Tang issues

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lamakadiheart

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Apr 24, 2010
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I have some tangs that are getting too skinny...they r not starving i just want them to not show the bonny spines, also i feel like they are to scardy cats and i wish they had more personality idk if there is something i can do maybe just accommodate them better so they feel more comfortable. It doesn't help that they r in a store with little kids tapping on glass and live rock is scare, coral is non existence because we r in too low of a classification of a store to carry them. I put fake coral decorations to put them at ease and have a shelter somewhat but they just stay at the corner and mesh with the background, specially the blue tangs. I have heard zuchinni can be a good option for them, because all they r eating so far is sea weed, they r not responsive to pellets or anything else i have tried. i have never had this problem before with tangs, maybe is just where they came from. Also, my assistant manager is open to almost anything i will suggest, and he is almost always on my side so i can convince him to make some arrangements.
thanks
 

OldManOfTheSea

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Mar 21, 2007
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Your topic is receiving no responses and the reason for it is your question lacks much information that is most certainly required here if your too get any good responses what-so-ever.

If this means what I think it do, is this tank is some school you go too? If it is, then im sure that they have too many fish in too small a tank with horrible water conditions and to top it all off, they must be feeding these tangs just flakes and so as you mentioned, meaning in short, those tangs aren`t too healthy what-so-ever.

Im surprise if this been going on for so long and they not gotten ich and all perished. the water conditions has to be lousy as their diet is. if they been living this way for as long as you make their health situation sound, im sure that their days are numbered. A nutritional and variety diet is needed as well large weekly water changes, with RO water, not tab water.

If your school can not do these things, your school has no business keeping those fish only to see them die a slow death.

To say what to feed these fish a lone will not save them, your school needs to give them back to the lfs to see if they could save them from almost certain death.

Correction, they are in a lfs? This is horrible, if this lfs can not properly care for their fish for sale, they should closed the store. :crazy:

Buddy
 

lamakadiheart

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Apr 24, 2010
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You r right i should have explained better. I am an Aquatics Specialist at PETCO i have six sump systems one sump is saltwater which contains about 300 gallons of water divided into 8 tanks, 6 small, 2 bigger ones. I do weekly water changes on the tanks and take about 30% of the water and replace it with filtered water that PETCO provides me with its not that great but it does the job. The ammonia levels nitrate and nitrite is always zero that's where i like to keep it. i change poly fibers on both filters once a week, and the carbon whenever it overflow which is about two weeks. The fish have been doing a lot better since i took over about a month ago, things are actually surviving. The problem i am having is making the tangs eat better, and be more extrovert, i have some tanks with crushed coral and some with sand, which have live rock in them. they seem to do better in the tank with live rock. I keep the salinity at about 1.023 and 1.024 and keep a constant stock of seaweed in the tanks. the others get marine pellets and some live food like the trigger. PH is about 8.3 and temp is about 82-84 F.
 

OldManOfTheSea

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Mar 21, 2007
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They should be offered vegetable based prepared foods, brine shrimp, chopped clams, plankton, and krill. Such foods as Japanese Nori, Romaine lettuce, or spinach can be floated in the aquarium for grazing. Surgeonfish should consist of algae and vegetarian items such as Spirulina, zucchini, broccoli, leaf lettuce, and dried seaweed/algae.
Although Tangs can or will eat meaty foods along with the other fish in the aquarium, it is important that they are offered plenty of marine based seaweed and algae. This will strengthen their immune system.

http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=7368

http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=5027

http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=5026

I am an Aquatics Specialist at PETCO
I know we all learn many different things from one another, but you listed yourself as a Aquatics Specialist, this is what I can not understand, this should been something simple for you to manage if you were :eek:

Buddy
 

lamakadiheart

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Apr 24, 2010
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Yes my position is an Aquatics Specialist, but i also work for petco i don't have to have a degree or anything to fill my position. I have also tried a variety of foods maybe i am not explaining myself correctly. I know what tangs eat, i just need to get them to actually eat this foods. that is the information that i want. I have seaweed, as well as broccoli, krill, formula 2, and others. I have never had a problem with a tang not eating at the other pet store i worked at, of course we also got our fish from another company since it was an independent shop.
 

