Re: Tang and Nori
The trouble came, I think, when I tried to add some Nori to the tank with a clip and later to just rubber band it to a piece of rock.
  The stuff was blowing around all over. When the tang would bite a piece off it left more to sail around the tank. Yikes.
<Cut in smaller strips, fold and pinch in the clip>
This worked like a charm. Also changed brands of Nori.
This seems to stay firm in the water better. (Emerald Cove brand btw).
<<Yes. Many different products... Quite different... Best to experiment, look around... Just avoid the "flavored" ones>
<No worries. Bob Fenner who sees you with a larger system, soon.>
Hey no threats!!! :-)
And don't take up fortune telling and leave your day job. :-)
<<No way>>
--Jane
(who hopes Bob takes these comments in the way they were delivered.)
<<Only possibility. Bob Fenner>>

Feather stars and the Challenge/Problems of feeding Bottled Phyto
Hi All,
<cheers, friend>
Writing from Australia so you're probably all sleeping now. 
<ahhh... one of the beautiful aspects of our WetWebMedia machine: we have a crew spread across three time zones answering queries and I'm a night owl on a shared zone. We have almost 24 hour coverage of responses <G>! Anthony Calfo in your service>
Firstly your site is great thanks for all the help thus far. 
<our pleasure>
I recently went to my LFS to buy a bristle star fish and the one I chose was all wrapped up in a feather star. 
<for future reference it can be easily led away with shrimp pellets or some other fragrant fish food in the water>
I didn't want the owner to damage the feather star trying to get to the star fish and he seemed happy in there, 
<the brittle star may have been happy but the feather surely was not>
so......yes I bought the two together. 
<Ughhhh! Now that silly twit of a merchant is going to reorder yet another starfish to starve in captivity. Aiiiieeeeeee :p >
Only then did I check out your info on feather stars. Realizing they are not easy to keep I need some advice. 
<indeed, my friend... although this is categorically one of the most difficult animals in aquatic science to keep alive. You will go though extraordinary feats to succeed but it will be rewarding>
I've read all your FAQ's but I have a few questions of my own.
This is the situation. The feather star has a bristle star fish living in it. There is also a baby bristle star living in it which I discovered the other day. Along with those two there are two very small black crabs or shrimp not sure but they have little claws similar to that of a tiny coral banded shrimp. I don't think I can get rid of these guys, and am wondering if they might harm the feather star and or the baby bristle star.
<you may need to lead all away with stinky food as bait and remove the feather star to a species tank or at least a fishless in-line refugium dedicated to it>
Next can the large bristle star damage the feather star,
<absolutely yes... and likely in time>
its totally wrapped up in it the whole time. Hasn't left it alone since purchase 1 week ago.
Next, am feeding the feather star every third night with a frozen zooplankton type food. Cant remember what its called, but its basically for invertebrates, corals etc. The feather star was bought in good shape. Many arms intact. Very responsive, still looks good.
<hmmm... I appreciate the effort but I cannot underscore the fact that feather stars feed on nanoplankton... microscopic food... phyto, floc, colloidal matter, etc. Nothing that you or I can offer from a bottle of cube even has a prayer of being remotely close to being small enough to be edible. This starfish will starve in months if not weeks.>
Any ideas as to how to keep it this way will be appreciated. Once again I made the mistake of purchasing and then reading up.
<no worries this time... we learn from our mistakes of course. The silver lining is that you may enjoy some new techniques learned in trying to keep this animal.>
Didn't plan on a nice bristle star using a feather star as a home.
<understood... I would have liked to see a more experienced and professional response from the vendor to simply lure the brittle away with bait, or better... not sell feather stars at all without telling customers how to keep them alive. The short story is that you can either set up a separate live food culturing station to grow rotifers and phytoplankton (very tedious!) or you could set up a refugium for your feather star. The refugium is highly recommended with hope that it will generate enough natural plankton if you have the resolve to leave it fishless. Have good strong flow too to support the starfish or it will not open up. Another possible food is bottled phytoplankton (or a slurry of your frozen product). However, the trouble with all liquid suspensions is that they must be blended electrically every single time they are fed to reduce the particle size. Here is a piece I wrote with liquid phytoplankton and other liquid foods in mind:
"My reference to the "inappropriate/heavy" feeding of phytoplankton specifically refers to the common misapplication of the bottled products. 
When it comes to feeding corals... prey and particle size is everything down to a species level for some. 
Some bottled phyto products are very fine indeed but they are commonly misapplied and some have outright poor instructions for application. I have not personally done the studies on phytoplankton, but I have read/heard the reports of those that have. Notably, Rob Toonen has described that even the best bottled phyto (whatever that is by species or nutritional composition for your purpose) is effective in a very narrow range. 
The limitations have to do largely with "clotting" or coagulating of the product as it ages rendering the prey/product size too large for many of the fine polyped phyto feeders. 
Some recommendations... 
Bottled phyto ideally should be packaged, transported, sold and kept refrigerated throughout the chain of custody for the longest shelf life. (on this point most people succeed) 
Said shelf life is arguably 6 months at best after which time the efficacy degrades markedly (particle size increases significantly). Such products are used best in 2-4 months, 6 months max. (on this point, most people are willing and able). 
With every application, the phyto sample should be whisked in an electric "blender" to reduce particle size... hand shaken is largely ineffective. (Ahhh- ha! on this point, who really does this? Sure.. I have a few kook friends that actually do... but most aquarists know not or will not commit to this tedious application and simply feed more hoping for the best). 
Some defenders of the "no-blending" school assert that the undigested or oversized particles still degrade into useful dissolved organics. I'll be the first to say that I am not qualified or interested to test that theory. But by the same line of logic... does that mean that small bits of dissolved cheeseburger also have some potential use? On a more serious note... what of rotting nuisance algae... is that helpful just the same? I don't even want to form an opinion on such matters. If we are talking about delivering particles of phytoplankton to an animal that feeds organismally (whole prey/particles!), then I do not want to make or hear excuses about possible ancillary benefits of dissolved matter. 
And so... the reality of some or many folks misapplying such bottled foods (you can extend this argument easily to the chunky gumbo bottled foods that I usually refer to as "pollution in a bottle") is aggravated by the fact that many of the same folks are feeding said product to animals that are unlikely to eat or even known not to eat phytoplankton. The fact of the matter is that most of us has corals that decidedly favor meaty fare (zooplankton). So... unless you have a herd of gorgonians or a gaggle of Nephtheids... I'm not so sure I would be dumping bottled phyto in like it was hair tonic. 
To be clear, I think the notion of using a product like bottled phyto in most tanks at least in small quantities is a great idea! I just think that it is misapplied too often. In a perfect world... everybody would have a phyto reactor instead.">
Look forward to your reply, Doron Milner. Sydney Australia.
<my best regards to you for your efforts still to help this creature. Sincerely, Anthony Calfo>

