Did my foxface kill my tang??

[Guygettnby]

long story short i bought a small foxface yesterday. the foxface and 2 tangs have been swimming around with each other non stop since i put him in the tank. the tang had been doing great all day and even ate earlier. no signs of stress at all. about an hour ago i saw all 3 fish swimming around together all seemed in good health. about 20min ago i noticed the tang stuck to a power head wich is not a strong power head and the tangs always swim around it picking for algea and such.

is it possible the new foxface stung my tang? possibly killing him or hurting the tang enough to were the power head finished the job? i have never heard of anything like this happening with a foxface before so i needed to ask so i can either take him out or scratch it up as a loss for reasons out of my control.

 

[TampaReefer79]

What tangs and what size tank? What kind of power head? Sizes of fishes involved?

 

[Recty]

Examine the tangs body, he will have marks if he was stabbed on the foxface's spines.

I'd say it's pretty doubtful that is what killed it. Is the tang pretty new to your tank?

 

[Guygettnby]

Examine the tangs body, he will have marks if he was stabbed on the foxface's spines.

I'd say it's pretty doubtful that is what killed it. Is the tang pretty new to your tank?

i looked over the body and did not see any marks. the tang was atleast in my tank for a year now. it was a sailfin tang and at least twice the size of the foxface.

 

[Guygettnby]

anyhow i guess i shoulda asked if the foxface could kill another fish with its spines? will the venom kill a tang if stung?

i seriously doubt a maxijet 1200 coulda caught a 3in tang and held him there to die unless he was already on his way out or hurt.

 

[TampaReefer79]

How big is the tank?

 

[Guygettnby]

How big is the tank?

60g and all the fish were perfectly happy. they are awaiting there new home right now, or they were awaiting there new home until now. the foxface is like maybe 1 1/2in and the 2 tangs were a yellow and sailfin both wich were about the same size. maybe 2 1/2 to 3in in size. but big enough that i seriously doubt it woulda got stuck in the powerhead that it would graze around for the past year.

 

[MatthewLaw]

I dont believe a Foxface uses its venomous spines to catch food. I believe it only uses the spines as a defensive tactic. So in effect, the "other" fish is stinging itself with the foxface's spines, the foxface isn't acively chasing a fish and then stinging.

 

[jubjub]

^^ +1 foxface spines are mearly for defense. both tangs were eating and everything the day before?

side note when i got my foxface i noticed my purple bullying him, then i noticed some bruising/white spots all in a strait line on one side of the purple...purple never bothered the foxface after that day

 

[Guygettnby]

the fish were all doing great and hour before i notice the sailfin tang dead. wich is why it is puzzling me. i kinda figured from all the reading i have been doing that the foxface would not have attacked the tang. i figured that maybe something spooked the tang and foxface then some how the tang possibly impaled itself on the foxface spines. but i also did not see any marks on the tang either. so maybe it was something else entirely then.

thanks for the replys on the subject. this is the first foxface i have attempted to keep and was still alittle weary on keeping him.

 

[Guygettnby]

^^ +1 foxface spines are mearly for defense. both tangs were eating and everything the day before?

side note when i got my foxface i noticed my purple bullying him, then i noticed some bruising/white spots all in a strait line on one side of the purple...purple never bothered the foxface after that day

in this case they were all happy with each other from the get go. i never noticed any bullying at all. they all swam together as if they were best friends. but i see your tang got stung and lived so obviously the poison didnt kill my sailfin then if yours lived... hmm wich now i have no clue how or why mine died.

 

[Sheol]

My yellowtail damsel tried to bully my baby One-spot rabbitfish. He vanished 1.5 days later. After the crash, he thought he owned the ENTIRE tank ( which shows damsels should never be left ALONE in a tank..). A justifiable Homicide? Well, Piscicide. whatever!
I think it was self-defense..

Matthew

 

[BrianD]

Remember, fish aren't "best friends". As best they will tolerate each other.

 

[TampaReefer79]

60g and all the fish were perfectly happy. they are awaiting there new home right now, or they were awaiting there new home until now. the foxface is like maybe 1 1/2in and the 2 tangs were a yellow and sailfin both wich were about the same size. maybe 2 1/2 to 3in in size. but big enough that i seriously doubt it woulda got stuck in the powerhead that it would graze around for the past year.

Why not just wait until after the upgrade to add more big fish? And you're right, a healthy tang wouldn't get stuck in a powerhead.

 

[Kahuna Tuna]

A rabbitfish sting is not going to kill a healthy fish. All three of the last Pomacanthus angels I have kept did not get along with my rabbitfish and all were stung numerous times while nipping at them. I agree with Brian, these fish are food competitors and all of them get too big for a 60 gallon tank. I'm not sure what killed your fish but I would bet it wasn't the rabbit. I would not be in a hurry to get any more tangs, even the smaller species need way more room than a 60, especially if you are keeping multiple species.

 

[Guygettnby]

i agree that tangs need more space when they start to grow. but i bought all of these fish extremely small so that i could keep them for abit while i was planing my upgrade. when i say i got them small that is an under statement. they were tiny! but now that my tank upgrade is right around the corner this happens so now i will be waiting to replace him until the bigger tank is setup.

on another note i didnt think a foxface could kill a perfectly healthy tang. i just needed to be assured that was not the case here.

thanks for the replys

 

[massman]

Remember that fish can die suddenly, as can humans.
Stroke, heart attack, aneurism etc
I have seen a PBT swimming along, and literally drop dead in front of my eyes.

 

[Guygettnby]

Remember that fish can die suddenly, as can humans.
Stroke, heart attack, aneurism etc
I have seen a PBT swimming along, and literally drop dead in front of my eyes.

yea, guess thats true. just sucks when you loose something you have had for awhile. this is the third fish i have lost in the past month. the scooter blenny died after 2 years of owning him, my mystery wrasse decided to go carpet surfing... even with a screen top he managed to find the one open spot were the cords go thru and now my sailfin tang. this hobby defilently has its ups and downs.

 

[BrianD]

Holy cow, I missed that those fish were in a 60 gallon tank. That might explain its weakened condition. My sailfin tang grew like a weed the first year. I can't believe it was doing well in a 60 gallon tank with another tang and a foxface.

 

[Guygettnby]

Holy cow, I missed that those fish were in a 60 gallon tank. That might explain its weakened condition. My sailfin tang grew like a weed the first year. I can't believe it was doing well in a 60 gallon tank with another tang and a foxface.

the 2 tangs were extremely tiny when put into the tank. they were also added around the same time. they would swim together none stop and never fought. the plan was to get a bigger tank and that got pushed back abit, but the new tank is in the works right now. the problem happened when the fox face was added to the tank, wich i am extremly regreting. i had my doubts but the wife wanted it and it just kinda happened. but i did make sure to buy the smallest one i could find and i did find a small one. probably the smallest i have ever seen being sold since i have started keeping saltwater tanks. figured they would all work out for another month until the new tank was ready... but again i regretfully made the wrong choice on that purchase. cant do anything about it now but wait until the new tank is ready before i buy another tang.