Red Tang looking very pale

[Merman1983]

Happy New Year everyone! Thanks in advance for any help on this topic.
My red tang has become very pale looking. What was once a beautiful maroon color is now a dull almost white looking. He is also acting funny, like darting back and forth in his hiding place. He still swims and eats, but something is definitely wrong with the fish.
I have had him for a few years and he is about 5 inches.

 

[Newsmyrna80]

Have you added anything wet to the tank? Corals, inverts, anything? Those symptoms are typical of flukes. Is it possible to do a FW dip?

 

[snorvich]

I would be concerned about velvet. Breathing rate? Is he reclusive?

 

[Merman1983]

Have you added anything wet to the tank? Corals, inverts, anything? Those symptoms are typical of flukes. Is it possible to do a FW dip?

Yes, I have added coral to the tank in the last few weeks. He would be very hard to catch to do a FW dip.

 

[Merman1983]

I would be concerned about velvet. Breathing rate? Is he reclusive?

His breathing seems ok, he isn't overly reclusive as I see him moving around the tank his normal way, but he didn't eat this morning, at least not that I saw.
Edit: he has come out and is eating algae off the glass now.

 

[albano]

My red tang has become very pale looking. What was once a beautiful maroon color is now a dull almost white looking.

What's a red tang?

 

[Merman1983]

What's a red tang?[/QU]
Kole tang

 

[Merman1983]

What's a red tang?

The Kole Tang or Spotted surgeonfish or Goldring surgeonfish, Ctenochaetus strigosus, is a marine reef tang in the fish family Acanthuridae which is endemic to Oceana. It grows to 5.7 inches in the wild.

 

[snorvich]

The Kole Tang or Spotted surgeonfish or Goldring surgeonfish, Ctenochaetus strigosus, is a marine reef tang in the fish family Acanthuridae which is endemic to Oceana. It grows to 5.7 inches in the wild.

We just never heard that used as the common name.

 

[Merman1983]

We just never heard that used as the common name.

Yeah, that's my slang term for them, I used to call them bristlemouths.
Update, he's swimming around and just ate flakes, getting some color back. Thanks for your comments on the fish!
Have you ever heard of a false percula hosting a condy? This just happened in my tank, here's some pics.

 

[snorvich]

Yeah, that's my slang term for them, I used to call them bristlemouths.
Update, he's swimming around and just ate flakes, getting some color back. Thanks for your comments on the fish!
Have you ever heard of a false percula hosting a condy? This just happened in my tank, here's some pics.

It is not surprising that I did not know your slang term for them. Condy's can eat clownfish so be aware.