My yellow tang is being weird. He's stopped eating much and has what looks like a pinkish rash on his flanks. I've had him about a year. Nothing new has been added in months and everything is quarantined 6 weeks before it hits the display so I'm doubtful that it's parasites. Other inhabitants are fine and so are water parameters. He does seem to be attacking and then hiding from his reflection more lately. It's hard to get a photo. He used to pig out on Nori and barely touches it now. Any advice?
Rash on yellow tang
- Thread starter microlady
- Start date
scooter31707
New member
By the sound of it, it could be uronema or brook. I recommend giving it a Formalin bath for 50 minutes.
It does sound similar to what I just had in my QT. I believe mine was uronema. Does it look similar to the pics in my thread?http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2625037
Thanks for the input, but I've seen Brook and this isn't it. Plus, no new fish have been added for almost a year, and the last coral was added three months ago. Uronema is a possibility but it would have had to be lingering in the tank for a very long time. He does not have any open lesions that would indicate Uronema or Vibrio. It's too hard for me to upload photos on here. This tang belonged to another reefer for 4 years before I got him, and was put through a thorough quarantine process so it would have to be something that slipped through all of that. And that is precisely why I'm baffled.
The tang looks much different. No skin is sloughing off and it's smooth. There is just slight peachy coloration on the flanks and it is exhibiting very territorial behavior and its reflection. It's hiding s bit too. Would Uronema hide dormant in a tank for months on end? All of my fish have been through formalin dips, TTM, and 6-8 week quarantine periods. The last new fish added was last August. Plus, the water quality is fine. This is a reef tank with softies, LPS, and inverts. You would think a bacterial infection would come about from bad water quality.
No one will be able to tell by a picture anyway. There isn't really anything much to see. I was hoping I could get some ideas by the description of his behavior. He sulks in the corner, is obsessed by its reflection, breathes rapidly as if stressed, and refuses to eat. This seems to happen more at night when the room is dark. In the morning when the lights first come on he isn't acting weird. There are most likely no pathogens in the tank. I would just like to know if anyone else had a tang sulk and/or obsess himself to death.
