Two Q's....Black Cap Basslet

[Spick]

Anything in particular to be known about a Black Cap BAsslet? I jsut bought, want to make sure i feed it properly... will it take flakes? i have brine shrimp also. Any info would help. Thnx

Also i have a Bubble pearl Coral, It seems to be retracting alot recently? there is a slight amount of cyanobacteria building on the substrate around it? could that be the problem?

[Ninong]

Anything in particular to be known about a Black Cap BAsslet? I jsut bought, want to make sure i feed it properly... will it take flakes? i have brine shrimp also. Any info would help. Thnx

You could feed it flake food designed for carnivores but it should also be fed a lot of fresh or frozen seafood -- chopped shrimp, chopped squid, chopped clams, mysid shrimp, krill, etc.

The black cap basslet (Gramma melacara)is a deep water species that is most abundant at depths of 275-300 feet. Therefore it does better in tanks without very strong lighting and it requires a lot of caves and overhangs in the live rock. You will want to avoid adding any other Grammas or wrasses to your 35-gal tank. Whatever happened to the Yellow Tang? Does it still have ich?

Also i have a Bubble pearl Coral, It seems to be retracting alot recently? there is a slight amount of cyanobacteria building on the substrate around it? could that be the problem?

The cyanobacteria is just a sign that your tank is not yet stable. It takes time for things to settle down and balance out.

[Spick]

Whatever happened to the Yellow Tang? Does it still have ich?

Mo my tang is doing reat... no mroe ich that i can see... ever sicnei got rid of the damsel his ich has dissapeared. however, i find he is slim. He eats alot, but doesnt seem to get any thicker. anything that i can do to beef him up?

[Ninong]

anything that i can do to beef him up?

Tangs need greens every day. You can buy one of those little clip thingys with the suction cup that attach to the inside of the tank. You stick a piece of dried seaweed (or nori) in the clip (about 2"x2" for one tang) and let him graze on that whenever he feels like it. Do that at least two or three times a week in addition to feeding him a varied diet that includes spirulina and other algae.

You don't have to feed him just algae, but that should be the primary component of a healthy diet for Yellow Tangs. My Foxface Rabbitfish loves Ocean Nutrition's Formula Two flake food but I still give him some Tenera Blue sun-dried sea algae two or three times a week in the algae clip. I got that at the LFS (outrageous price!) because I couldn't find any nori down here in redneck land.

[Spick]

Should my main LFS have the Algae and algae clip? and do i need to buy the clip or can i use something around the house or bought for cheaper elsewhere?

Also i just had a mis happen... i left my FROZEN brine shrimp out over night, i got home now 18 hours later and found it, and put it back to freezwe? it is okay or has it lost its nutrients?

[Ninong]

Should my main LFS have the Algae and algae clip? and do i need to buy the clip or can i use something around the house or bought for cheaper elsewhere?

Algae clips are usually about two or three bucks: http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merch...y_Code=Feeders

Your LFS may or may not have them. Most LFS do have them. If they have any sort of dried algae, they charge a lot for it. If you can find unseasoned nori at an Asian grocery store, it would be much cheaper and just as good.

You could simply attach some nori (or other algae) to a small piece of loose live rock with a rubber band or you might just stick some between your glass-cleaning magnet and the glass. Or you could tie it to a small PVC fitting and then attach a string to it and lower that into the tank. Sometimes I do it that way. My algae clip never stays on the glass once my foxface rabbitfish starts yanking on it.

Also i just had a mis happen... i left my FROZEN brine shrimp out over night, i got home now 18 hours later and found it, and put it back to freezwe? it is okay or has it lost its nutrients?

I would throw it away if I were you. Frozen food should be fed to the tank as soon as it has completely thawed out because it starts to "go bad" in a hurry.