How much nori is too much?

[demon666]

i find this kind of funny...... i have no tangs in my tank but all my damsels and my 2 clowns and my jawfish (if any floats by him in the feeding frenzy) go nuts for this stuff........ i barely got it cliped in the tank b4 they all attacked it

[RD]

While a fish may survive on nothing but nori, fed exclusively it certainly will not fulfill all of their dietary requirements.
While most Tangs are indeed primarily herbivorous, many of them also take in numerous small invertebrates, which in certain species most likely provides a significant portion of their protein intake in the wild. There are essential amino and fatty acids that are present in marine proteins that are not present in tissue from terrestrial plants or animals. Most fish also require long chain fatty acids (C20 and C22) that are also not found in tissue from terrestrial organisms, and this would include most species that have been classified as herbivores. (both freshwater as well as marine)

Even more importantly, in the wild these fish graze continuously all day long on these various algae species, and the invertebrates found within them, which is certainly something that does not take place in most aquarium settings. In other words, in the wild they have a constant source of varied nutrition, from sun up, to sun down, and there's a never ending supply of it. The reason for the long digestive tract, is that the bulk of their diet is of low nutritional value, hence the need to break it down fully before it passes as waste. If they didn't, they would pass most of the nutrients before they could be fully assimilated.

While the various species of Porphyra do indeed contain numerous vitamins & macronutrients, and can provide a certain amount of high quality nutrition, I don't believe that you will find a single paper or study on this subject that involves herbivorous species such as Tangs, that states that nori is in & of itself a complete food that meets all of their dietary requirements.

You might find the following two links interesting reads.

http://www.flseagrant.org/program_ar...tlas/index.htm

http://fishweb.ifas.ufl.edu/Faculty%...urgeonfish.pdf

BTW - I know what the professor involved in the studies linked to above feeds all of their incoming marine fish while they are in quarantine, including their Tangs, and it isn't nori.

[GMGQ]

Wow, some of you feed so much. I only clip in 1/4 of a sheet, every other day or so. I use it more of a treat than as their main source of food. Mostly my tang and bluethroat trigger eat it.

[naesco]

Originally Posted by GMGQ

Wow, some of you feed so much. I only clip in 1/4 of a sheet, every other day or so. I use it more of a treat than as their main source of food. Mostly my tang and bluethroat trigger eat it.

And that is fine for your tang because it is a Regal tang which is not an algae eater tang. Their primary food requirements are zooplankton so you should be feeding it meaty foods as well as a little nori.

You can tell if you are underfeeding your tangs because they will have a little piched in look to the stomach area.

CMGQ you should be aware that this tang will get the size of a dinner plate.
The 70 gallon tank is less than half the size it and all tangs with the exception of kole and similar species need. You have a beautifull reef tank filled with rock and coral but, your tank does not provide the necessary swimming room this and other tangs require. (6 foot length).

If a tang is not eating nori you should check to ensure that it is not a flavoured nori variety. Nori should be fortified with selcon and garlic from time to time to add additional nutrients to the food. The specialty algae foods you see from time to time (Sprung's etc) are expensive and a waste of money.

Thank you

[GMGQ]

Like I said, I feed nori every other day as more of a treat. I primarily feed mysis as well as a variety of other foods, and I soak with garlic sometimes and selcon sometimes. All my fish have fat bellies, so I'm sure they're happily fed.

Let's not get into the whole Tang Police thing. If you want tangs to grow to the size of a dinner plate, leave them in the ocean.

Originally Posted by naesco

And that is fine for your tang because it is a Regal tang which is not an algae eater tang. Their primary food requirements are zooplankton so you should be feeding it meaty foods as well as a little nori.

You can tell if you are underfeeding your tangs because they will have a little piched in look to the stomach area.

CMGQ you should be aware that this tang will get the size of a dinner plate.
The 70 gallon tank is less than half the size it and all tangs with the exception of kole and similar species need. You have a beautifull reef tank filled with rock and coral but, your tank does not provide the necessary swimming room this and other tangs require. (6 foot length).

[Psyire]

Originally Posted by GMGQ

If you want tangs to grow to the size of a dinner plate, leave them in the ocean.

This is a horrible statement... I should hope that people respect the creatures they care for more than this.

[demon666]

but it is a true statement.... no fish will grow in captivity to the same size they will in the ocean........unless we have tanks as big as the ocean in our living rooms....... which most of us do not

[GMGQ]

What do you mean?? If you truly respect the creatures, you wouldnt keep them in an aquarium in the first place. Period.

Having said that, since we do keep them in aquariums in hour homes, we try our best to keep them as happy as we possibly can. At the end of the day this is a hobby for most of us. We can only afford to use so much of our paycheques towards the tank. But nobody can honestly say they can keep the creatures better than they would have been in mother nature.

Sure a lot of them get wiped out naturally, due to strange climate changes and temperature swings that wipe out coral reefs, etc. But that's a more noble death than having your livestock die because because your $19.99 Big Al's heater malfunctioned, or your DIY PVC joints started to leak while you went on vacation and the salinity in your tank got too low because your RO/DI unit kept topping it off with fresh water.

Originally Posted by Psyire

This is a horrible statement... I should hope that people respect the creatures they care for more than this.

[Reefer Rob]

Run! The tang police are here! I'm sure GMGQ wouldn't keep a tang the size of a dinner plate in a 70g. Good excuse to upgrade as it gets bigger.

Rob