HELP!!! Naso Tang just won't eat, getting worried

my2rotties · #1 12-26-2008, 03:21 AM

My hubby brought Naso tang home last week and she just won't eat anything I have tried to feel her. I have tried all the frozen foods, mysis, nori and soaking the food in garlic. She comes out when I feed the other fish, but lets the food bounce off of her, and just won't eat. She is hungry and looks for food, but it is never what I feed her. She eats the hair algae off of the rock wall, but there is not near enough to sustain her.

I was not with hubby at the LFS and he did not ask for them to feed her so he could see if she ate. This poor fish is starving and hungry, but just won't eat anything I try to give.

Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated... I don't think she has very long to live. How do the LFS stores teach their fish to eat prior to sale?

HELP!!!

RonPeter · #2 12-26-2008, 03:44 AM

Have you tried nori sea weed?

my2rotties · #3 12-26-2008, 03:48 AM

Yes I have both the red and the green, both with or without garlic. I have tried putting it into the rock wall at the back where she tires to eat hair algae, to fool her to no avail... I have home made fish food from a member, the forzen herbivore formula, the pellets, the flakes, mysis, and everything else under the sun. She comes to feed with the other fish, but then she does not even take a bite. It is so frustrating because I know how hungry she is and there is nothing I can do.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RonPeter

Have you tried nori sea weed?

xtreme · #4 12-26-2008, 04:14 AM

I have a Blonde Naso which ate fine at the LFS but wouldn't eat when I got him home. I feed Nori, pellets, frozen mysis as well as the frozen homemade mix and he would show interest when I fed but not actually eat anything. It took a week or two but he started eating and hasn't stopped since. I know I'm not offering a solution but time may be all she needs to get settled in before she is comfortable enough to eat.

my2rotties · #5 12-26-2008, 04:46 AM

Thank you so much for the reply. I am freaking out a little since it seems whatever I do is a failure. She is such a nice fish and is always swimming around where I happen to be. She was terrified when she came home, and laid flat under a rock in the rockwall. I have added a Sohal tang since she came, so she is not the new kid on the block, and the Sohal keeps to himself. She doesn't get bullied or dominated by any other fish.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that she eats since she is getting so skinny. She is grazing on the hair algae but there is not enough for her in reality.

Thanks for letting me know. It is appreciated a great deal.

Quote:

Originally Posted by xtreme

I have a Blonde Naso which ate fine at the LFS but wouldn't eat when I got him home. I feed Nori, pellets, frozen mysis as well as the frozen homemade mix and he would show interest when I fed but not actually eat anything. It took a week or two but he started eating and hasn't stopped since. I know I'm not offering a solution but time may be all she needs to get settled in before she is comfortable enough to eat.

ShrimSkin · #6 12-26-2008, 05:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by my2rotties

Thank you so much for the reply. I am freaking out a little since it seems whatever I do is a failure. She is such a nice fish and is always swimming around where I happen to be. She was terrified when she came home, and laid flat under a rock in the rockwall. I have added a Sohal tang since she came, so she is not the new kid on the block, and the Sohal keeps to himself. She doesn't get bullied or dominated by any other fish.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that she eats since she is getting so skinny. She is grazing on the hair algae but there is not enough for her in reality.

Thanks for letting me know. It is appreciated a great deal.

When I brought my Naso home it also didn't eat. But after about a week of soaking with garlic and the Naso seeing the other fish in the tank go after the food it now will not stop eating. Once you get it started tangs are eating and pooping machines!! Just stay patient, keep feeding with the variety you are using, oh and I have yet to meet a fish that wouldn't take cyclopeeze grab some if you can fish love this stuff.

naesco · #7 12-26-2008, 05:36 AM

Is it an adult size naso?

my2rotties · #8 12-26-2008, 05:53 AM

I also tried the cyclopeeze and no deal with her. She is about 5" long so she is nothing like the really large ones I have seen at a couple of LFS. I think all the Naso tangs I have seen have been her size on average.

She has a feeding response but just does not eat anything yet. I will keep my fingers crossed, keep the garlic going as well as the buffet of different foods I have been feeding. The other fish are happy about it. I do hope she sees the others and joins in. Thanks for the advise.

marie · #9 12-26-2008, 05:51 PM

For the first year and a half that I had my Naso, all he would eat was nori. He always had a fat belly and grew 3" in that time so I guess he was meeting his basic nutrition needs but I was very relieved when he finally started to eat everything I put in the tank

naesco · #10 12-26-2008, 07:00 PM

Adult naso tangs, like adult angels, go on a hunger strike and often refuse to eat. They eventually just starve to death in the reefers tank.
I don't know why LFS continue to import them.
Follow the advice re: variety of foods and garlic extract.
Avoid to much contact with the tank as you will just further stress the fish.
Check your water parameters to make sure it is not a water quality problem and ensure you have lots of oxygen in the tank by placing a powerhead 8 inches below the water line.
Good Luck