Powder Blue

[b0bab0ey]

So yesterday morning I wake up, and my prized Powder Blue Tang (who is still in QT) has gotten himself wedged in a rock and is thrashing around furiously. I immediately move the rock to free him, but not before he's all cut up and starts swimming around erratically. The powerhead kept blowing him all over the tank and I have nowhere else to put him, so I put him in a little hang-on-the-side trap. Last night before I went to bed he looked really bad. He couldn't even maintain his buoyancy, swimming upside down. I figured by morning he'd be dead.

This morning I wake up and to my amazement, he's looking a lot better! He's swimming upright and the Nori I put in the trap w/him is all gone! Of course, it could have just gone out the slits of the trap. He was actually pacing before I left the house this AM and looked annoyed to be in a little trap.

So, my question is, do I keep him in the trap until he regains his strength? Or at least maybe until I see him eating? Or is the trap causing more stress than doing good at this point? Opinions please?

 

[MrTuskfish]

How big is this fish? Small fish can get caught in the PH intake and that can really do some damage.

 

[b0bab0ey]

How big is this fish? Small fish can get caught in the PH intake and that can really do some damage.

He's probably 3 inches, mouth to the very tip of his tail. He was having some difficulty not getting caught in the power filter intake yesterday. I had to turn it down and then eventually off until I got him in the trap. This is what I'm worried about. I just came home for lunch and he's looking so much better. I hate to release him back in the tank, and the current blows him up against a rock or something and causes more damage. I'd have to think he's still pretty weak from all this.

 

[MrTuskfish]

He's probably 3 inches, mouth to the very tip of his tail. He was having some difficulty not getting caught in the power filter intake yesterday. I had to turn it down and then eventually off until I got him in the trap. This is what I'm worried about. I just came home for lunch and he's looking so much better. I hate to release him back in the tank, and the current blows him up against a rock or something and causes more damage. I'd have to think he's still pretty weak from all this.

You don't need a PH in QT; especially if you have a HOB filter. However, this isn't a baby and shouldn't have trouble with the intakes. In QT, just enough water movement to keep the filter working is fine. Do whatever you can to minimize flow and give him some room; most HOB filters can be played with to slow water flow---sometimes you can just lift the intake tube if the standard adjustments aren't enough. If he's still having trouble with minimal flow, he may have hurt himself on the intake. A strong PH intake can actually move the insides of a fish.