Regal tang - What to feed them

B

bolis03

[Before venturing out and purchasing a Regal Tang I saw at a local LFS store I want to get some information from anyone who has one in there tank. I especially want to know how to their eating habits.]
 
[I second the algae sheets and also OSI makes a great spiralina flake.I also feed spiralina enriched brine srimp soaked with selcon or zoe.]



Edited By txreefdude on 1092321035
 
TealCobra wrote:


[My Tangs LOVE the nori. They like it a lot better than the seaweed salad you can get at the LFS. Mine have just started eating New Life Spectrum. They are tiny little pelets. They start to sink almost as soon as you put them in and they all go after it. They also eat a little of the frozen forumla I and II. The others go absolutely nuts over it. My Tangs haven't seemed to care much for the frozen brine although the others surely do like it.

I'll also be interested in what some of the others have to say since I am new at this.

Cindy]
 
[go to an asian market and get nori there. It is like 2.50 for a huge pack. A pack that size at a lfs would be like 10.00. When i do give my regal some brine i soak it in garlic extreme to prevent him from getting any ich.]
 
[According to Andy (I think), there is a toasted nori and a non-toasted nori. He suggests the non-toasted for tank use.

I did not know this when I bought nori months ago but the tangs seem to be okay with the toasted variety right now.
next time I will buy the non-toasted variety.

While in the Asian supermarket, you'll see several different kinds of dried seaweed. I have tried a bunch of them on me as well as the tang. Tang seems to like them all - I have reservations about a couple of them...]
 
A_Sig wrote:


[Hi A_Sig!

Does the garlic really help protect from ich? So far so good (knock on wood) I've not had any problems with ich and if this can help to prevent it I'll go get some today. Can you pretty much get it at any LFS. About all we have around here is Petland.

I bought my Nori from a health food store. My husband was going to try cooking it on his new Mediteranian diet. :p . Anyway, that never happened so I started giving it to the fish. I imagine an Asian market would be much cheaper. I'll have to keep that in mind once I go through my two packs.

How much of the Nori should you feed them per day. I have a regal tang, yellow tang and a fox face that really loves it and play tug of war with it. The other 17 fish seem to like it also especially my clown-Miss Piggy. I've been feeding them 2-3 3in x 1in strips at night. They have it eaten almost before I can get my hand out of there. I don't want to over feed them but I also want to be sure that they are getting plenty.

Thanks, Cindy]
 
[I also didn't know there was a toasted and non-toasted Nori. Does the toasted nori break up too easily? Which of the nori are you a little apprehensive about using?

Thanks,
Cindy]



Edited By Cindy on 1092326269
 
TealCobra wrote:


[I need to do a little grocery shopping today so I think I may try the garlic extract especially since it is cheaper. I didn't even know that there was a garlic extract. That shows you how much cooking that I do. :lookaround:

Cindy]
 
[Cindy, if you havent had ich in your tank, you wont likely get it unless you indroduce something new without being quarantined. I buy minced or chopped real garlic in a jar and use the juice from it, it is completely pure garlic juice where some of the extracts have other additives that I dont want to put in my tank.

Bolis, the nori is important for grazing and provides a lot of good nutrients. The regals require a whole lot more meatier food than other tangs though. I would suggest feeding mysis, formula 1 or 2, homemade mash(your own or get some from Nick), just about anything meaty they will go for, and I dont think Ive found anything that my hippos wont go for. Oh and skip the brine shrimp, it simply doesnt give them any nutrition. My regals wont allow a speck of algae to enter my tank, they like to keep those rocks super clean!]
 
Amanda wrote:


[Hi Amanda!

What are your feelings about the frozen brine cubes that have a little bit of everything in them? The ones I use are from San Francisco Bay Brand. I have noticed that my tang is starting to eat some of the formula one as well as the pellets. She kind of shyed away from it at first. When you use the frozen formula I,II do you thaw it in a cup first and use a turkey baster, or do you use a frozen clip feeder. I saw one of those for the first time today on line.

You are right the Tangs do a good job of keeping down the algae on the rocks. They pick on them till the rock is white.

That's good news about the ich. I thought that they could get it anytime. I think maybe I will pick up the minced garlic and then I'd also have it to cook with. I guess if I ran out of juice I could always put some in the blender with a little salt water. I guess it would make the juice a little thicker but would that matter anyway?

Cindy]
 
@Amanda wrote:
[" I would suggest feeding mysis said:
"]
[First thank you all for the great info, Amanda what is “mysis” and where do I get it also what formula 1 or 2 are you referring to and how do I find “Nick”.]
Click to expand...
 
[Hi Cindy, I personally dont use alot of frozen brine but some of it is enriched so it doesnt hurt to feed a cube every now and then. Variety is best!
When I use frozen food I put it all in a small dish with a bit of tank water to help it thaw. The formula foods have a binder in them so I hold the cube in front of return and smush it a bit so it will fly through the water.
When my garlic runs out of juice I just buy more. I think diluting it to make more juice may minimize the active ingredient that actually helps. IIRC Allium sativa, but I would need to double check that name to be sure.
I dont really use it that often. Occasionally when I buy a new fish and when I have treated for ich and velvet in the past. Other than that I dont really bother with it as long as the fish look healthy. There is alot of debate about using it all the time, some saying it could cause an immunity to the garlic so it wont help when you want it to. There is no substantiated data on garlic use, but it does have a lot of good properties that certainly seem useful.]
 
[Bolis, Mysis are small shrimp that you can buy in frozen cubes or flat packs at your LFS. All my fish love them and they have good nutritional value.

Ocean Nutrition brand Formula 1 or Formula 2 comes in a flake, pellet and frozen. I dont use any flake food but all my fish love the pellets and the frozen. The formula 2 contains some garlic and more algae matter than formula1 does.

Nick makes homemade fish food from fresh seafood and lots of other good stuff. His name is Nick Villacci and you can do a search here for info on his food. He sells it for 5$ a flatpack and is located in Irving.]
 
Amanda wrote:


[Amanda, do you ever turn your pump off when you feed. It seems like mine goes to the overflow pretty quick unless I feed them in the front corner of the tank. On the mysis shrimp do you just let them thaw and drop them whole in the tank or do you chop them up?

Cindy]
 
[No problem!

I just let them thaw and add them to the tank. There are usually enough small pieces for the smaller fish, and you would be surprised at some of the tiny fish that can suck in a whole mysis.
Sallys or San Francisco brand seem to be smaller mysis than Ocean nutrition, and ON's contains a binder so I generally prefer one of the other brands.
I dont turn off the pumps just because the small critters in the fuge get a bit of food too. The hippos usually dont let much of it escape anyways :laugh long:
I know lots of folks that do turn some of there pumps off though, so really I guess its just a matter of personal preference. If it seems like a lot of it is going down the overflow you might want to turn it off for a bit.

Amanda]
 
Amanda wrote:


[I have some frozen mysis from the previous owner. I thought they would be too big. I think I'll get a snack of mysis for my little friends and see how they like it.

Thanks Amanda!

Cindy]
 
[My tangs will eat mysis, but they aren't happy about it. For whatever reason, all the fish love brine. Fenner says they have the nutritional value of potato chips (maybe that's why they like them so much). The other fish won't touch the mysis.

Anyhow, my tangs get nori or gracilaria in the morning and brine shrimp at night (mysis substituted about once a week). Every once in a while I'll soak the morning meal in garlic. They seem to like it even better that way.]
 
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