Lazy Purple Tang

hkgar

hkgar

Active member
I have a new Purple Tang that has just completed TTM and now is in a QT. He arrived a day late with overnight shipping as the flight was delayed due to weather in Utah. He seemed fine when he arrived.

The most noticeable "problem" during TTM was very slow swimming and pretty much staying in one place. During the TTM I fed Algae flakes, Nori strips on a clip and a small amount of frozen food. Although he eats it is not at all what I would call really going after the food. If the flakes start drifting down to where he is he will grab a few, but never really goes after them. He nibbles off and on the Nori strip about 3/4 sq inch.

He is now in QT (2 days) (30 G tank) and still pretty much stays in one place and the eating behavior is pretty much the same, if the food comes to him he eats it and will lazily swim around a bit for some more.

My concern is that he will never keep up with the ravaging eaters when he gets to the DT. They clean down 12 sq inches of nori in about a minute and 6 grams of frozen in 3-4 minutes.

I am use to much more activity from Tangs.

Do you think something may be wrong? I have had it 14 days, 12 in TTM and 2 in QT. I am thinking of treating with PraziPro.
 
Give him time to calm down with a hiding space(pvc pipes/etc). Purple tangs will get all the food they want, no one is going to stop him. The only thing is to make sure he is healthy with no parasites. Do the pratzi treatment and check his poo to make sure there are no worms and keep an eye out for ich/velvet/brook symptoms
 
An animal 24x your height has just netted you, thrown you into a collection bucket, taken you on a very loud dark and bumpy boat ride, put you in a holding tank crammed with a bunch of humans your size with minimal if any places to hide, shipped you across countries in another very dark bumpy ride to another holding facility, dumped into another holding tank with similar conditions, then again to another animals house where he spent 12 days dumping you from one tank to another and now finally into a small glass box.

Just give em' time man. Give him plenty of places to hide, and stand as far back as possible after you feed. If he's eating, then you're headed in the right direction!
 
BlueMac92 said:
An animal 24x your height has just netted you, thrown you into a collection bucket, taken you on a very loud dark and bumpy boat ride, put you in a holding tank crammed with a bunch of humans your size with minimal if any places to hide, shipped you across countries in another very dark bumpy ride to another holding facility, dumped into another holding tank with similar conditions, then again to another animals house where he spent 12 days dumping you from one tank to another and now finally into a small glass box.

Just give em' time man. Give him plenty of places to hide, and stand as far back as possible after you feed. If he's eating, then you're headed in the right direction!
Click to expand...

+1 that's no walk in the park... Ask those who have been kidnapped by aliens:strooper:
 
There are a few pieces of PVC pipe in the tank to provide the hiding places, but he never uses them. Pretty much just stays in one of the corners of the tank and when he does swim about, the swimming is pretty slow, like just going for a casual walk around the block, then back to the corner.
 
I would be concerned due to the behavior and time frame. Does the fish avoid light? Hang near the return or power head?
 
snorvich said:
I would be concerned due to the behavior and time frame. Does the fish avoid light? Hang near the return or power head?
Click to expand...

He does not seem to avoid light, but he spends most of his time on the bottom. I have never seen him more than half way to the top. There is no return except for HOB skimmer and Aqualclear filter I use on my QT.

His behavior just isn't what I would call Tang like.

Here is a video of his behavior.

 
My concern is primarily his passivity towards eating. I think if I introduced him in the display tank he would be unmercifully bullied by the Kole Tang and Spotbreast Angel.

Here is a video of his approach to Spirulina flake food.

 
I lost the PBT. One day he was beating his head against a rock. I moved him to HT and treated he had Popeye. He kept banging into the glass, started swimming on his nose, then sideways on his side, swimming upside down and eventually died.
 
hkgar said:
I lost the PBT. One day he was beating his head against a rock. I moved him to HT and treated he had Popeye. He kept banging into the glass, started swimming on his nose, then sideways on his side, swimming upside down and eventually died.
Click to expand...

sorry....have you tried mysis with the purple. i find new tangs take a while to adjust to nori and dried type foods.
 
CHSUB said:
sorry....have you tried mysis with the purple. i find new tangs take a while to adjust to nori and dried type foods.
Click to expand...

Yes, actually my feeding procedure with for tangs in QT is Mysis, Mysis mixed with my Frozen and then introducing flake and finally Nori strips. He eats, but very slowly and methodically. For some reason the Nori strip on the clip is ignored during the day but is usually gone in the morning.

My concern is this behavior in the DT and he will starve as he shows no fight. I expect fish to "attack" the food.
 
Are you using copper mine in the qt as this generally slows the metabolism of the fish down as well as a low salinity will reduce their metabolism as well also if your not treating with any medication toss a pound or two of live rock in there - imo and ime it lowers stress as it simulate their natural environment and it'll give them something natural to graze off of
 
Shivsreef said:
Are you using copper mine in the qt as this generally slows the metabolism of the fish down as well as a low salinity will reduce their metabolism as well also if your not treating with any medication toss a pound or two of live rock in there - imo and ime it lowers stress as it simulate their natural environment and it'll give them something natural to graze off of
Click to expand...

No, I am not using copper. If you read back I did TTM (Tank transfer method) for Ick and salinity is 1.025 sg. I will add some live rock, can't hurt anything and might just help.
 
In the video I see his fins fully erect all the time - he might just be facing off with his reflection on the glass. Have you tried to lower the light level? Maybe even put something black around 3 sides of the tank.
 
mattcoug said:
In the video I see his fins fully erect all the time - he might just be facing off with his reflection on the glass. Have you tried to lower the light level? Maybe even put something black around 3 sides of the tank.
Click to expand...

This couldn't hurt, I used to do this with aggressive reptiles. Makes them more comfortable and more calm and secure. You can use dark construction paper..
I also noticed he didn't put his dorsal down and thought it was peculiar. GL
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

M
help with new dracula goby
Replies
5
Views
381
leebca
L
D
Coral beauty Sick - how do i treat
Replies
3
Views
1K
leebca
L
beckya
purple tang
Replies
1
Views
152
OrionN
OrionN
C
Tang aggression
Replies
3
Views
1K
OrionN
OrionN
OrionN
Naso elegans, the Blonde Naso
Replies
1
Views
209
OrionN
OrionN
Back
Top