My tang won't eat! It's been 3 days.

[cirionrc]

My tang won't eats its food. We started out with romaine lettuce and then switched to nori. It doesn't even look at it. We got the tang about 3 days ago. His color looks fine, but he is breathing somewhat fast. Don't know if that is normal. I did some tests and the nitrites 0, nitrates 0, ammonia 0, PH is 8.6. Is there something else to tell if my tang is sick.

[Dave ESPI]

Waht kind of tang?......

[Sahin]

Its most likely not eating due to being a new addition. New fish generally act this way. It could also be stressed out due to the move. You might want to try calling the LFS and find out what they've been feeding it.

 

IMO I would stopped trying to feed it for a whole day. Dont bother the fish. Let it get used to the new water and sourroundings. BUT keep a close eye on him. After that he may get hungry and the next day you can try feeding him (possibly the same stuff he was fed at the LFS), he still may be scared, but the hunger may tempt him to eat.

 

Such tactics helped me in the past with large cichlids that acted this way when bought new.

 

Keep a close eye on it, look for any possible signs of disease etc.

And give the name type of tang, Dave or others may be able to offer a more direct advice.

 

Good luck.

[tinyreef]

you pH is kinda high there. you may want to lower it a bit to 8.4 or 8.2.

 

ditto mike

[anthony812]

ditto with tinyreef, LOWER THAT PH!! 8.2-8.3 is ideal for corals and fish.

 

As of the tang not eating, he may be stressed out from not proper acclimation processes..not to worry, they will eventually eat after they are comfortable with your tank..and how big is your tank? and what type of tang are you keeping? If the Tang is wild caught, he is less likely to eat anything manmade..you can try "Tang Heaven" a type of natural red macroalgae, it will live in your tank while waiting to be consumed by the tang. They are the best food for the tang..DON'T ever feed your tang Lettuce...its the WORST thing you can feed them..absolutly no nutrients what so ever. I have a Blond Naso and a Yellow Eye tang in my 55 gallon, my blond naso will eat the Tang Heaven while the yellow eye just keeps eating the algae off the glass, LR, and LS. They can be great algae cleaners also...I am thinking about adding a Cheveron Tang in my tank also as my LFS is having them onsale!! $65 for Cheveron tang and $24.99 on Purple Tang

[Strife]

i hope that you have macroalgea in your tank..

well, it depends on what kind of tang you got...but most eat algea...so good luck

[cirionrc]

It is a yellow tang and the size of my tank is 72 gallon. It has been 5 days and he is still not eating. All my levels are normal.

[jay2k2]

have you tried Mysis shrip that solved the problem of my non eating clown fish.