lamakadiheart

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Apr 24, 2010
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first of all, i am not trying to sound like a big shot whose grave is going to be right next to Julian sprung's or anything like that and i think your comment is kind of rude but maybe i am not making myself clear. Second, aquatics specialist is a position at petco that i am currently filling, it does not require me to have a degree or anything. Third i never said i didn't know what tangs eat, i do know what they eat, and i have plenty of food for them, the information i am looking for is creative ways to fatten them up, because i think they could be eating more. They have food available 24-7 in the tanks and i renew algae everyday, as well as broccoli and zucchini, formula two, and others, such as ocean nutrition algae pellets, spirulina etc.... they are not eating any meaty food, or pellets or anything in like that mostly because when i go to feed them they just hide and can't see the pellets falling and won't bother with the one's that fell on the bottom. that is what i need help with. they must be eating something otherwise they would be dead by now so i know they pick at the algae and seaweed. I want to figure out a way that they can eat and be more extrovert about food. I got a trigger who would refuse to eat pellets until i tried a ghost shrimp and a minnow he ate the minnow quickly and now he is not shy anymore and is eating pellets as well, that's my goal with the tangs. i just need help, again, with creative ways to get them to eat. For example, i had a heniochus that would not eat, and i know they like to pick on coral, so i read somewhere that i can place food inside a dead coral piece to get them to eat since it can be challenging and they hide when i go to feed them and don't see the pellets falling. That advice worked perfectly for my fish and i was very happy with the result. i hope this can better help you understand my problem. As for me, i am looking into getting a marine biology degree, maybe next year depends on how my move goes.
 

<3Oscar

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Mar 28, 2009
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Tangs are herivores, clip some seaweed food in their tanks and they should be happy and healthy. They graze constantly. My own tang will graze all day on algae and occasionally eat brine shrimp, he's one chubby fish! As far as I know, they don't go for flakes or pellet foods. Maybe try clipping the seaweed near the location they occupy the most and leaving it there for the day.

i know nothing about your particular petco, but i know the one in my area quit selling marine fish due to the fact that they couldn't maintain proper conditions in all their tanks. They would do 50% water changes at a time, which can cause major fluctuations in water quality and cause stress. Stress can cause serious loss of appetite. Hopefully this is not what they do at your store. If the seaweed clips don't help, look into mangaging the water quality differently. Good luck!
 

OldManOfTheSea

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Mar 21, 2007
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lamakadiheart, yes, you not need or require a degree, but rather you should have a certain level of knowledge and understanding in the fish or corals you sell or be in care for, research however is the most important thing you can do being your too be responsible for all kinds of marine species. Also, no you had no problems in your tangs to feed, but rather they were lacking a variety nutritional diet and it wouldn`t matter if you only feed them three of the items mentioned for you also need to provide them a great deal of algae and its as well best to widen the kinds of algae you can feed them as well as their tanks water quality.

Myself with tangs, I in my reef tanks in the past had always provided the tangs I kept with an algae diet, but also I do not leave the sheet of which ever kind of algae in feeding them in the tank 24/7, I guess we both have a difference in understanding in this procedure.

You do whatever it is you know best for the fish under your responsibility, for as the next person will do as well their`s. Also, you not need to act as your in the need to defend yourself, were in no court of law here so please not side track the topic with it, all I said was if you listing yourself as a Aquatics Specialist, you should had then had some better basics understanding in what you needed here, I mean young fella, read over your first post and listing to yourself in how you did best to explain your situation and then tell me if I were to post that exact same post, and I said that I was a Aquatics Specialist, tell me you wouldn`t be a bit confuse about it. Sorry if you think I was trying to insult or hurt your feelings, it was the forest thing from my mind.

i know nothing about your particular petco, but i know the one in my area quit selling marine fish due to the fact that they couldn't maintain proper conditions in all their tanks.
And lamakadiheart, this may be the situation as well at your store. If you see marine fish not doing as well, and you know why, why don't you tell the store manager? They really need to know what is going on with the fish their trying to sell and if no one tells them, and you know what the problem is, if me, it would cause me to feel horrible about myself, but that is me, no one can tell you what is the best thing for you too do here, you need to think of the best way possible in how you can tell your bosses for you also should know that any or most marine hobbyists wont buy a fish if they are appearing rather thin or so. I know they wanted to widen their sales in the fish they sell there. Walmart only sells freshwater and often when i walked into this one walmart store, their fish had a horrible coloration, specially the Oscars they were selling.

Did you ever test the water before the added the salt for the salinity? I mean the Ph, nitrates, Phos and silica/silicate. I think your first step here is both the algae and water testing before using. ;)
 

