New Sailfin Tang question

voodude · #1 09/01/2007, 08:51 PM

Just purchased a Red Sea Sailfin Tang. It's young. Been in the tank for just under 2wks. It's spooked very easily and hides in the back of the rock much of the time. It took care of my hair algae right away and has kept the culerpa (don't have too much) cut back. I have tried dry, pellet(spirulina content) and mysis and brine shrimp (which it seems to love). I turn off the pwrhds and just leave the main circ running (and have tried that off as well) but by the time he comes out (after I go away) there isn't much flyin around to eat. Have also tried seaweed on a clip (he pecks, but not much).
Any and all hints appreciated. (It the only fish in the 90G so there's plenty of room for now and no competition).

Thanx ...

Dyepes · #2 09/01/2007, 09:01 PM

Well you said he is only been with you for two weeks. Mine would hide everytime anyone came around the corner for nearly 6 months. After that he got a little less shy, and now that is been a year, he stays out in the open quite frequently, and there are many other fish in with him. And that is that I have him in a 72 gallon tank. I know it is quite small, and i also have a yellow and blue tang in there.

I plan on donating them to the Florida Aquarium when they get to about 6-8 inches in length because they will just be too big.

I probably will not be getting anymore tangs for this size sysytemafter that. But in any case, I think he just needs time, and consistent routine feedings of food he goes crazy after. Mine loves pellets almost more than that macro-algae i always keep in the tank.

voodude · #3 09/01/2007, 09:05 PM

Thanx Dyepes ... should have also said that me taking it home was his second road trip of the day ... it just came in before I got to the store ... what kind of pellets and how do you go about feeding it?

itsthesong · #4 09/01/2007, 10:14 PM

If he is alone, I would attribute the "spooked easily" to that. Remember, when there are no other fish around on the reef, it usually means that a predator is near by. That could be a reason for being uneasy. That happended with mine. Once I added the purple, he was out and about and they became fast friends. As far as feeding, I would try garlic extereme to induce feeding.

kcw1099 · #5 09/02/2007, 01:49 AM

I would just give the fish a little longer to get used to its surrondings. You said you only had it for a couple of weeks so I wouldnt worry at all you have noticed it eating. It will get bolder in time

voodude · #6 09/02/2007, 07:28 AM

Thanx all ... I wondered about the "lonely" part ... is there another fish (was going to get a yellow tang in the future) that it would get along with? (there's not much culerpa left!!)

itsthesong · #7 09/02/2007, 08:12 AM

I have mine with a kole and a purple. The sailfin is a peaceful fish, so any like tempered fish should be okay. IMO.

crazedpuffer · #8 09/02/2007, 11:36 AM

My sailfin got along with just about every fish I tried. Then when he got too big it started to get aggressive.

Dyepes · #9 09/02/2007, 12:39 PM

Quote:

what kind of pellets and how do you go about feeding it?

The pelets that my sailfin tang goes goes crazy over eating is

Omega One Brand Small marine pellets with garlic. He is the only one in the tank that eats them, but then again most of my other fish are small, and the next biggest tang is only about 3/5 his size, so maybe the pellets are too big.

But yea he tries to eat all th pelets before they even hit the floor, because if he does leave them on the floor too long my starfish bursts out of the sand and vaccuums it all up.

Jocephus · #10 09/02/2007, 02:31 PM

I tried garlic for the first time the other night, and all my fish went ape-sh1t! My rabbitfish hadn't really eaten before then.

Beach Bum 70 · #11 09/02/2007, 09:01 PM

I have a sailfin tang and he just drove my new fox face crazy. He would not leave him alone. totaly stressed out the poor fox face!The sailfin has been in the tank for 6 weeks. Is this normal?

Dyepes · #12 09/02/2007, 11:39 PM

Chase the tang around and harass gim with the net for awhile as soon as you see him harass the foxface. It may seem cruel and unusual, but I did that to my tomato clown when he picked on my hippo tang, and he has since left him alone.

It may not hurt to try, sailfins are pretty resiliant fish anyways.

voodude · #13 09/03/2007, 07:50 AM

Yesterday the sailfin just kinda hung out in the water stream from the pwrhds and didn't spook when I went by the tank ... this morning, it was doing the same and wehn I fed, hit didn't hide .. tried flake, then some pellets and finally I waited until it was looking and dumped some brine shrimp (which it likes) and swam right thru without eating. Few minutes later, it was sitting on the bottom leaning against a gorgonian and kinds huffin-puffin. Now back up in the water stream. All readings last night were normal/zero except nitrates, which alwasy run 30-40 (still tryin to figure that one out (something other than overfeeding and ditritus)). just moved a trigger out of the tank before getting the sailfin. I know somethin is not right, but do not know what to do ...

Dyepes · #14 09/03/2007, 09:25 AM

This does not seem rather normal at all. How old are your test kits? Your PH may be off if he is acting that way. Perhaps you should go to your LFS ASAp and see what their readings come up with.

Frankly I do not believe he would be that way if all the readings were normal.