Store bought Lettuce for Tang???

[ltstring]

Does anybody feed store bought, everyday "run of the mill" lettuce to their fish? I heard it may be bad because of chemicals.
Thanks,

[Greg Moore]

Ours would never eat it, niether iceberg or romain. Get nori, buy it as dried sea weed, usually in the oriental section of most stores. It is actually very cheap even though the package seems expensive, 2 tangs would never consume a whole package in 2 years :) They took a couple of days before they would eat it, now all our fish including clowns etc just destroy it when it goes in the tank.

Greg Moore

[NaH2Ofreak]

DO NOT FEED REGULAR LETTUCE!!!!!!!! Lettuce comes from land. Not ocean. The tangs have a really rough time digesting it. If you feed it reg. lettuce, it will be skeleton in no time! Use nori. Or for variety, go to an asian grocery store and you can get the nori in other types like red algae, purple algae, brown, etc.

Good Luck!
Dennis

[tlc]

ice berg lettuce is nutritionaly worthless. both for humans as well as tangs. it is basically fiber water. romaine has a little more nutrition but still would not recommend. i usualy feed flakes 2x a day and offer seaweed on a clip like greg suggested. i use the seaweed selects by ocean nutrition. i have tried the store bought seaweed and it fell apart to easy in the tank.

[junkzoo]

Romaine! have three tangs,,,,,could and will eat up to 9 leaves of it a day (if i gave it to them ,have done ),usually give three leave every other day (soaked in Selcon)they eat everything else BUT nori or the dried algae sheets, fat and sassy for over 4 yrs! (i know , exception to the rule ,,,but hey!, what ever works ,works right?) don't knock what works for the fish,you gotta try everything ,,,,(variety, remember?)the wrasse's, clowns ,hawk,tangs ,even the blenny eats AND loves the Romaine!BTW: the tangs eat silversides too!give them what they eat and like! i know Romaine is NOT marine based, but in my opinion, if no one touches nori ,what's next?you try something else ,don't condemn a food that's eaten !also , i had a 180 FO ,that no one will touch Krill! (porc puffer , queen angel ,clown trigger, lion, morays) the tank loves Tetra food sticks and Hicari pellets ,including all frozen foods!(the Morays are 15 yrs old)just my 2 cents ,don't want to shut out trying foods to feed,,, how are(did) we ever learn?

[petpoor]

I'm with junkzoo, mine hate the dried nori(green chromis love it)also it falls apart too quickly.I feed mine 3 or 4 leaves of Romaine a day and they all look like they are going to explode.
Tom

[junkzoo]

Thanks petpoor,,,,hoped i was not the only one out here!

[Agu]

Hey guys, don't take this as a flame, but the observations don't make sense. "...they all look like they're going to explode." and "..don't condemn a food thats eaten!" My dog will eat all the deep fried pork rinds he can get,(he doesn't get any btw) and the fact that he'd get as fat as a pig ready for slaughter doesn't mean he's healthy, it just means he's fat. Same thing for people, other animals, and fish, weight gain does not indicate health. Foods appropriate for the person, animal, or fish is what should be fed. Just like a child that acts picky, they won't allow themselves to starve, they will eat the food that is available...eventually. Unless of course the fish is in charge. Then they will dictate what you feed and what they will eat.

jmo, fwiw,etc

Agu

[tlc]

TRUE THAT!! agu. we the reef keepers are the alpha fish.......

[junkzoo]

Hey Agu, just stating the facts! my fish do NOT eat nori or dried sheets. they DO eat Romaine and HAVE been for over FOUR years! my two hippo's and yellow have done great on what i'm feeding (everything i offer - Nori)just how many years and how many times do i offer Nori??????? did again today,,,,, still nothing but ,dissolved in the tank (smart ,right?)i'm still trying! NOTHING!!! have had the same tank mates over 3-4 yrs! am i doing something WRONG????
i don't think so ! i'm doing what ever it takes to keep the tank happy and ALIVE! is it wrong?????NO!!! as a diver/collector/LFS owner, i have seen things in the ocean that would boggle the mind as far as "normal and correct". i never collected sea-life that would not survive captive keeping ,even for the $$$$$.i've saluted the "old-timers" as they swam by (like i could ,or would catch them)i just don't think that anyone should "not to flame "someone who (i believe ) is doing something that works for them ,and going against "the norm"to keep our captive "pets" alive and healthy!yes, i know nori and sheets ARE better for the tangs(i offered it b4 Romaine)but if they do NOT eat it , what do i do ? NOTHING else? possibly i have had tangs and other marine life longer and healthy because ,,,WHY?? must be something i'm doing!also,my FO 180 has had (plus other things) TROUT CHOW !! morays are over 15 yrs in my care!my Volitan lion,,,,, Tetra food sticks daily(7 years)plus other "normal" food.don't take this the wrong way, but sometimes "the norm" is not always GOSPEL, as far as the "others" think.my 8 yr. old female porc. puffer expells eggs on a regular basis,yes "she " gets shrimp and clams, but mostly she gets a majority of Hicari pellets and Tetra food sticks/trout chow,is this wrong ??? does not sound like it ,huh? we all know what opinion's are like,(*#@holes)everyones got one,just trying to state my case and opinion to a post here,nothing is written in stone ,other than we are the keepers of these animals, and are bound to offer the best we can do to keep them the best we can ,however we can.PEACE!!:D


[Edited by junkzoo on 05-22-2001 at 02:27 AM]

[junkzoo]

sorry , gotta go Romaine's done soaking ,and the tangs seen me goin' to the frig! :D

[junkzoo]

i really hope they WOULD eat Nori!

