Tang Macro Algae Foods

[leebca]

What macro algae do you feed your herbivores (tangs, rabbitfishes, etc.) and omnivores (anemonefishes, angels, Butterflyfishes, etc.?

I've kept the fishes that eat vegetables over the last 35+ years now. From my refugium I feed them:
Caulerpa prolifera
Gracilaria and
Halimedia opuntia

Some others you may have tried:

Varieties of Caulerpa sp. (Especially Caulerpa mexicana). Not all tangs like all plant species of Caulerpa AND not all tangs within the tang species will like the same macro algae to the same degree. They will eat C. prolifera once they get used to it. Fish wholesalers grow large quantities of the red Gracilaria sp. to tempt newly acquired tangs to eat.

Halimedia opuntia is often nice to have around. It is a calcareous algae, but some tangs nibble on it. It helps keep tangs 'regular' and digesting properly.

Then, there's the sea lettuce! Ulva sp. Many fish like that. It grows slowly (compared to most the Caulerpa sp.) and takes weeks (at least for me!) to settle in and 'get a grip' on rocks/substrate.

Dried Ulva sp. is now commercially available as well as many other algae we use from companies that package it for our fishes.

I have not known herbivores to eat much in the way of Chaetomorpha. Some aquarists claim their fish will eat it, though. I think I'd like to see any tang eat that, though. Maybe other herbivores?

There are those that claim you shouldn't feed herbivores macro algae from the refugium. The concern is that the algae has removed nutrients from the aquarium system, so feeding it would be putting those nutrients back into the system. It is true; that is exactly what is/will happen.

But what do those people think is in the packaged algae they feed their herbivores? It's the same nutrients that the macro algae in the refugium took out. So, there is no loss or gain in nutrient content so long as the macro algae is healthy. One BIG gain is to be able to feed your herbivores with greens that are 'fresh' and alive.

I put a bowling-ball size clump of mixed algae from my 70g refugium in my 300g aquarium and the fish chew it down in about 3 days.

What kind of macro algae does your herbivores eat? Do you feed it often? Do you still throw some or all of it away?

[baobao]

where can i find these commercially?

[leebca]

Different algae are packaged by: Ocean Nutrition; Two Little Fishes/Julian Sprung; and Ocean Fresh, for examples. They can be purchased from some of the sponsors of Reefland

If you're interested in starter (live) cultures, they may be obtained from a variety of online suppliers (although it would be a good idea to just get a handful from someone else's system since it would be used to the 'captive life.') Indo-Pacific Sea Farms (www.ipsf.com) has a fine selection of starter cultures AND offers dried Ulva sp..

[yheartsp]

My yellow tang is one of a kind, he loves to eat chaeto, is it healthy food for him?

[leebca]

I don't know the nutritional break down of Chaeto, but I suspect it is perfectly okay for the fish and nutritious enough for the fish. The leafy macro algae are known for being high in HUFA content, so there may be some deficiencies in certain areas in non-leafy (string or thread algae), but over all should be acceptable.

If the fish is eating it daily and doesn't appear thin that is one good sign. But if the fish gets ill or has health problems, then you can pretty much say the food isn't right (even if the fish is fat).

[yheartsp]

I don't know the nutritional break down of Chaeto, but I suspect it is perfectly okay for the fish and nutritious enough for the fish. The leafy macro algae are known for being high in HUFA content, so there may be some deficiencies in certain areas in non-leafy (string or thread algae), but over all should be acceptable.

If the fish is eating it daily and doesn't appear thin that is one good sign. But if the fish gets ill or has health problems, then you can pretty much say the food isn't right (even if the fish is fat).

lol it is not eating it daily, but sometimes the chaeto gets into the DT from the refugium and he'll eat it! i feed my tangs marine seaweed everyday too. but the thing is, i feed my fishes frozen mysis , krill, brine shrimp, everyday and the tangs seem to LOVE them and eats most of them. would that be too much meaty stuff for them? i mean most of my fishes are omnivores/ carnivores

[leebca]

It depends upon their age. Young Tangs start off eating whatever they can get -- a mix of algae and pods, but more pods than algae if they are available. As they grow they move more and more towards being a true herbivore. So if your Tangs are say 3" to 6" they will eat about 70/30 algae/omnivore diet. Just be sure they have ample access to macro algae, like recommended here: How To Feed Macro Alage to Marine Fishes