Nori vs. Spirulina for Tangs. Any contest?

hrdneglcry · 08/04/2006, 11:49 AM

It is said that Tangs need a good vegatable base in their diet like dried seaweed. I was wondering if a good Spirulina flake food would suffice in place of the Nori. I feed my Sailfin Spirulina flake food. He eats it up better than any fish in the tank, but they all love it. I do want to meet his nutritional needs. The Spirulina flake food that I use has been researched by a friend of mine who breeds Cichlids, and is the best nutritional Spirulina flake available. Can Sprulina serve as a good substitute for Seaweed, or should I switch to Nori. Note: I buy my Spirulina in bulk, so my flake comes in big sheets, and not just small flakes like in the normal flake food jars from the LFS. So my Spirulina flakes are large enough that my Tang can get any size mouthful that he desires on the first pass.
For those who might not know Spirulina is a plant based flake food used with good success for feeding Lake Malawi Cichlids whose natural diet in the wild consists of mainly plants.

spoiledcats · 08/04/2006, 01:35 PM

Why not feed both? I've found that with my tangs, the more varied the diet the better, healthier, better colors, etc. I have nori on a clip every day for them, then feed frozen plankton, mysis, brine, cyclop-eeze, krill, formula 2, prime reef, etc... I also soak the nori in vitamins 3 times a week. Tangs like to graze, and the nori will give them that. It also won't fall to the bottom of the tank, and at the end of the day, if there is anything left on the clip (usually not), I just throw it out.

rustybucket145 · 08/04/2006, 01:57 PM

I agree with spoiledcats, a varied diet has been my most successful. I might be wrong but I think spirulina is actually more healthy than seaweed. But they both serve different nutritional needs. Mix it up. One pack spirulina, one pack seaweed and alternate when each one runs out.

08/04/2006, 11:49 AM	#1
hrdneglcry Premium Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Michigan Posts: 733	Nori vs. Spirulina for Tangs. Any contest? It is said that Tangs need a good vegatable base in their diet like dried seaweed. I was wondering if a good Spirulina flake food would suffice in place of the Nori. I feed my Sailfin Spirulina flake food. He eats it up better than any fish in the tank, but they all love it. I do want to meet his nutritional needs. The Spirulina flake food that I use has been researched by a friend of mine who breeds Cichlids, and is the best nutritional Spirulina flake available. Can Sprulina serve as a good substitute for Seaweed, or should I switch to Nori. Note: I buy my Spirulina in bulk, so my flake comes in big sheets, and not just small flakes like in the normal flake food jars from the LFS. So my Spirulina flakes are large enough that my Tang can get any size mouthful that he desires on the first pass. For those who might not know Spirulina is a plant based flake food used with good success for feeding Lake Malawi Cichlids whose natural diet in the wild consists of mainly plants. __________________ Sunday morning, 9 AM, I saw fire in the sky, I felt my heart, pound in my chest, I HeaRrD aN EaGLe CRY. HRDNEGLCRY. S. Hagar "Eagles Fly" Last edited by hrdneglcry; 08/04/2006 at 12:12 PM.

08/04/2006, 01:57 PM	#3
rustybucket145 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: valdosta, ga Posts: 3,707	I agree with spoiledcats, a varied diet has been my most successful. I might be wrong but I think spirulina is actually more healthy than seaweed. But they both serve different nutritional needs. Mix it up. One pack spirulina, one pack seaweed and alternate when each one runs out. __________________ 400gals of various tanks in the same system. Current Tank Info: 2 175w MH, 2 VH0 Actinics, Lots of Live Rock, tons of copepods, a Fat Mandarin Goby, Niger Trigger, Yellow Tang, Falco Hawkfish, Bi-Color Pseudo, numerous soft, SPS and LPS Corals

08/04/2006, 01:35 PM	#2
spoiledcats Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Lehigh Valley Posts: 622	Why not feed both? I've found that with my tangs, the more varied the diet the better, healthier, better colors, etc. I have nori on a clip every day for them, then feed frozen plankton, mysis, brine, cyclop-eeze, krill, formula 2, prime reef, etc... I also soak the nori in vitamins 3 times a week. Tangs like to graze, and the nori will give them that. It also won't fall to the bottom of the tank, and at the end of the day, if there is anything left on the clip (usually not), I just throw it out.