Bad Tangs Won't Eat Their Greens!
Bob and crew,
<Scott F. here today>
I have a problem with my two tangs, one regal tang and one orange shouldered tang. I understand that in the wild they are mainly herbivorous.  Mine will graze constantly on micro/macro algae around the tank, however, this is now in short supply.  They get fed three times a day with Spirulina enriched and omega 3 enriched brine shrimp and sometimes a bit of krill/Mysis shrimp.
<These are very good foods, IMO. If you are going to use brine shrimp, the enriched type is the only one to use!>
I have read that without large amounts of greens they may get HLLE.  This lead me to trying to provide greens in the form of Kombu seaweed ( bought from Sainsbury's specialty food section) and Sushi Nori seaweed from an Asian food store. I have also tried Spinach but I have been told that Spinach is unsuitable for marine fish as it contains organic compounds that are not found in their natural diet and also that it  may contain high levels of nitrate from the fertilizer.
<Good points!>
The tangs will not touch any of the food given to them except the brine shrimp and krill/Mysis.
<May just take a while to acquire a "taste" for these alternatives>
I know the Spirulina in the brine shrimp is tuned to their dietary needs, but is it enough? Can you suggest any other greens I could try them on? Many Thanks,
Jon Pinfold.
<Well, John, there are some better alternatives, if you could obtain them. In my opinion, the best algae food for tangs is a red macroalgae, Gracilaria, also known as "Ogo", "Limu", or the proprietary name "Tang Heaven". This macroalgae is absolutely devoured by every mainly herbivorous tang that I have maintained over the years. Two great sources of this live algae (which, by the way, you can propagate yourself with a bit of effort) are Gerald Heslinga's Indo-Pacific Sea Farms in Kona, HI, or Mary Middlebrook's Marine Specialties International in Oxnard, CA. Both  of these great companies offer cultivated Gracilaria for sale on-line. I have obtained my starter cultures from IPSF,  which offers the "red" version, and it's really an excellent food. Finally, please note that the Regal Tang (Paracanthurus hepatus) tends to be a bit less enthusiastic about macroalgae, or macroalgae substitutes, such as Nori, but they will munch on it once they acquire a taste. You can also purchase "Ogo" from some Asian markets, but it is refrigerated, and not as eagerly accepted, IMO. Do look for the live Gracilaria, I think your tangs will love you for it! Regards, Scott F.>

