Feeding Tomini Tang

[trevorhiller]

I just got a notice that my my Tomini tang and a Yellow watchman goby from Dr. Reef's are preparing for shipment. I believe they should be arriving next week. I've never had a tang before or any fish that eats nori sheets like this so I'm just curious how often/much you feed them. I ordered this food and a TLF Veggie clip to feed it. From what I understand, the specimen I should be getting is around 2-2.5" long.

I've got TDO Chromaboost pellets and Formula Two flakes that I feed the clowns as well.

Any tips?

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Feed a varied diet to all your fish, and just make sure to include foods for herbivores (like the ones you mentioned) in the mix. The tang will likely pick at the rocks eating algae, and you can just supplement its overall diet with the nori a few times a week.

 

[i cant think]

I just got a notice that my my Tomini tang and a Yellow watchman goby from Dr. Reef's are preparing for shipment. I believe they should be arriving next week. I've never had a tang before or any fish that eats nori sheets like this so I'm just curious how often/much you feed them. I ordered this food and a TLF Veggie clip to feed it. From what I understand, the specimen I should be getting is around 2-2.5" long.

I've got TDO Chromaboost pellets and Formula Two flakes that I feed the clowns as well.

Any tips?

Feed them Mysis/Brine, Pellets/Flakes and some algae too. IME Red and Brown Nori will be best for tangs that don’t eat green nori. Varied diets are best as Tangs and many other fish known for being Herbivorous will actually be Omnivorous, for example foxfaces, tangs/surgeons, Batfish, Angels ect…

 

[GardenofZoas20]

I got my tomini from Dr. Reef as well. It arrived very healthy but extremely shy and seemed terrifed of me and would not come out if I was in the room. I had to put the food right in front of it's hiding spot and the first thing that worked was frozen blood worms (Dr. Reef's suggestion). After a few weeks of this, it gradually starting coming out more and eating other offerings. After a few months, you could count on it to be front and center at feeding time and I think would eat anything that I put in now - but I mainly feed LRS Herbivore, mysis, and green nori sheets 2-3/week (occasionally with some TDO pellets, brine shrimp, blood worms). One of my favorite fish!

 

[LeftyReefer]

I guess I'll weigh in as well since I also got a quarantined tomini from Dr. Reef. Mine arrived fat and happy. From the moment he arrived, he was out and eating great. it will happily accept anything I put in the tank as far as frozen foods. it seems to prefer meaty foods over nori... I do give him nori from time to time, but he has never really seemed to go crazy for it. I put some in the tank every now and again, and he swims up, takes a couple nibbles and then just ignores it mostly.

Not sure If i have the wrong nori for him.... i just have the 2LF green nori packet. At this rate, I'll never get through this packet of nori. he only eats a thumbnail size pc every few days at most. I've thought about picking up some red, purple, or brown nori to see if he likes that any better, but I have a feeling I'd just have (2) packets of nori going to waste that I'll never use and just be out another $10.

I feed a variety of frozen foods, some of which like Rods, has bits of nori/algae in the food too, so he gets little bits of nori every day if he wants it... unfortunately, it doesn't really seem like he wants it much.

He grazes on my bare rocks all day long... but ignores sheets of nori. go figure.

 

[TurboTang]

Use the ocean nutrition brand nori with garlic extract. Tangs/foxface absolutely love it - even my clowns will take a peck or 2 occasionally.

 

[bstodds15]

My Tomini doesn’t really eat nori sheets too often - at least I haven’t found one he really likes

I feed spiralina enriched shrimp which he loves and hikari seaweed extreme sinking pellets. He goes after the pellets pretty good, and the cuc handles the rest

 

[GardenofZoas20]

As far as nori, I use the IM gourmet grazer. Perhaps I should have stated there is also a CB yellow tang that it follows closely all the time, grazing on everything. The YT is the more voracious grazer, but perhaps showing the tomini all the good spots to eat. Anyway, they will pretty much devour at 2" x 2" square in less than an hour.

 

[TurboTang]

As far as nori, I use the IM gourmet grazer. Perhaps I should have stated there is also a CB yellow tang that it follows closely all the time, grazing on everything. The YT is the more voracious grazer, but perhaps showing the tomini all the good spots to eat. Anyway, they will pretty much devour at 2" x 2" square in less than an hour.

I tried one of those - really wanted it to work as I'm tired of fish ripping clips off the glass. But my foxface is certain it's a deadly fish trap and won't go near it - which makes everyone else nervous too. So unfortunately it only takes up space in my cabinet now.

 

[GardenofZoas20]

I tried one of those - really wanted it to work as I'm tired of fish ripping clips off the glass. But my foxface is certain it's a deadly fish trap and won't go near it - which makes everyone else nervous too. So unfortunately it only takes up space in my cabinet now.

oh wow! I guess this reinforces my thought that I should credit the fearless YT for some of the tomini's behavior?

 

[TurboTang]

Yeah definitely.

