Solutions for finicky eaters!

[DMShag]

Hi gang. I've got a Coralife BioCube 29. I've replaced the old florescent bulb setup with a controllable LED light bar and the stock filter setup with a solution from InTank. Recently, I added a couple of fish to the tank, a Potter's Angel and a Naso Tang (he's temporary). These two are very finicky eaters. Unlike my damsel, clown and brittle star, who do fine eating a diet of marine pellets, these two new boys seem prefer mysis shrimp. So, I've stopped using the pellets all together and have switched entirely to a half cube, daily, of frozen mysis. However, this solution is not easily sustainable as I do not have a local supplier. Mail order is available, but cost prohibitive. I'm considering adding a refugium basket from InTank and filling it with chaeto but wonder if it would it be feasible for me to hatch mysis, brine or copepods inside this refugium? If this solution is problematic, is there another solution that would be cost effective over the long run? I could certainly order a bulk supply of frozen mysis cubes, but in our rural area, powers loses are common and I fear losing a bulk supply to a thawed freezer.

 

[footgal]

Hi gang. I've got a Coralife BioCube 29. I've replaced the old florescent bulb setup with a controllable LED light bar and the stock filter setup with a solution from InTank. Recently, I added a couple of fish to the tank, a Potter's Angel and a Naso Tang (he's temporary). These two are very finicky eaters. Unlike my damsel, clown and brittle star, who do fine eating a diet of marine pellets, these two new boys seem prefer mysis shrimp. So, I've stopped using the pellets all together and have switched entirely to a half cube, daily, of frozen mysis. However, this solution is not easily sustainable as I do not have a local supplier. Mail order is available, but cost prohibitive. I'm considering adding a refugium basket from InTank and filling it with chaeto but wonder if it would it be feasible for me to hatch mysis, brine or copepods inside this refugium? If this solution is problematic, is there another solution that would be cost effective over the long run? I could certainly order a bulk supply of frozen mysis cubes, but in our rural area, powers loses are common and I fear losing a bulk supply to a thawed freezer.

Hi! Try garlic. The tang will love nori and the potters should enjoy a variety of foods. Soaking in garlic will make the food more appetizing. Everybody loves garlic!

 

[AlgaeBarn]

Hi! If you are thinking of a fuge you can always add some of our sea lettuce. Tangs love it! We also carry live foods! ~Shaun K.

 

[DMShag]

Hi! If you are thinking of a fuge you can always add some of our sea lettuce. Tangs love it! We also carry live foods! ~Shaun K.

Talk to me about live foods. I've never used or considered live foods before I started thinking of a refugium. I'm not well versed on the topic.

 

[AlgaeBarn]

Here are several articles we have written over the subjects. https://www.algaebarn.com/blog/live-foods/ A good way is to seed your tank with copepods which will reproduce and become a food source for many fish. As tangs go they do need a mostly plant based diet. ~Shaun K.

 

[ichthyogeek]

Mysis - could work, if you're willing to put the work into breeding them. They won't fit inside a box culture though...

Brine - could also work, but like mysis, their care requirements would not let them fit inside a box culture probably. Baby brine shrimp might be too small for the angel and tang, but if they'll go after it, that's a suitable option.

Copepods - might be too small? You could certainly set up a fuge for them and they will procreate, but I don't think you'll be able to get them to procreate in enough quantities to feed both fish. You can cross culture these with Ulva.

Amphipods - Sounds like the right size, and they'll work in a fuge. You still won't be able to get them to procreate to large enough numbers that they'll single handedly feed the fish, but they'll make a better, meatier dietary supplement. Bonus is that you can cross culture them with Ulva (sea lettuce), which is edible.

How/where rural are you? If you're near a coast/have access to fresh seafood, it might be cheaper to maybe buy clams instead, or make your own frozen food with ingredients from the store. There are so many recipes on how to make your own DIY fish food, and the bonus is that whatever ingredients you don't end up using, you get to eat (unless you're me, who's allergic to the ingredients...).