[tlc]

what brand of nori did you use? i tried asian market stuff and it fell apart in my tank quickly, also tried another brand. finally bought a fresh package of ocean nutrition green algae and it held together great. holds better if you put two together on same clip. dont know if you have tried that brand or not. it worked for me. i put it in the tank after a fast and they went for it. i feed it about every 2-3 days. with some other tank food.

[junkzoo]

tried Nori AND LFS store brands of algae sheets (all kinds)over the years , NEVER a nibble!withheld other foods ,to entice feeding.no luck!BTW,,,,, my porc. puffer sorta eats it , (mostly breaks it up in lil' pieces to get siphoned out)go figure!tried clips,soaking, and rubber bands on rocks ,,,,,nothing!i'll keep trying ,but i gotta feed these guys daily or they will climb out of the tank to remind me it's feeding time,,,,(everytime i walk by)yes, i would rather they eat nori and sheets, but i think these guys will pass of "old age" and NOT of nutrient deficiency,IMO :D

[tlc]

have you tried any spinach, collard greens, broccoli, or other dark leafy greens. sometimes if you steam them just enough to be slightly tender this will make it more appealing and still soak it in selcon. i would start off with a piece of romaine and other type on the same clip. the other types of greens will help them get more nourishment. darker leaves always have more nutrients. my wife and i work with lots of animals (mostly dogs) and quite often we have to modify there eating behaviors.

[junkzoo]

have tried "blanching"all possible greens for food, Romaine works for me the best for the fish.having parrots, fish ,and training German Shepherds for police work for years,trying new and different foods are not a new thing here,,,,, always looking for a "good thing" i just happen to stick with what works for me and my "buds":D

[Stars360]

i dont feed any terestrial foods to my fish, only things that are found naturally in the ocean. IMHO they come from the ocean so we should give them as close a diet as they would of gotten there. i feed my tang, and angel seaweeds selects from ocean nutrition, feather calurpa, grape calurpa, from my refugium of my reef tank. and the tang, and angel is doing great. just my .02

brian

[junkzoo]

yup ,forgot about that terestrial thing,,was busy eating a tuna fish sandwich,,,,,or was it lobster,,,,hope my cat(which i don't have) and i did not break any rules!lol ,and the sea gulls i've seen in the Florida Keys at the fast food parking lots must be different than the ones out on the ocean.same with ones down here by me in the farmers field's hmmmmm,75 miles from Lake Michigan.My German Shepherds love carrots and other vegetables too,not to mention that cat in Nebraska that eats "seafood delight" cat food,Manatee's in the Keys get re-habbed with Romaine also ,just trying to make a point, ,don't get me wrong ,i would rather feed my fish what's "natural" and "non terestrial" foods too,but Mysis shrimp,(recommended for marine fish) is freshwater based,and brine shrimp is "harvested " where? go look on the package,,,,my tangs eat both Formula one AND two, not to mention the food i give my fish and yours too,did not come from the locales that the fish came from,is that wrong too?can i keep a Florida Keys fish with a Red SEA fish? all i'm saying here that there is no hard set rules on feeding fish,must not be ,because we all break the rules on this ,if my fish like Romaine and not Nori ,well i gotta go with the Romaine ,,,,two of the tangs are over 4 yrs. old(in my tank, not counting how old they were when collected)must be doing something something close to correct and proper!not trying to"fan " any flames out here,,just needed to vent on the subject of "terestrial" vs "non" as food choices.you gotta go with what works,sometimes it's not what works for someone else....virtually every fish and item of livestock we have is not eating the "same thing" it did in the wild,we try to come close though,don't we?that's my point,and Romaine (and frozen and flake food etc.),come close for my "greens" eaters. i'll keep trying algae sheets and Nori,but for the past 7-8 yrs. have never had luck with it ,

[tlc]

i am not 100% convinced that terrestrial foods are 100% neccessary all the time. good nutrition is good nutrition whatever the source. be it land, sea, or sky. there are many things that come from the seas that benefit land dwelling animals. my old horses are given a product called msm for arthritis which is basicaly ground up mussels. i have never heard of a horse grazing the shores for washed up mussels. i think there are many things that may benefit the oceans creatures that come from the land and vice versa. heck look at how many people are reporting positive reports using garlic. i do feel they should be fed mostly terrestrial foods. please dont tell my sea horses that the mysis i feed everyday arent from the ocean. it would break there hearts.

[Clyde]

i think the issue here re: mussels and mysis

they did research on it..

and they tell us the lettuce will harden in their bellies, nutritionaly worthless,

they DO have a hard time digesting it.

and we're yelling SO what, I feed what I want.

fine go ahead.. then I would suggest those people stop replying, and stick to their belifs and not stuff em down our throat.

junkozoo, please use the return keys, spaces, and other things to make your post readable, and honestly, cool it on the !!!!, ,,,,, .....

makes it hard to read - basically I just skimmed and ignored your post becuase it sounded like a rant, and what I do with ranting people is just try to calm em down and dont listen to them.

[Pinkskunk]

Well, when i first start feeding dried Nori, my tangs seems reluctent to ffed. I crushed the algea into small pieces and let it fload in the water. Tangs eat small pieces to start, when they fully develope a taste for it, they go after it like fresh algae.

The stuff bought at Asian store is very very cheap.

[Greg Moore]

Our nori is from a bulk, cheap style grocery store. It's gotten to the point now where even the inverts come out of hiding when we place the nori in the tank. Crabs show up waiting for scraps and our big ugly bristle star sticks his arms our in search. It doesn't fall apart although the favorite challange of a Clarki Clown is to try and rip the whole peice off of the clip and stash it in his anenome.

We don't blanch it, just clip a small dry square and hang it in the tank.

Greg