 

[Dbichler]

Agree you need to add some meaty portions to their diet as well. I don’t have a tomini but my kole doesn’t touch much of any type of nori.

 

[threebuoys]

Try to train him to eat high protein and fat content food as soon as possible.
If he starts out as a picky eater, spits food back out, etc. try a frozen cube of herbivore , or herbivore/mysis/brine mix. Thaw the cube in a shot glass with a little water. Put a pinch of small pellets in with the cube and let them soak for a few minutes. Use a pipette to suck up some of the thawed food and pellets and place the food near the fish so you can observe. I'm at the end of QT with a powder blue that was picky when I got him. This technique got him hooked on pellets after 2 or 3 days. He still will not eat dried nori strips, but he loves live green algae I allow to grow in the QT.

 

[codenfx]

Mine was very shy in the beginning, he hides a lot. I found that if you clip a nori and stay far away you may see him start coming out to eat if yours is shy. Now a month or so later after being in the tank, he got use to me and eats everything I throw in. Frozen mysis/brine shrimp, eggs, flakes, algae wafer and pallets. Great fish!

 

[Freenow54]

I just got a notice that my my Tomini tang and a Yellow watchman goby from Dr. Reef's are preparing for shipment. I believe they should be arriving next week. I've never had a tang before or any fish that eats nori sheets like this so I'm just curious how often/much you feed them. I ordered this food and a TLF Veggie clip to feed it. From what I understand, the specimen I should be getting is around 2-2.5" long.

I've got TDO Chromaboost pellets and Formula Two flakes that I feed the clowns as well.

Any tips?

I tried to feed mine misis shrimp as a treat . No go. I use the green. It took mine about a year to calm down, and accept me Typical Female . I take a piece about the size of a quarter, and dip it and roll it between thumb, and finger so it will sink. Then back off, She ( mine ) will come out now to grab it. I think they only need one. But my power heads blow it all over the place. Finally found the sweet spot . Put in 3 pieces. Also found when I scrap off the green algae she will come right over and gobble it up

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

I tried one of those - really wanted it to work as I'm tired of fish ripping clips off the glass. But my foxface is certain it's a deadly fish trap and won't go near it - which makes everyone else nervous too. So unfortunately it only takes up space in my cabinet now.

I got lucky, my gold spot rabbit eats off it along with wrasses, bicolor foxface and tangs.

I usually start with frozen mysis and a little garlic to entice them. Once they are eating, its time for Rods or LRS as a staple. Otherwise pellets are part of the autofeed daily mix.

 

[trevorhiller]

Thanks everyone for the feedback! I'm very excited for the this fish to arrive ( and the watchman goby-but I've had one of them in the past). I'm hoping it's going to be the centerpiece fish of my tank.

I guess I'll weigh in as well since I also got a quarantined tomini from Dr. Reef. Mine arrived fat and happy. From the moment he arrived, he was out and eating great. it will happily accept anything I put in the tank as far as frozen foods. it seems to prefer meaty foods over nori... I do give him nori from time to time, but he has never really seemed to go crazy for it. I put some in the tank every now and again, and he swims up, takes a couple nibbles and then just ignores it mostly.

Not sure If i have the wrong nori for him.... i just have the 2LF green nori packet. At this rate, I'll never get through this packet of nori. he only eats a thumbnail size pc every few days at most. I've thought about picking up some red, purple, or brown nori to see if he likes that any better, but I have a feeling I'd just have (2) packets of nori going to waste that I'll never use and just be out another $10.

I feed a variety of frozen foods, some of which like Rods, has bits of nori/algae in the food too, so he gets little bits of nori every day if he wants it... unfortunately, it doesn't really seem like he wants it much.

He grazes on my bare rocks all day long... but ignores sheets of nori. go figure.

LeftyReefer, if you want to try some of these omega one nori sheets, I'd be happy to mail you a little sampler pack. No way I will go through it all anytime soon, I mostly bought that pack to have a variety.

I saw at my LFS he wraps the nori around a 2-3" piece of PVC pipe w/ a rubberband and it sinks to the bottom. Could do the same thing with a small piece of live rock rubble and trick them into eating it while grazing.

 

[trevorhiller]

Mine was very shy in the beginning, he hides a lot. I found that if you clip a nori and stay far away you may see him start coming out to eat if yours is shy. Now a month or so later after being in the tank, he got use to me and eats everything I throw in. Frozen mysis/brine shrimp, eggs, flakes, algae wafer and pallets. Great fish!

Mine is also very shy. As soon as it spots me it darts underneath a rock. Fortunately, my aquascape has lots of hiding places for it, so hopefully it isn't too stressed and feels safe.

I did do some massive feeding and spied on him just to make sure he's eating and I've seen him pick at the Nori and eat some pellets and flakes as well as pick at the rocks and back glass.

I hope he gets used to people being around though. I've got two clownfish that swim in the corner all day and and a tomini that hides under the rock... not the most exciting tank at the moment lol