Are you providing nori/seaweed for the tang? If not, I'd recommend providing some, since it'll help bulk out the diet and provide the fish with good nutrition.

 

[DMShag]

Mysis - could work, if you're willing to put the work into breeding them. They won't fit inside a box culture though...

Brine - could also work, but like mysis, their care requirements would not let them fit inside a box culture probably. Baby brine shrimp might be too small for the angel and tang, but if they'll go after it, that's a suitable option.

Copepods - might be too small? You could certainly set up a fuge for them and they will procreate, but I don't think you'll be able to get them to procreate in enough quantities to feed both fish. You can cross culture these with Ulva.

Amphipods - Sounds like the right size, and they'll work in a fuge. You still won't be able to get them to procreate to large enough numbers that they'll single handedly feed the fish, but they'll make a better, meatier dietary supplement. Bonus is that you can cross culture them with Ulva (sea lettuce), which is edible.

How/where rural are you? If you're near a coast/have access to fresh seafood, it might be cheaper to maybe buy clams instead, or make your own frozen food with ingredients from the store. There are so many recipes on how to make your own DIY fish food, and the bonus is that whatever ingredients you don't end up using, you get to eat (unless you're me, who's allergic to the ingredients...).

Are you providing nori/seaweed for the tang? If not, I'd recommend providing some, since it'll help bulk out the diet and provide the fish with good nutrition.

We’re 90 miles north of New Orleans, LA. I feed nori but only occasionally, as every time I fed it, it seems to coincide with a nitrite spike. These bio cubes are very fickle when it comes to maintaining water chemistry. I’ll look into DIY feed recipes.

 

[ichthyogeek]

I feel you on the having to drive to get to the good frozen foods....It's about an hour drive to the LFS, so I rarely stock up on frozen foods. That being said, if I remember correctly, each mysis pack is around a month's supply, right? 28-30 or so blister pack cubes?

Also, reading back on it, you said that the fish prefer mysis shrimp. Does this mean that they won't go after the pellets at all? Or that they more ho-hummedly go after them?

 

[Albertan22]

The naso needs as much nori as he can eat in a day. I feed 3 sheets per day to my tang gang. They won’t do well on a meat only diet, though do need some. If frozen doesn’t work for you you could diy fish food with some fresh seafood. That might get more expensive than bringing in frozen though. Tangs are pigs and pollute the water. Setting aside the fact that a Naso should really be in a 6 foot tank at minimum, it is likely to overwhelm your biological filter in that tank even in the short term and cause all kinds of nutrient and algae issues for you.

 

[DMShag]

I feel you on the having to drive to get to the good frozen foods....It's about an hour drive to the LFS, so I rarely stock up on frozen foods. That being said, if I remember correctly, each mysis pack is around a month's supply, right? 28-30 or so blister pack cubes?

Also, reading back on it, you said that the fish prefer mysis shrimp. Does this mean that they won't go after the pellets at all? Or that they more ho-hummedly go after them?

The only one that won’t touch the pellet food is the Potters Angel. The tang will nibble at it, but much prefers the mysis. The the damsel, clown and brittle star seem to have no preference and will eat whatever I feed them. Though, I suspect the brittle star might be making meals of my hermits, as they seem not to last near as long as they used to, since his addition to the tank last year.

 

[Plummer]

Am I the only one who is going to address that a 29 gallon bio cube is Extremely to small for potters angle and a naso tang?

 

[ichthyogeek]

Am I the only one who is going to address that a 29 gallon bio cube is Extremely to small for potters angle and a naso tang?

Nope. But OP already said Naso is temporary. And I'm assuming if the naso is temporary, then the angel will go into the bigger tank as well.

 

[FranklinDattein]

The first step to get the fish to eat, is to give them adequate space and water quality.
I doubt these are being provided, even in the short term, given the dietary demands of these fish vs. size of the tank.

Keep an eye on nitrates, because it is likely it will rise fast and make them even less interested in food.

I am disappointed this is a featured post on R2R Instagram.