Naso Lituratus won't eat

[Dylan Grech]

Got this beautiful Naso tang 5 days ago but he won't eat...

He swims around a bit but still a bit shy of humans which is understandable. LFS gave me proof of quarantine prior to shipping and since my QT is too small for him and not properly cycled I decided to put him in DT right away.

Foods tried:
- Green Nori (tied to rock, free floating and clip)
- Live Caulepra from refrugium
- Shrimp
- Masstick
- Pallets
- Rucolla

He did nip at the nori but spit it out.

At LFS was very stressed as he had just arrived but in my tank he calmed down immediately and white stress spots disappeared within a couple of hours.

He's still quite fat so can go a few more days without eating + I saw him pick at the sand a couple of times probably grabbing some pods but this diet is not viable long term...

Any suggestions?

 

[Dylan Grech]

More Info:
- He was drip acclimated for about an hour
- Trying Mysis and red Nori tomorrow

 

[Maritimer]

I've heard that red nori is like candy for tangs ... my kole eats _any_ nori, though.

Have you tried feeding the nori different ways? Banded to a rock? Are the other fish being so aggressive about getting all the food that the naso is forced out of the fray? Would it help to feed in several locations simultaneously?

~Bruce

 

[Dylan Grech]

I've heard that red nori is like candy for tangs ... my kole eats _any_ nori, though.

Have you tried feeding the nori different ways? Banded to a rock? Are the other fish being so aggressive about getting all the food that the naso is forced out of the fray? Would it help to feed in several locations simultaneously?

~Bruce

Good points, however he is the only tang the rest of the fish are chromis, clowns and damsels so no there is no aggression for most of the foods such as Nori. But yeah tried many techniques; rock, clip, free floating, small peices, big peices, in the light, in the shade, ...

 

[eatbreakfast]

How could the LFS give proof of qt if he was stressed from having just arrived?

What size tank is he in? Too small of a tank can have this affect.

Internal parasites can cause hunger strikes, but so too can exposure to certain meds. Did you observe it eat at the LFS?

 

[Dylan Grech]

How could the LFS give proof of qt if he was stressed from having just arrived?

What size tank is he in? Too small of a tank can have this affect.

Internal parasites can cause hunger strikes, but so too can exposure to certain meds. Did you observe it eat at the LFS?

I shall elaborate. The quarantine certificate is from his supplier, this was an ordered fish so no didn't observe him eat in LFS as he was in there for less than 24hrs. The 3 week quarantine was done in sri lanka at the supplier's location then he was shipped to Malta to the LFS and I picked him up the next day after arrival.

As per tank he's in a 160gal tank with a total water volume of 250gal. Plenty of swimming and hiding room for him as other tank mates are small fish: chromis, clowns, damsels and a goby

 

[Eva Rose]

My blond naso likes any nori, but my other tangs (and my friends' naso tangs) love purple nori (specifically Purple Sea Veggies* by 2 Little Fishies). You could give it a try, just to stimulate him to start eating. If he starts to eat offer him green too.
Naso tangs are shy, so distance yourself well away from tank if want observe him eat. Or even leave the room after you put fresh nori in the tank. Later you can check nori to see if he has eaten. Since he has no competition for nori, you have an advantage. You can check on his consumption and give him total privacy to eat.
Let him associate you with food supply, then the privacy/safety time to eat it.
As mentioned above, do observe him for symptoms of parasites, etc. But try giving him space and be careful not to hover around tank (especially after feeding).
Good luck.

 

[Dylan Grech]

Gr

My blond naso likes any nori, but my other tangs (and my friends' naso tangs) love purple nori (specifically Purple Sea Veggies* by 2 Little Fishies). You could give it a try, just to stimulate him to start eating. If he starts to eat offer him green too.
Naso tangs are shy, so distance yourself well away from tank if want observe him eat. Or even leave the room after you put fresh nori in the tank. Later you can check nori to see if he has eaten. Since he has no competition for nori, you have an advantage. You can check on his consumption and give him total privacy to eat.
Let him associate you with food supply, then the privacy/safety time to eat it.
As mentioned above, do observe him for symptoms of parasites, etc. But try giving him space and be careful not to hover around tank (especially after feeding).
Good luck.

Great tips! Thanks I took your advice and added a few more things and it worked!

 

[Dylan Grech]

It actually happened! He nipped at red nori and ate a bit

Massively overfed the reef to get here but its ok my skimmer can handle it with a bit of extra nopox.

So what made it?
Started by preparing red nori on the clip, then threw in a few drops of polyp booster to ignite appetite. While poly booster was doing its thing prepared a mix of mysis and phytoplankton. Scattered that over the reef and added a few small peices of free floating nori so while he saw the other fish run after the mysis and him smelling the phytoplankton would chase the free floating nori... That worked! Now next was the clip so I added some Masstick so he sees the other fish graze the glass and that in turn made him go for the nori on the clip.

He didn't eat much but I can finally sleep at night knowing he'll be ok.

 

[Eva Rose]

Yay! So glad he is starting to settle in your tank! Great idea about enticing him by watching fish chase mysis/nori mix.
Just keep giving him space. His skittishness will improve. Once he gets used to you, you will enjoy a Naso's gentle personality. Despite QT certificate, continue to watch him for any symptoms just in case. If you see any symptoms, the reefsquad will help you. You can add a little Selcon to his Nori for a vitamin boost. Post updates on his progress

 

[Dylan Grech]

Yay! So glad he is starting to settle in your tank! Great idea about enticing him by watching fish chase mysis/nori mix.
Just keep giving him space. His skittishness will improve. Once he gets used to you, you will enjoy a Naso's gentle personality. Despite QT certificate, continue to watch him for any symptoms just in case. If you see any symptoms, the reefsquad will help you. You can add a little Selcon to his Nori for a vitamin boost. Post updates on his progress

Thanks for this and will do

As soon he lets me will take a few pics, he's so beautiful.

 

[Dylan Grech]

UPDATE

During today he ate quite a bit of caulerpa I had left in the tank and went for the nori clip almost as soon as I put it in.

He is also a lot less skiddish from us so overall massive improvement over the past 24hrs.

Next step is to get him to eat some pallets.

 

[Dylan Grech]

UPDATE: He's turning into my little piggy gobling up all nori I put in the tank and also comes out all the time he's not hiding from us anymore.

On the down side he wownt eat anything but nori but hopefully that will change in the coming months when the nori just wownt be enough for him.

In the coming weeks I'll start hiding some pallets in the nori maybe he gets to taste it.

 

[Maritimer]

Maybe try a nori burrito - wrap the nori around some frozen or pellets, strap it to something like a rock or PVC, drop it in and let 'im go to town.

~Bruce