stuff mentioned b4, he will probably eat wot looks like 2 peices of brine shrimp, the rest just floats around....

even cyclopeeze flake by itself cant entice him

plz help

vikz

[Horse29uk]

I have had one of these he loved plankton, mysis and cheato.

[Dr Bee]

I have had one of these he loved plankton, mysis and cheato.

past tense, so how long did it live for?

[Horse29uk]

Actually Dr.Bee it was given to someone on this board free of charge with a 1000 ltr system of which he is growing fast. Anymore questions ?
:rolleyes:

[LTD]

vikz

Try Nutrafin Spirulina Algae flake food. My tangs go mad for it.

[vikz]

hi guys thanks for all the help

too late im afraid he's gone to fishy heaven

i love these fish but i dont have any luck...

many ppl say they are impossible to keep but then how have i seen so many healthy ones in ppls systems i dont knw

vikz

[Wombat]

Shame, sorry to hear that

Not an easy fish IMHO

[Horse29uk]

with my new tangs I always try every different type of food available. I also heavily oxygenate the tank with a power head and provide lots of hiding places. I feed heavily for first few weeks once I have got them eating. Oxygen and food:D if that doesen't work then read below.

If they show any sign of disease I slowly lower SG and add a low copper dose to rid the fish of any parasites (quarantine tank only not reef). My lfs always has fish that are not overly healthy due poor diet /transport/ high parasite load in tanks/ bad fish mixture.

Some probably won't agree with me but its what has worked for me on my Acanthrus tangs inc. clown and powder blue.

[Wombat]

Don't take this the wrong way, but why do you use such a poor LFS?

[vikz]

it wasnt my lfs

i happend to drive by a garden centre that sold marine fish, near notts

all the fish looked happy etc but this one obviously wasnt, probably why they wudnt let me save him (see post earlier)

they knew something i didnt....

oh well just have to put it down to experience i suppose, no matter how much i love these fish if i see one for sale, i wont buy it

its just a shame becasue i have a lot of success with other tangs...

oh well

[Horse29uk]

its 1 mile from my house the others which do not have such a large range are about 20 miles away and 60+ miles away

[Wombat]

Vikz

Sorry

I was asking horse29uk

[vikz]

lol oh i see

no probs mate