Pearlscale butterfly not eating much.

[kamasama]

I currently have a 50 gallon reef tank set up with a convict tang and pearlscale tang- Both gotten last week from big Al's-
The convict is doing fine with eating ( I am currently providing him with algae clips) but the pearlscale is not eating much
of the food I provide.

I have tried brine shrimp with no response. Right now I am feeding him algae filled mysis shrimp and speciality angelfish food, but he still isn't eating much.

The large blue legged crab in my tank has been torn to shreds - not that I really minded he was eating the snails- so I was wondering If my pearlscale ate him. It says small coruscations on its diet so I was wondering if they might be a option for my pearlscale.

My tank stats are.....
50 gal
Filter contains phosphate remover.
180 gal protein skimmer.
2 Korrelia pumps
no heater
Light hanging 8-10 inches over tank.
Light hours
Blue light 8am-10pm
White light 10am-8pm
Livestock
Around 25 snails
1 emerald crab
1 porcelain crab
1 rock urchin
1 convict tang
1 Pearlscale tang

Thanks for any help you can provide!

[Steve_2]

First off, both of these fish should be in a bigger tank. I'd day 100 gallon minimum for the butterfly, and even bigger for the tang. Sorry... 

The convict is as tough as tangs get, but the pearlscale is much more delicate. I really hope your tank is very well established.

You will most likely notice your butterfly picking at the liverock all the time. It is probably getting at least some nutrition that way. In a 50g tank, this will not be enough to keep it alive forever.

You can try hatching brinshrimp to entice feeding. Although not very nutritious, it might kick-start the feeding response in your butterfly.

Other than that, as I mentioned, they are delicate and take time to establish themselves. They are quite shy at first usually.

Once he starts eating well, mysis soaked on vitamin supplements(SELCON is my recommendation) would be an appropriate staple. But variety is the key to keeping these fish alive.

They are not reef safe so yes, your butterfly probably ate your hermit.

You should look into trading them back for something that doesn't get as big, or upgrading your tank. If they are small, they will be fine in that tank for a little while.

Hope this helps.


Steve

[kamasama]

Thanks for all the help!
The problem kinda resolved it self in the end but.....
It turned out that the angel fish food put it off from the brine shrimp so I only feed It that.
They are both no larger then 2 ionches including tail so hopefully it will be a while before they get too big.

Thanks for the recomendations for later food choices!

[Steve_2]

No problem, and good luck. Butterflies are my favorites!