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FishNutzBoi

New member
I had a mimic tang a month ago. It was eating fine (daily feeding of algae sheets, mysis, formula 1 pellets, brine shrimps). For some weird reason, it was getting really skinny and died after a month being in my tank. I got a powder brown tang 2 weeks ago. I daily feed it with algae sheets; garlic soaked mysis, formula 1 pellets, formula 2 flakes, formula 1 frozen. It eats just fine and its stomach seems full after every feeding. Unfortunately... I don't know WHY!?!?!?! It is getting really skinny, just like how my mimic tang was before it died. I only noticed its skinniness this afternoon. Please help! What's wrong with my tang? How can i help it?

TIA!
 
some thoughts, but i am no expert:

Your tank might be too small to really keep these fish happy. On the reef, they forage all day long on algae. In a 75 gallon tank there just may not be enough of the kind of stuff they need to eat in order to stay healthy available to them. I would suggest making sure that your tangs always have something to eat in the tank (nori may work here or leafy greens on a clip).
 
I agree, if the tank is too small the tang may be really stressed. They usually like alot of space to swim in!

Good Luck!
 
I keep algae sheets in my tank all day long. I feed twice daily - once w/ garlic soaked formula 1 and 2 then 4 hours later, i feed them w/ garlic soaked mysis and cycloopfreeze
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8005893#post8005893 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by hopper
What kind of temps are your tank kept at and have you checked your water parameters lately?
Click to expand...

Gosh, i don't even know anymore :( My thermometer broke a few weeks ago. When i compare its display to my AC's, it's about 4F lower. It says my tank is in the range of 72 - 74 so i guess my tank's temp is around 76 - 78F. My corals, anemone, inverts and other fish are doing well so i doubt that it's a temp problem.

I garlic soak everything i feed except algae sheets and cycloopfreeze (side snack after main feedings). I'll try soaking the algae sheets in garlic to see if it helps

My first thought was parasites but im not so sure...
 
I check para's once per 2 weeks or even more often. Last time i checked was last sunday:

NH3 - 0
NO2 - 0
NO3 - 17
PO4 - 0.03
PH - 8
SG - 1.026
 
I just noticed that my longnose butterfly is very skinny too! OMG... He has a light red patch on his side and is breathing irregularly fast. He doesn't eat anything and is just swimming around for cover. My PBT is still eating somewhat. It's not hiding like my BF. They are both extremely skinny. 1 more thing about their appearance is that their gills are appeared to be red.

This is what i think my fish has:

http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/compldiagnodisease/a/aa042801.htm

Help? :(
 
75G is too small for any tang and marginally adequate for a butterfly (IMHO its too little). The nitrates are way too high IMHO. A powder brown tang is one of the most difficult to keep healthy IME and you would do much better with a "hardier" tang that is slightly smaller. NB some from the genus Zebrasoma such as a Scopas or regular yellow tang.
 
I agree with the 75 gal. being too small for the fish that you have. Have you been doing water changes on a regular basis? I'm thinking that your fish are stressed and the nitrates are too high as ciaran stated. Hard to pinpoint what it may be, but if you could post a pic of your fish that have this red streaking in the fish disease treatment forum, someone may be able to help you pinpoint the problem.
 
If you know anyone that has a QT tank, you may want to think about doing this also. We're not trying to give you stocking advice, it's just that we think this is part of the problem. If you lived in a house with a 4 ft. ceiling, you would get stressed also. Not bashing you, but trying to help you figure out what's wrong with your fish.
 
"I'm not really asking for stocking advices... I need help treating my fish."

I would take it back to the store imediatly. Obviously your tank isn't big enough to have a powder brown tang and a butterfly fish. If your last one died then this one will probably do the same unless he gets the right treatment. Have you thought about getting something like a Red Sea Sailfin? Those are my favorite. I know you don't want to hear about stocking advise but your fish selection (brown tang, and a Butterfly fish) is not really suitable for the environment that they are in.

How much life is on your rock? Do you have any pics you can posts?
 
Thanks for the replies

I've had the BF for almost 2 months w/o any problem. Most sites say that it requires a 80G tank. The PBT is actually one of the recommended tangs for 75G in the "reef fish" forum. Both of these fish are 2.5 inches long so I do not think they don't have enough space in my tank

Anyways, Im pretty sure that my fish have bacterial infection now. Weight loss + Red (bloody) patch on body + Red gills are what im seeing. If it is really bacterial infection. How can I treat it? Most sites that i've read say I have to QT and treat w/ antibiotic? Some sites say if the water conditions are good, the fish will recover on its own? Anyone w/ bacterial infection experience?

TIA
 
"Have you thought about getting something like a Red Sea Sailfin? "

Everyone is beating up this guy for too much tang for his tank and then you suggest a tang that can reach 15 inches?
 
Last edited:
Taking them back to the LFS is not an option nor it is a good idea! LFS will NOT take their fish back looking all sick and diseased. The tanks at the LFS are not even as big as mine and are WAY overcrowded so it's not even good for the fish either.

I'm really disappointed by these replies... You guys are not helping at all... How about we start talking about treatmeants please?
 
You probably will not get an answer until tomorrow, but I would go to the Seachem forum and ask for some advice there. You need to identify what your fish have first and I am sure you are going to need a pic. By describing what your fish's syptoms are, they may be able to recommend a product to treat them with. I would only treat them after you have identified the problem though. I don't have a clue as to what it could be. After identifing the problem, you need to find out what caused it, or else you will encounter it again. Again, pics would help tremendously.
 
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