Well i found this beautifull fish for sale at my lfs for $21 when they are usually like $40. They are difficult to keep, and i didn't know this when i bought it! It's not eating my mysis after 3 days, hopefully it will eat frozen vegetable matter that i will buy later. suggestions? by the way, i have a 75g tank. thanks

I'd smack ya for not researching.. but at least your tank is big enough so I won't. Found this on some website.

Powder brown tang care

It is not recommended to house the Powder brown tang in an aquarium smaller than 75 gallons / 285 litres. It needs plenty of space for swimming as well as suitable hiding spots. Use rocks and/or corals to create crevices. Include live rocks in the set-up and encourage natural algae growth.

The Powder brown tang is normally kept in peaceful community aquariums. Do not house it with other tangs, because they will most likely attack this peaceful and passive species. If you absolutely must keep it with tangs, chose one of the fairly peaceful species. Keeping more than one Powder brown tang is not recommended unless you have a huge and cleverly decorated aquarium.

The Powder brown tang is considered reef safe; it will normally leave both mobile and immobile invertebrates alone. It can however be a good idea to keep corals glued down because this large and powerful fish may accidentally overthrow them while swimming.

Keep the water temperature at 72-78º F / 22-25 º C, the pH-value at 8.1-8, and the specific gravity at 1.020-1.025. Powerful water movement is strongly recommended. It is important to keep the oxygen level up.

The Powder brown tang is rather sensitive while it acclimatizes itself to a new home, but if you manage to keep it alive during this period it will normally become quite a sturdy aquarium inhabitant. It can be a finicky eater until it has grown accustomed to its new surroundings. You can find more info about feeding Powder brown tangs further down in this article.

Be careful when you handle your Powder brown tang, because the “scalpels” can inflict painful wounds. The pain may last for hours and there is a risk a swelling, discoloration and infection.
Feeding Powder brown tang

The Powder brown tang is primarily an herbivore that feeds on algae in the wild. It will however ingest tiny animals
that live among the algae and it should therefore be given occasional servings of meaty foods in the aquarium.

Keep your Powder brown tang on varied diet. You can for instance combine spirulina flakes with fresh and dried marine algae and boiled vegetables such as broccoli, zucchini and carrots
. Ideally include flakes or pellets rich in vitamin C in the diet. As mentioned above, you should also give your fish occasional servings for meaty foods, e.g. brine shrimp and mysid shrimps.

The Powder brown tang is a continuous feeder that will spend most of its time grazing. It is therefore better to give it many small portions of food throughout the day instead of just one or two big servings. Ideally place a vegetable clip / clothes-pin in the aquarium and constantly keep a peace of noori or similar there for the fish to nibble at. Natural algae growth should be encouraged in the aquarium. You can even culture macro algae, e.g. chaetomorphia, in the aquarium.

As mentioned earlier, the Powder brown tang can be a picky eater when it is trying to acclimatize itself to a new home. During this period, it is best to offer it plenty of marine macro algae since this is what it would eat in the wild. It is always a good idea to wait until you have an aquarium with prolific natural algae growth before you get a Powder brown tang. Also include a lot of crevices in the set-up because this will make the fish feel safer and more inclined to leave its hiding spot to feed.

thanks for the info, I know it was a snap decision that i usually don't do. But thanks again. wish me luck