Tangs Eating Zoa's

[BIRDMANINC]

Why Are My Tangs Eating Mygreen Zoos Colony , I Feed Twice A Day Pellets And Every Other Day I Feed Seaweed Sheets, Any Ideas
?

[Rob]

why type of tang(s) and what size is the tank?

[fat walrus]

and what kind of zoos? did you actually witness the tang eating it, or are you assuming because of zoo population is declining?

[BIRDMANINC]

I Have A Blue And Yellow Tang 4 And 5 Inch , In 75 Gallon Tank, I Have Seen Them Picking At Then

[fat walrus]

if it is a yellow-tailed blue tang and a hw yellow tang, it is quite unusal. are the polyps health befor the tangs harass it?

[Rob]

this is a hard one... have you seen them actually pick pieces of the polyps off?
tangs will commonly pick at the base of the rock under the polyp looking for algae. this may look like there picking at the polyps, but usually there not

im not going to say its impossible, but its VERY uncommon for either type of these tangs to eat polyps

[BIRDMANINC]

They Were Doing Great, Even Spreading Its A Large Colony Of Over 100, NOW THERE IS 25 PERCENT LESS

[wildeone]

I have a yellow and a Blue Hippo in my 65 and my Zoa's are doing great! Sorry to hear of your troubles.

[V]

when grazing they seem to be rough at times whn on the go between rockwork, but its rough with a scope of a scaple

[fat walrus]

it is still more likely from my experience, that the tangs may be picking at algae or detritus between the polyps or even cleaning the rock of decaying polyps... than actually eating it. i think your polyp population decline may not be the fault of the tangs.

[V]

next shouts mine if your right blub

[BIRDMANINC]

i caught the hippo tang eating myred zoa frag i got from reef a paloza this weekend , he has developed an appitite 4 zoas

[pham411]

i think tangs are a hit and miss in these situations. in my experience i had a red sea sailfin which malled my pipe organ colony.

[unleashed]

i may be a bit late on this thread but i may be able to shed some light on this issue for you or others with simular problems;
tangs(all species)and sergeons are natural grazers in the wild their main function in life is to eat and breed..ok and poop alot lol..they eat at almost every waking moment
anyways in captivity these species keepers(hobbiest) tend to not realize the natural behavior of these fish prior to purchasing them hense one of the main reasons tangs are ich magnets.. or aggressive and can be pickers of corals.. there is nothing wrong with your fish per say except the fact they are hungry and if the foods they are being given are not nutrient satisfying they will search elsewhere (your corals) these fish should be fed a nutrient enriched diet at least 3 times per day minimum..more if you can new arrivals and small tangs should be fed 5-8 times perday to reduce the risk of paresitic infection.. if your fish begin to get the nutrients they need more often in small amounts per day you may find them to be less of a nuisance to the other inhabitents of your tank.. i hope this helps..
ps herbivores require 75% plant and vegitation and 25% protein in their daily diet.if this requirement is not met you will shorten the life span of your fish.