How good are Convict Tang, Acanthurus triostegus, at eating algae?

[McPuff]

Darnit, now I kind of want one.

 

[my86iroc01]

Currently have 4 tangs. Purple, hippo, chevron and a convict. The convict is constantly grazing. Also the most docile out of the bunch.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Unique in color pattern they are great grazers. You will many tangs that have similar lip structure such as kole and lavender are good grazers

 

[NJDragonet]

My lfs has a convict in his 450g display tank. That fish never stops grazing. I have an established yellow tang in my 120g. Do you think I could add a convict without major problems? Maybe get a small one that wouldn't be too threatening to the yellow? Or a larger one that might hold its own?

It is usally recommended to get all your tangs at the same time how big is the yellow I have 500 display with a convict,yellow,blue,purple,etc and I added them in at the same time if the yellow is small get a small one if its big get a big convict they just have to be the same size

 

[Daniel@R2R]

Darnit, now I kind of want one.

Yeah. This thread has done that to me at this point too. LOL

 

[scchase]

Wish I could get one through quarantine, think I am 0-3 so far.

 

[Wolf89]

The best fish I've ever had.. mines extremely resilient and fat. He was the only fish to survive the velvet outbreak of 2019 too. Hes not fragile at all. Eats nori and spends 99% of his waking time eating algae. Very slow grower though I've had him 4 months hes still only an inch. 100% best tang for eating algae imo

 

[Bbfishb81]

Great algae eaters. Mine constantly 'kisses' the glass, and rocks looking for food. And is so friendly you can pet him while feeding.

 

[ca1ore]

BTW, I have found smaller individuals to acclimate better.

 

[OrionN]

mine did not make it. He eats a little then stop. Never able get him thrive. Got thinner and passed today.

 

[fishguy242]

found mine to be excellent grazer,could put a rock or coral with bubble algae in his tank come back 15 min later clean awesome fish bought private,had 4 years now gotta have one don't give up guys

 

[scchase]

mine did not make it. He eats a little then stop. Never able get him thrive. Got thinner and passed today.

That has been my experience every time, same with clown tangs. Have had success with just about every other species.

 

[Wolf89]

mine did not make it. He eats a little then stop. Never able get him thrive. Got thinner and passed today.

Dang man that sucks. I guess I just got lucky I bought mine online hes really dated and eats mysis and nori

 

[fishguy242]

atlantic blues same situation

 

[jsvand5]

That sucks. Just a tough fish to find healthy. I’ve had mine for about a year. Never had any issues with it but I had 2 before that came in thin and I thought I could nurse back to health. I was definitely wrong. Mine eats great and is nice and fat. I only feed nori twice a week mainly due to laziness but it loves all types of foods. It’s in a tank with an Achilles, powder blue, purple, and a regal.

Not sure if it made a difference in the survival but this one came in and ate mysis on day one so I fed it mysis injected with fenbendazole for a few feedings spread out over a couple weeks.

For your original question if you try again, they eat algae almost non stop. Definitely more than any of the other tangs I have.

 

[ca1ore]

mine did not make it. He eats a little then stop. Never able get him thrive. Got thinner and passed today.

Ah, that's a bummer. A hard fish to get to a healthy weight, and hard to keep it there. Here's the one I keep in my frag tank. Had it for about 18 months; quite small still and generally healthy but not as plump as I would like despite a huge appetite.....

 

[scchase]

Ah, that's a bummer. A hard fish to get to a healthy weight, and hard to keep it there. Here's the one I keep in my frag tank. Had it for about 18 months; quite small still and generally healthy but not as plump as I would like despite a huge appetite.....

Have you tried feeding a medicated food? I have lost several tangs that wouldn't put on weight and started feeding food with metrodonizal on occasion when I have one that wont put on weight and this has ussually reversed the problem

 

[Dennis Cartier]

I promised to make you guys a video of a large school of these. The last few mornings I did not see them, and then today I turned around and there they were ...

 

[ApoIsland]

I promised to make you guys a video of a large school of these. The last few mornings I did not see them, and then today I turned around and there they were ...

Great video. Looks like Hawaii to me. Was that Maui or Big Island?

 

[VR28man]

Interesting topic; i just stumbled onto this.

This academic study shows what mexican tangs will eat.

(PDF) Feeding habits of the convict surgeonfish Acanthurus triostegus (Teleostei: Acanthuridae) in the Los Frailes reef, BCS, Mexico

PDF | On Jan 1, 2011, L A Abitia Cárdenas and others published Feeding habits of the convict surgeonfish Acanthurus triostegus (Teleostei: Acanthuridae) in the Los Frailes reef, BCS, Mexico | Find, read and cite all the research you need on ResearchGate

www.researchgate.net

It seems like nuisance algae is their thing. Ulva in particular. I might try to grow and store a lot of it in my fuge, and/or stockpile pest algae from local refers