Is this normal feeding behavior?

[Formulator]

My tangs and rabbit fish have always eaten nori this voraciously, but I recently came across a random tank video where a sheet of nori was hanging and tangs were leisurely passing it by and taking small bites here and there (grazing). I was stunned of course, and now wondering if my fish are the oddity…

This is how mine eat. Sorry for the quality - new filter I don’t seem to have figured out yet.

 

[Reef_at_Sea]

You could try getting a Nori feeder instead of a clip to see how they react to that.
It's a more natural feeding type aswell.

 

[Formulator]

Bump…

 

[mjszos]

I can’t get my yellow tang to eat nori from a clip, but they eat it from the grazer.

I’ve tried dipping the clipped sheets in garlic, soaking it in their defrosted food before it goes in the tank, etc. It’s funny, it’ll watch the nori on the clip and check it out, then do laps around the tank to seemingly hype itself up to take a nibble haha.

 

[Formulator]

I can’t get my yellow tang to eat nori from a clip, but they eat it from the grazer.

I’ve tried dipping the clipped sheets in garlic, soaking it in their defrosted food before it goes in the tank, etc. It’s funny, it’ll watch the nori on the clip and check it out, then do laps around the tank to seemingly hype itself up to take a nibble haha.

Thats so weird to me! Mine have always devoured it within seconds of putting a piece on the clip

 

[mjszos]

Thats so weird to me! Mine have always devoured it within seconds of putting a piece on the clip

Mine wouldn’t even eat it rubber banded to a rock, haha. They need it served on a silver platter apparently!

 

[Formulator]

So nobody’s else’s fish eat nori like wolves after a kill then?

 

[Potatohead]

So nobody’s else’s fish eat nori like wolves after a kill then?

Mine does.

I mean this is nothing to be concerned over. Just like people fish have different personalities. Maybe there is more competition in your tank, or maybe the fish are just more hungry.

 

[Formulator]

Mine does.

I mean this is nothing to be concerned over. Just like people fish have different personalities. Maybe there is more competition in your tank, or maybe the fish are just more hungry.

Thanks. I wasn’t necessarily concerned about it. More just curious if my experience was the norm, and if not, then why do my fish behave this way.

Interestingly I’ve had 2 completely different sets of fish in this tank over the course of 9 years and in both communities, my tangs have eaten nori this way.