Purple Tang behavior

[scragman]

I recently added a Purple Tang to my 125g reef and he keeps pecking on my Open Brain coral to the point where the coral is staying shrunk up. I've tried hanging a peice of lettuce to distract him and he eats that and goes back to the coral. What do I do?

 

[Anonymous]

What else are you feeding it and how often ?
*If* Zebrasoma sp. are underfed they may munch on corals. Also because Tangs are omnivores it's very possible it is picking pods off or around the Brain Coral.

Regards,
David Mohr

 

[Anonymous]

How big is the coral - I would get some type of plastic box - like the kind they use for strawberries or if you need larger use any tupperware like plastic with holes cut in it. Cover the coral for a few days and see if the tang "forgets" about it.

 

[jaymee777]

If you want to cover it with a box I got some white plastic grid drop ceiling sheet for $7 at a local hardware place. I cut it to make a box and used it to sit a skimmer on in my sump but it worked great and I used cable ties to hold it together. I suppose epoxy would do the same. I have a Purple tang and it has never touched my open brain.

 

[scragman]

Thanks for the replys. I am feeding assorted Aqua-yums frozen food as well as flake food once a day. I think I'll try the cage idea and see if he forgets about coral.

 

[Anemone]

Unfotunately, IME, once a tang (or pygmy angel, for that matter) gets a taste of a meatly LPS coral and discovers it likes it, one or the other needs to go, or the tang will eventually kill the coral.

Building a cage around the coral may allow it to recover, but the cage will become a permanent addition if the tang stays as well.

Kevin

 

[jdeets]

scragman--is your tang fat in the face and belly (i.e., convex look) or does he look concave in the face and belly areas? He may not be getting enough to eat. By nature, tangs are picking and eating almost every waking minute. You might try putting some sheet nori in an algae clip for him to graze on all day. He may not be getting enough to eat if you're just feeding frozen and flake twice a day... I'd bet that if you put sheet nori in there for him to graze on, he'll leave the coral alone.