How do you resist...

[EmilyB]

I don't always QT, but it depends on the specimen.

If you suspect the fish is going to be under stress from tankmates, and you have an awesome QT tank that mimics your water parameters, you can often get a non eater eating and recognizing routines and Mom, before it is introduced.

[Canadian Man]

Yea Brad your correct. I too am just do darn LAZY!

[Diomedes]

Quarantine all of your purchases, but do more than put PVC on the bottom of the tank. I suggest you also put pieces of cheap crappy Live rock in the tank, something to keep the poor bugger occupied (no substrate though). Nori-on-the-clip or even a fixed flake of Romaine Lettuce will help occupy the tang and improve his health. Pocilopora is right, better to be safe than have dead fish because of laziness or irresponsible behavior. Don't listen to the bragging about not needing quarantine tanks.

I have a 100 gallon quarantine.

Stephen

[LostMind]

wow, 100 gallon quarantine?

I have a small piece of live rock in there... originally it was COVERED in hair algae, but the little guy picked it clean. I have been putting in small, 1"x1" strips of nori (from the korean store for $1.98) and similar sized pieces of sea veggies from julian sprung (costs $12 a pack, for 1/5 the volume of nori @ the korean store!)... I put in the nori/seaveggies twice a day (so, a 2" square of seaweed per day) and I feed a miniscule amount of frozen formula 1...

I cant tell which stuff the tang likes better... so I just keep mixing it up.

On another topic, how much should I be feeding the tang per day?

[Diomedes]

Feed him algae until from "a head on view" he appears to have the outline of a submarine. HaHaHa. I used to have a pair of Full-grown Naso Tangs (you can view them now at the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Center) and they could polish off a large head of Romaine lettuce in a couple of hours until they looked like mini-submarines. It was quite a sight.

Good Luck,

Stephen

[LostMind]

Wow

OK, since I work at home, I will start feeding this guy more and more nori... I can probably keep up with six 1" strips per day (I figure 1" is a good size, since it takes him a while to eat it, and if its a bigger strip, it gets washed around the tank from current etc.)

[Diomedes]

Be very careful feeding Tangs Nori in a Q-tank. They tend to rip it up and send particles flying everywhere, which get trapped in your filter ( I assume you have a Hang-on) or just accumulate in deadflow spots and rot. You might have to clean your mechanical filter more often or siphon out the junk through a fine mesh net. This is why sometimes I feed Romaine instead (it won't break up), but I feel that Nori is a better, more suitable product.
Also make sure that if you are buying Nori from Asian food stores that you aren't getting "Roasted" Nori. You want the just plain "dried". You probably know this but just checking.

Feed him what you can without polluting the water. Don't overdo it. The Naso pair was in a tank several thousand gallons in volume.

Cheers,
Stephen

[EmilyB]

Lettuce, even Romaine, is not a good substitute for nori.

Simply band the nori with lots of elastic to a piece of pvc drilled with a hole, you can hang it in your tank and change it without get your hands wet. Remove at nite.

I think a lot of reefers here will support this method.

[Diomedes]

Emily, have you tried Romaine? It is not as Ethical (Feed Sea Creatures Sea Foods) but is a nutritious product that doesn't pollute small sytems. You might disagree from what you have heard or read, but Tangs do very well indeed eating romaine to supplement a carnivorous diet.

Even when you wrap it around a pipe, Nori is still easily fragmented and can pollute the system. Like I said, I prefer to use Nori, but Romaine is a clean and nutririous substitute.

Stephen

[LostMind]

yah, I noticed the nori was getting all over the tank and I am changing filters every 3 days...

which is why I am feeding it in smaller amounts to let the guy eat it before it disintegrates into the tank...

it is only a 29 gallon tank, with a powerhead filter (hagen 702? or something... rated for a 50gallon tank I think).