Strange eating behaviour

[Ricko]

I was wondering if it is heard of for a yellow tang and moorish idol to eat zooanthids? I have added some to the tank and these two fish have smashed it! Around the same time (give or take a day or two) i added acropora and a pipe organ and they don't even look at them.

 

[colleen]

I was wondering if it is heard of for a yellow tang and moorish idol to eat zooanthids? I have added some to the tank and these two fish have smashed it! Around the same time (give or take a day or two) i added acropora and a pipe organ and they don't even look at them.

Don't know about those two particular fish, but little fishies finally just caught her rabbit fish that had developed an appetite for zoas lately. He ate all of them except a few hiding in rock crevices and a couple fairly common types that apparently didn't taste as good. Of course the rabbit fish preferred the really expensive brightly colored ones!

 

[Ricko]

Weird hey??? They are all individuals i guess!!!

 

[mfinn]

I've had 3 different tangs go after zoanthids. 2 different hippo tangs and a purple tang.

 

[leebca]

The 'secrets' to fishes eating invertebrates and corals outside of their noted diets in the wild is something few people really know or understand. I'll share what I know.

A fish will eat corals and/or invertebrates outside of the normal, observed diet in the wild because of one or any combo of the following:

1. One of the biggest reasons - the organism it ate was unhealthy. Nature doesn't waste precious energy, so a coral in trouble is an invitation to predators and marginal predators and even those that wouldn't consider eating such a thing.
2. The fish is undernourished -- missing something from its diet and/or not getting fed enough (quantity and/or frequency).
3. The fish is a rogue (as noted in a previous post). Each fish is and can be out of the norm -- its own personality.

 

[Ricko]

Thankyou, makes sense.

 

[vinny2261]

sometimes they are after the algae that is in the corals. What where you feeding your fish??? Tangs and rabbit fish need algae tio stay healthy. I do not have that much knowledge on Morish Idols though. Ecept they can be a little harder to keep.

 

[Ricko]

sometimes they are after the algae that is in the corals. What where you feeding your fish??? Tangs and rabbit fish need algae tio stay healthy. I do not have that much knowledge on Morish Idols though. Ecept they can be a little harder to keep.

I give them "New life spectrum", frozen mysis and brine shrimp. I feed up to 5 times a day. I am thinking of trying dried Nori seaweed too, maybe that might help. The tangs love the spectrum and my 6" regal is 1" wide (hope she doesn't have a heart attack) and the moorish eats everything, so i'm guessing(hoping) that their nutritional requirements are being met???

 

[leebca]

I recommend you read (and study) this lengthy post and then review the diet compared to the info provided: Fish Health Through Proper Nutrition

 

[Ricko]

I recommend you read (and study) this lengthy post and then review the diet compared to the info provided: Fish Health Through Proper Nutrition

Wow, thanks Lee.
Change of plans!!! Will stop mysis as my pack does not say what type. The brine i have is spirulina so i'm assuming one frozen cube is ok once a day?? Also, as my regal is so fat (and i hope people didn't think i was proud of that) for the last few weeks i have been hand feeding my moorish so he could get more food and the regal less, although she is quick as a bullet so hard to control when feeding the other fish. Won't be doing nori either now, will look for macro at the asian supermarket down the road!!

After reading the ingredient and vitamin info on the spectrum (even though it starts with krill) i think this is still ok?? I just notice a weight loss in my moorish when i don't feed this product and just assumed that was a bad thing (he isn't fat but looks a very healthy weight when i do use it).

 

[colleen]

When I bought my first 75 gallon reef tank in '99 the guy I bought it from said to give the tangs a 'treat' of romain lettuce or dried algae occasionally. I've changed my way of thinking and since I (thankfully) don't really have algae in my tank for grazing I feed an algae clip with a chunk of dried algae sheet just about every day in both my tanks that house tangs. I know 'grazing' is a natural habit for the tangs and I feel bad when I see them swimming aimlessy around without any algae to feed on - how boring! My tangs really seem to dig into the red algae with much more enthusiam compared to purple or brown. I don't feed the green stuff since I heard somewhere that it doesn't provide as much nutrition. (?) The 'grid' clips that include the plastic mesh holder work great - the algae stays put until it's all been nibbled away instead of getting ripped off and floating into a corner or out the overflow. Doctors Foster and Smith have 'em for a couple bucks.

 

[dvdrumls]

sometimes they are after the algae that is in the corals. What where you feeding your fish??? Tangs and rabbit fish need algae tio stay healthy. I do not have that much knowledge on Morish Idols though. Ecept they can be a little harder to keep.

 

[leebca]

Some fish foods contain wheat or wheat products (glutan). This is used as a binding agent in pellet foods. The wheat products are counted as protein in the analysis of the food, but marine fish can't digest wheat products. So that just goes into the tank as food for bacteria and other microlife (e.g., algae).

Fat doesn't = healthy. Humans have double standards with marine fish. We think a fat fish is healthy, but do we think a fat person is healthy? With a balanced diet the fish will have energy reserves stored on the dorsal side (top fin area) of the fish's body. However, a diet of too much fat will produce a similar effect.

There are many different kinds of fats. Only one fat (HUFA or Omega-3) is the right one for marine fish. Animal and land plant fat is pretty much useless to the marine fish.

Just keep reading those labels. Feed often through the day (no less than 3 times) and feed enough at each feeding.

Information how to provide algae to your fish is given here: How to Feed Macro Algae to Herbivores.