Too much Nori for tangs?
>Hello,
>>Hi Terry, Marina here.
>I have enjoyed your website for some time now and have come up with the first of probably many questions for the future. I have two small tangs (a yellow and a palette.) I normally alternate feeding every other day--flake food one day and frozen the next. They are healthy fish and recently I have been giving them dried Nori on flake food days. Well they love it and gorge themselves on it. I just wonder how much of a piece of sheet Nori would be too much every other day. I have a 90 Gal tank with LR and the tangs share the tank with three green Chromis and two maroon clowns.
>>No such thing as too much Nori, Terry.  I will only suggest that you soak it once or twice a week with Selcon (or similar quality supplement).  What I prefer to do with the Nori is put it on a clip, then let the animals free-feed off of it, similar to what they would do in nature.

- Feeding & Salt Mixes -
Hi, Hope all is going well for you there.  Just finished weathering the storm here.  I have several questions, please.  I have a 75 gallon saltwater tank with F/O NLR.  I have been using a brand of salt called marine environment, but am tired of paying so much for it.  I wanted to get your opinion on Instant Ocean salt mix.  I have read good and bad (like any product) and wanted to know if it is a decent mix. <Instant Ocean is probably the most widely used salt mix in the world, including commercial enterprises and public aquariums... it is a fine and consistent aquarium salt.> Also, I currently have a pair of false Perculas, a flame Hawkfish, and a royal Gramma.  I was thinking of adding a canary deepwater damsel.  I have read that they are not as aggressive as other damsels, but also read that as they get bigger they get more aggressive. <Is typical for most damsels.> What is your opinion about my adding one to my current inhabitants? <Given the number of fish you already have, this one will likely do just fine.> I had also thought of a yellow tang, but didn't like the idea of feeding him food like algae on a clip due to the mess I have seen it make in my neighbor's tank as the algae breaks off and floats around uneaten.  Is there any way around feeding like this, like maybe feeding regular food that has algae in it? <Would be best to do both... perhaps limit the amount of food you put in the clip.>
Thanks for your time, James
<Cheers, J -- >

Nori, get thee to a sushi bar, doh!
One quick question. I looked all over the forms first to see if I could find the answer to my stupid question but I could not. I got the sheets of Nori for my Yellow Tang, but I am not sure how to feed it to him.
<Crimp it along a line, like folding paper, and tear... place in an all-plastic clip and stick to the side of the tank, near the surface. Voila!>
Because it is seaweed with nothing else added does this mean you can just leave it in the tank until it's gone even if it takes days, or should I be leaving smaller pieces so that it gets eaten up by the end of the night. I read that Nori does not add anything harmful to the tank, but does it not break down over time and become waste?
<All does>
So what is your suggested method for feeding with Nori. The Tang does like it but he picks at it very gradually. A bite every minute or so, but he continued to do this for two hours, then I took the Nori out for the night thinking it might become harmful. Thanks for your help again, this should be the last of my questions for a while.
Sean
<Just leave it in... a small enough strip to be consumed in a day or so... As your animal/s become more familiar it will "disappear" quickly as food. Bob Fenner>

Re: Naso Tang Post, 2.25.05
Greetings Crew!
<Greetings! Ryan with you today.>
I was reading the daily questions and came across this 'Naso tang' question. He states that all his water param.s are fine but the Naso just won't eat and looks stressed, and has some seaweed on a clip for the fish. I also have a tang (yellow, Hawaiian) that will exhibit the same similarities as this IF I use the blue seaweed clip.. Red clip, no problems at all.. Its almost as if they have been watching the Matrix too many times! I would have him maybe just tie some seaweed onto a smallish rock and see what that does for the tangs stress levels.
<We'll post this for him to read, enjoy. Thank you for sharing. Certainly entertaining! Personally, I would recommend a grounding probe and a skimmer cleaning if you notice your tang isn't quite himself. The oxygen saturation level of your water should remain high with this type of fish. Good luck! Ryan>