20140915 Desjardini Tang acclimation

In my previous post I have described the five day process of trying to get the desjardini tang to eat and become used to human presence. One of my strategy was to reward them with food for greeting me. After a weekend of heavy feeding (Started Friday Night), the tang has become very good sport in swimming in the open in my presence.

I am sure too though, that all the overfeeding had escalated the nitrate level! well, I guess that’s what the big derasa is there for! But at the end of the weekend I am very pleased to announce this desjardini tang is finally “house broken”. Currently it swims alongside with three other larger fish in the tank to form the “dominant four”- The Desjardini tang, Chevron tang, Orange spotted rabbitfish, and flame back angel. and it’s been fed heavily on flake food, frozen food (homemade blend), and nori sheets.
Conclusion- Based on my recent experience with the acquisition of Foxface Rabbitfish (in the other tank), the Chevron tang, and this desjardini tang, the average time for any new fish to become comfortable and feel blended in is about a week. The orange spotted rabbitfish though, gave me quite a scare, it was in the tank for over a month showing no sign of acclimation (while eating heavily). I must say most of the fish in this condition would have died within a month, but looks like choosing some open swimming tank mate was the key to open up the rabbit fish’s personality.