lamakadiheart

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Apr 24, 2010
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once again you are not reading what i posted. My fish that i care for are fine. I do weekly water changes on ALL six sumps including saltwater, that is WEEKLY. each sump is about 300 gallons. My nitrates, nitrites, and ammonia levels always r at 0 and that is checked EVERYDAY. When i said i am an aquatics specialist i was merely listing my position in this company. The reason i leave seaweed in the tanks 24/7 is to reduce deaths by hunger either by damsels or other fish i do not have green algae growing anywhere in my tanks i am referring to sheets of seaweed i am sure you know what those are. My PH on the saltwater tanks are 8.3-8.4 and the salinity ranges from 1.023-1.025 but i keep it mostly between 1.023-1.024. There is a protein skimmer as well. Everyone is fine, the fish are surviving, especially now since i took over. I have fish i have been keeping for over a month that are still alive, and well. My anemones r thriving and i feed them weekly with silver sides. I also change the poly fibers in the filter weekly due to wastes. The water is fine, even though it evaporates quite quickly. I am there 5 times a week, and when i am not, there is someone that does the basics like feeding and water testing. MY PROBLEM IS that i want to know creative ways to make tangs eat MORE, i want to fatten them up. The reason i am unsuccessful is because there r a few things working against me such as: they hide when i want to feed them pellets, seem unresponsive to live food which ends up dying, ignore frozen thawed foods, and could care less about anything else. I have contacted the people who ship us these fish to ask what they feed them there but have not gathered helpful information. I also asked whether these fish are tank raised since it makes a difference. Our store is trying to provide the best care for their aquatics department that's why they hired me, and since they have hired me the fish have been doing much better, and surviving. I also tell the staff on days i am not there to watch out for possible problems and do what is on the maintenance schedule for that day. I ASSURE YOU THE FISH ARE WELL TAKEN CARE OF, THE TANGS HAVE BEEN IN MY STORE FOR ALMOST A MONTH IF THEY WERE NOT EATING AT ALL THEY WOULD HAVE DIED BY NOW. What i want to know, again, is creative ideas on how to get them to eat MORE, and hopefully become more extrovert. that is all the information i need from you. And also like i said before i don't need basic information, or any information i can get from a book, i know or have those resources readily available to me. The people i usually consult with and i have never had this problem with tangs before therefore i am looking for more information here. If you are not going to write specifically about what i am asking, why even write about anything at all. instead of making inferences about the way the fish are treated or the condition of the store or where they are kept ask for next time because you obviously don't know every detail about my tanks. And you might not have meant to "hurt my feelings" but you were trying to, well i think i don't have to explain myself. I still need an answer, if not from you, from whoever that ACTUALLY wants to help not assume what i do and don't do, or belittle me. I am a responsible person, and that is why i am here to ask for ideas, i work hand in hand with my manager so he knows exactly what is going on and so does the district aquatics manager that stops by or calls regularly. The manager also does most of the maintenance on my days off, i have posted water conditions with accurate numbers at least twice but for some reason you read straight over those so i am putting them on here again. I do not feel "horrible about myself" in fact i am very proud of my work and have been complimented several times by my peers on how good things are doing. I do not need another conscience, i have one that has worked great so far in my life. I also have been building close relationship with my customers, and would never sell them something that wasn't good or doing poorly. Furthermore i usually request them bring me a water sample for testing if they haven't gotten one done lately or have a kit at home for both fresh and specially salt water. If i am unsure about a good home for the fish i can deny the sale or if the water test came out with bad results i won't sell either. Of course i test the water before i add salt all our sumps use the same water that comes out filtered, that is a no brainier. Phosphates however, out company does not carry tests, strips, or awareness it even exits. I am being forced to go corporate on the matter because it's so important. We are too low of an assortment store to carry coral, all we have is fish, live rock, anemones, and cleaning crew. Copper treatments in the store or products and forbidden by petco therefore our tanks are copper free, and we have no quarantine tanks at the moment but i am working with management to make arrangements. Any other information you need ASK and i will answer do not make assumptions and by all means read ALL of my post. The fish themselves are clear, or pristine, they r not cloudy or discolored, no funguses, no pop eye, not body or tail rot, no missing tails, or nipped fins. thanks
 
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OldManOfTheSea

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Mar 21, 2007
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Here you are, these are your exact words:

I have some tangs that are getting too skinny
also i feel like they are to scardy cats and i wish they had more personality
If they were feeding as they normally should had done, they wouldn`t appear to be getting skinny to you and healthy tangs do have their own personality when healthy as well, but if their not healthy, it is as you said, becoming skinny and a lost in their personality as well. You have to be a very young man, young men in their teens and early 20`s often sound just like you are saying here, your only acting as your something to defend here, an experienced person in this hobby would never sound in that way

The fish themselves are clear, or pristine, they r not cloudy or discolored, no funguses, no pop eye, not body or tail rot, no missing tails, or nipped fins.
Do you believe as I do that any fish can began appearing as if their ill and yet they not show any signs as you spoke of? For I can guess that they hardly do any tail chasing of one another, its something a healthy tang will almost certainly do, depending on each of their aggressiveness behavior.

Again, I know that you will do your best, so stop trying to act as your something to explain here, we all can make any number of errors, were here to assist others as I know you would do when you can answer to a certain question. Im not mad, angry or anything here, im with a clear mind on things and you need to do the same. :cool:
 
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