Calling All Naso Tang Owners

[Flatfish]

Proud owner of a new 4" Naso. Fat, active and all around great looking fish.

I am having problems getting it to eat bulk like nori, lettuce and the like. It does pick at the algae growing on my loc-line and continuously picks at the LR. So it is eating. I threw some macro in the tank, but doesn't seem interested. It goes after flake, but not with much enthusiasm.

Can someone provide some experience with this finiky fish?

[squid]

Give him time. Fish are kinda like kids, they can be picky.

If's he's picking around rocks, that's a good sign. I would try giving him some San Francisco Bay's Emerald Entree. When I starting feeding him that..he went nuts. Have had him/her for about 4 months and fat ans sassy.

Carful on the flake, can cause phosphates in the tank.

[rayjay]

Lise, I find that phosphate comment about flake to be a little strange. I've never found a food that doesn't release phosphate into the tank.
Put some food into a jar of salt water and shake it around for a bit. Let it sit for an hour and then test the water for phosphate.
Spirulina, brine shrimp, mysis, tang heaven, beef heart, and bloodworms, all had phosphate.

[squid]

I don't disagree with you Rayjay...flake food is just higher. Most of the time the fish eat the fresh type foods faster than the flake food. At least in my experience.

[MontanaRocknReefer]

I have heard a rumor that flake food can be poision to your corals!

flake food if uneaten will wreak havoc on your tank....youll get alge blooms from hell...

[rayjay]

Well, these last posts really have me confused then. From the beliefs of some hobbyists, I should have one heck of a proplem with my tanks, as the primary feed is spirulina flake food.
I have seven tanks with fish in and have been feeding this way for most of my 9 1/2 yrs of reefing. I also don't have snails or hermits in my tanks. My corals are really in trouble too I guess.
I feed my tanks very heavy and twice a day, with spirulina being fed both times, and a meat food alternating between a few different kinds for a balance.
Out of 23 fish, only two don't eat spirulina and they are the copperband, and one of the seven cleaner wrasses.
Also, the food that is eaten by the fish/inverts, still passes phosphates into the water column when the fish waste is introduced to the water.

[squid]

Spirulina doesn't belong in the "flake food" catagory. I understand it is dry, but it is a natural dryed algae.

[reeforama]

This topic got off the line...

My naso, 6" now, eats nori and seaweed that I buy for .79 in my local chinatown grocery store. Eats isn't the proper word; more like attacks with malice.

[wasabi]

i was gonna suggest the same thing. go down to your local asian market and buy a large bundle of dried laver for about $6.00 a hundred sheets. i prefer the red variety. my naso chows down on the stuff.

[Flatfish]

Thanks for the help and bringing the topic back into focus. I hang nori in the tank before I go to work and by the time I get home it's gone. The other fish are omni or carnivores so they I know they primarily ignore the stuff. I have not yet witnessed the naso eat the bulk, but I hope it is. Gosh that's a good looking fish.

I feed the whole tank a mush that includes some brown weed. It seems to takes shots at that when I feed. Though the activity in the tank goes way up when I do those feedings and it gets a little overwhelmed with that. I think it's got to get used to the routine.

I'll go light on the flake.

[Doug1]

Flat fish try smearing some Selcon on it, that often perks up their feed response
Also I believe Naso's are more opportunistic feeders that will graze, and pick tidbits from the bottom, as well as feed on larger plankton items from the water column, they tend to cover a lot of territory and are always eating because of their metabolism