A hole in a tang's stomach

[Joe Pusdesris]

There is a physical hole in my tang's stomach, as he eats, the food falls out. Does anyone have any ideas on how to treat this? It is very healthy appearing for now(ignoring the cut in his side). It has a very aggressive appetite, it just isn't going to get any nourishment from its food.

 

[dogstar74]

He's. Probably doomed.

 

[Joe Pusdesris]

That is really disappointing because I have had it for several months now and this slit in its side just randomly appeared. It is my favorite fish, a desjardini sailfin tang.

 

[AquamanSE]

weird.........do you have it isolated?

 

[Joe Pusdesris]

There is no way I can catch that thing without tearing down the entire tank.

 

[dogstar74]

Best case scenario would be a quiet quarantine tank. Don't feed until you think she's about to starve. Then start feeding again slowly. A sliced belly could have come from a large eunicid worm. Or a mantis shrimp, or she got spooked and hit a sharp rock. But if food comes through the wound, then you'll need to avoid food until she healed. Meanwhile, looking through the tank at night with a red flashlight may reveal the culprit.

 

[Joe Pusdesris]

There are no fish predators/parasites in that tank. I have spent several nights looking around, also not a single fish (except for power outages) has died in that tank in 3 years. The sharp rock bit is likely, especially if it happened shortly after feeding time when the stomach was expanded.

 

[Lynnmw1208]

could be bacterial. I hear sometimes it can cause pretty big ulcers. they have a fish bandage you can put on... but you have to catch the fish, then get it to stay still in a net.... then wait until it bonds a little... probably best to catch the fish anyway to treat for an infection. this is a link to the fish bandage... I thought it was interesting... http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+4615+4629+12102&pcatid=12102

 

[Joe Pusdesris]

It doesn't look infected at all. It seriously looks like it was touched with a scalpel. If I have time tomorrow I will take a picture.

 

[SushiGirl]

Is there another tang in there?

 

[Joe Pusdesris]

Yes, an orange stripe bristle tooth.

 

[SushiGirl]

The other tang likely hit it with its "scalpel" that's located right by its tail.

 

[Joe Pusdesris]

Ah right, that's why they are called surgeon fish. knowing the cause isn't going to help fix it though.

The fish is still quite healthy for now, I guess I will just not feed the tank for the next couple days. I do not think that there is enough algae in there for it to extend its stomach just by grazing.