Acanthurus Lineatus getting thinner

[asimak_t]

Hi,

I have a 90 gallon tank with a Naso Literatus, Acanthurus Lineatus, 3 x clowns, 1 x Sixline wrasse, snails, crabs, etc. The Naso and the acanthurus were introduced in the tank 1 1/2 month ago and i would say that they are aclimatised really well. Even if i'm doing things with my hands in the tank (moving liverock or corals) they really don't mind as they are bitting my hand like it is food. Though , their diet is only Seaweeds (green, brown, red) as they are not eating anything else plus some lettuce 2 or 3 times a week. The problem *maybe?) is that the lineatus is getting thinner everyweek. Even if i'm feeding him 3 times a day the fish is not gaining weight. In comparison with a lot of photos that i have seen from other specimens of Acanthurus Lineatus, there is no comparison. Though again, the fish is moving a lot (i would say always is moving) into the tank and no signs of stress or something else. Does anybody has an idea what can it be.
P.S. I know that my tank is a little bit small for this fish though i don't think that this is the reason of loosing weight and getting thinner. I would really appreciate an advice.
Thanks
Thomas

[cl2ysta1]

while algae makes up a large part of their diet they need to be fed other food also. lettuce is generally not the best choice. If you are doing romaine lettuce this is a little better but iceberg etc should never be used. any greens you give should be dark greens. what have you tried feeding food wise other than the algae and lettuce. and what type of lettuce where u feeding?

[cl2ysta1]

also they are one of the harder tangs to keep. do you have enough flow in your tank. and enough gas exchange and oxygen?

skimmer?
The surface of your water should be rippled from water movement for correct gas exchange

[asimak_t]

Well i really don't know the name but is lettuce with big dark green leefs. I tried almost everything from Ocean Nutrition in terms of flakes (Spirulina) and pellets (actually i tried three different sizes. All the other fishes were going mad apart from the pijama. I haven't tried any frozen yet and i was thinking for the ocean nutrition formula two.
As for the skimmer the surface is really crystal clear. My skimmer is a Red Sea Berlin XL and apart from that my PH is 8.0 - 8.2 NO3 0 PO4 0. In the same aquarium i keep 2 montis, 3 acropora, 2 pocilopora. Calcium is ok, alk is ok. The only thing that i'm afraid is that maybe there is a disease that i cannot understand ... I will try also to get a picture posted.
What do you think?
Thomas

[cl2ysta1]

yes i would try the ocean nutrition formula two, also some mysis. this works well for picky eaters. also sally's makes a marine cuisine that i havent had a fish turn down yet. spend the money and try those three one at a time.


Well if he is eating that is a good sign even if it is just the algae and lettuce. does he have any marks on his body??? spots tore fins.. anything. if he is eating the algae its hard to say. another thing you can try which tangs seem to like is soaking their food in some garlic. they make garlic extreme for this but it is 20.00. regular minched garlic will work too. I usually just siphon off the juice in it or use the actual garlic and let the food soak with it. be careful about using too much also you could foul your water.

Is there anyway you can get a powerhead in there or use one you have and get it rippling your surface? this helps with gas exchange in your aquarium. those tangs like very oxygenated water with good movement. it doesn thave to look exactly like this, but this is what mine looks like


http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/cl2ysta1/2hundogallon032.jpg

[asimak_t]

Hi,
Thanks for the advice, i will try to find that meal from Sally's. As for the power head i have 20x ties my total water volume / per hour, using 2 Koralia 4 and 2 Tunze Turbelle. I would say that my top looks like yours..
No spots, no marks...nothing. That's why i was wondering if it is a disease or not. At the same time i use Garlic extreme for the last 3 weeks in the food (usually in the seaweeds which i soak in a glass of seawater from the tank.

[asimak_t]

The bad thing is that wherever i've read about those fishes, they have the biggest degree of mortality between tangs... It seems to me that they just don't like captivity..
if i new i would never bought it...
Anyway thanks for your help

[cl2ysta1]

no problem I had one for years, and i think my success was attributed to the water movement and very good water quality. good luck. i would try every food available before you lose him. if he is only eating the algae sheets right now though make sure those are available to hima ll the time. a cheap alternative is nori in the seafood stores. same stuff. comes in green

[Macimage]

I've had great luck with getting tangs to eat by taking their algae sheets and putting the other foods in the middle and wrapping it up. Then I rubber band it to a piece of rubble rock and drop it into the tank. As they are eating the algae they start eating/tasting the other foods. I've successfully used this to get them to eat all flake foods such as Prime Reef, Spirulina, Formula 1, 2 etc. After a few months, it trains them to chase food in the water column. As at first they chase it as it comes out of the algae and then gradually they start chasing it around the tank. Then it's only natural they start chasing food when you drop it into the tank.

However, one of my powder blues did take 2 years to figure it out, but most times it doesn't take that long. I didn't mind hand feeding him this way though, as they are a favorite of mine. I drop two separate rubble rocks in my 225 so that everyone gets a shot at it. Otherwise, only the most aggressive feeders can get to it.

Joyce