Brown Seaweed (Brown Marine Algae)
Pack size
12 g pack or 150 g bulk box (50 sheets)
Water type
Marine
Colour & specimen: This fish's colouration may look different in your own tank depending on your lighting, diet, stress levels and water conditions, and can vary between individual fish of the same species. You will not receive this exact fish pictured; the one you receive will be a similar size, colour and condition.
WA & TAS orders: state biosecurity regulations restrict which live animals can be sent to Western Australia and Tasmania — please check what we can send to you before ordering. See delivery info
Brown Seaweed (Brown Marine Algae)
Dried brown algae on a clip keeps tangs grazing between meals. Ocean Nutrition Brown Seaweed is a sheet of dried brown marine macroalgae with garlic extract, sold here as a 12 g pack or a 150 g bulk box of 50 sheets. At 31.6% protein and 6.5% fibre it supplies the roughage that herbivorous marine fish - tangs, surgeonfish, marine angels, rabbitfish and blennies - do not get from a pellet diet. Tear a piece, clip it in, and let the fish work at it.
Key features
- 31.6% protein, 6.5% fibre - the fibre is the point; grazing herbivores need bulk moving through the gut, not just protein.
- Two ingredients only - dried seaweed and garlic extract, with no binders, colours or fillers in the declaration.
- Garlic extract through the sheet - used across the aquarium trade to make food more attractive to reluctant feeders.
- Grazing format, not a meal - a clipped sheet lasts hours, which suits fish that browse continuously rather than eating in bursts.
- Tear to size - one sheet portions across several tanks or several days.
- Dry and shelf stable - no freezer space, no thawing, no cold-chain freight.
- Reduces aggression at feeding time - a permanently available food source spreads competition out instead of concentrating it.
Specifications
| Form | Dried seaweed sheet |
|---|---|
| Water type | Marine |
| Crude protein | 31.6% |
| Crude fat | 2.2% |
| Crude fibre | 6.5% |
| Feeding method | Seaweed or vegetable clip, or a lettuce weight |
| Portion guide | About 5 by 7 cm per 200 L tank |
| Storage | Cool and dry, resealed after each use |
| Freight | Standard ambient parcel, not a cold-chain item |
Which pack do I need?
| Variant | Pack weight | Best suited to |
|---|---|---|
| 12 g | 12 g | One display tank, or trialling seaweed with a new tang before committing to a box |
| 50 Sheets | 150 g bulk box | Multiple tanks, a heavy grazing load, or a shop or breeder feeding daily |
Both packs contain the same seaweed at the same analysis. The only difference is quantity and cost per sheet. Buy the 12 g pack if the fish are new to seaweed, because an unopened bulk box is no use if the tang ignores brown algae and prefers green.
What you will also need
A seaweed clip is not included with either pack. A clip, a lettuce weight or a section of rigid airline pinned under a rock all work; a sheet dropped in loose will simply drift into the overflow.
Ingredients and nutrition
Full ingredient declaration
Reproduced exactly as Ocean Nutrition publishes it: Dried seaweed, garlic extract.
No artificial colours, preservatives, ethoxyquin, BHA or BHT are named in the declaration. The sheet contains no fish, crustacean or mollusc material.
Analytical constituents
| Crude protein | 31.6% |
|---|---|
| Crude fat | 2.2% |
| Crude fibre | 6.5% |
Ocean Nutrition does not publish moisture or ash figures for this product, so they are not shown here rather than estimated.
Feeding directions
Tear off a piece of about 5 by 7 cm for an average 200 L tank and hold it in place with a seaweed clip. Let the fish graze at their own pace.
Remove any uneaten seaweed after 24 hours. If a piece works loose and floats to the surface, re-attach it rather than leaving it circulating.
Scale the portion to the number of grazers, not the tank volume alone. Two adult tangs will strip a 5 by 7 cm piece far faster than one juvenile will.
Suitable for, and not suitable for
Suitable for
- Tangs and surgeonfish, which need continuous access to algae rather than two meals a day
- Marine angelfish, rabbitfish, foxface and lawnmower blennies
- Herbivorous marine snails and urchins that will climb a clipped sheet
- Quarantine and acclimation, where a grazing food encourages a new fish to start feeding
Not suitable for
- Strictly carnivorous marine fish such as lionfish, groupers and most wrasses, which will ignore it
- Use as a sole diet - seaweed is roughage and plant protein, and needs pairing with a prepared or frozen food
- Corals and filter feeders, which cannot handle a sheet-format food
- Feeding without a clip or weight, since loose sheets end up in the filtration
Care and storage
Keep the pack sealed, cool and dry between feeds. Dried seaweed absorbs moisture from humid air, and a sheet that has gone soft in the pack will fall apart in the clip instead of holding together for grazing.
The 150 g box is worth decanting into a sealed container if it is opened and closed daily, particularly through a Queensland summer.
Goes well with
- Green Seaweed (Green Marine Algae) - the green sheet from the same range; alternating the two keeps fussy tangs interested.
- Ocean Nutrition Formula Two Flakes 34g - a herbivore flake to pair with the grazing sheet.
- Ocean Nutrition Formula Two Marine Pellets - the pellet version of the same herbivore diet.
- Frozen Veggie Favourites 100g - a frozen vegetable blend for variety through the week.
- Frozen Spinach 100g - another plant-based option for grazing marine fish.
Warranty and delivery
Aquarium foods carry no manufacturer warranty period. Your rights under the Australian Consumer Law apply in full and sit in addition to anything a manufacturer offers.
Both pack sizes are dry, shelf-stable goods that travel as standard ambient parcels with no cold-chain handling.
Common questions
What is the difference between brown and green marine algae sheets?
Ocean Nutrition Brown Seaweed and Green Marine Algae are different macroalgae species with different textures and flavours, and individual fish often show a clear preference for one. Brown sheets are generally the tougher of the two and hold together longer in the clip, which suits fish that tear at food rather than nibble.
Do I need a seaweed clip?
A clip or weight of some kind is necessary, and none is included with the 12 g or 50-sheet packs. Without one the sheet floats free within minutes and usually ends up in the overflow or against the intake strainer.
How much brown seaweed should I feed?
Ocean Nutrition's guide is roughly a 5 by 7 cm piece for an average 200 L tank, offered daily and removed after 24 hours if it has not been eaten. Adjust by how quickly it disappears rather than by tank volume alone.
Can freshwater fish eat this seaweed?
Ocean Nutrition markets Brown Seaweed for herbivorous marine fish, and that is what the 31.6% protein and 6.5% fibre profile is built around. Freshwater herbivores such as plecos and silver dollars will often take it, but it is not the intended diet and freshwater-specific vegetable foods are a better fit.
Why does it contain garlic extract?
Garlic extract is included as a feeding attractant, which is why it appears in the two-ingredient declaration alongside the seaweed itself. It is not a treatment for any disease or parasite, and no health claim is made for it.
How long does an opened pack last?
Ocean Nutrition does not publish a shelf life after opening for Brown Seaweed. In practice the limiting factor is moisture: a sheet kept sealed, cool and dry stays firm enough to clip, while one that has absorbed humidity turns soft and disintegrates in the water.
