skinny foxface?

[thax]

i think my magnificent foxface is starting to get skinny or as they start getting big do they look thinner? i had it for over a year and it eats like a pig and is now a good 6in his lat line is very visible and he make giant green poo. he picks at the rocks all day.

i feed once a day lrs reef frenzy and put algae form my ats in the tank about 2-3x a week and it destroys it. so i up my feeding or does this sound like ip?

does any one have pics of what a skinny foxface looks like form the side, the belly, and head on? i haven't added any new fish since i put him in

 

[ThRoewer]

You got a picture of that fish?

Healthy fish shouldn't get skinny.

 

[Deinonych]

I feed my foxface nori every day. They have very inefficient digestive systems and need to eat constantly. Might want to increase algae supplementation to get his weight back up.

 

[snorvich]

I feed my foxface nori every day. They have very inefficient digestive systems and need to eat constantly. Might want to increase algae supplementation to get his weight back up.

They need algae daily. All algae grazers are inefficient eaters and must eat constantly. There is no way this fish will survive long term in a 29 gallon tank.

 

[thax]

would nori be better then live algae form my ats? and crap pics and whats the circle thing by its head it didn't all ways have that

 

[Deinonych]

I have always fed mine nori, and he is fat as can be. He eats meaty foods when the other fish are fed as well. The circular area looks like a bite mark to me.

I agree with Steve that a 29g is not suitable for that fish long term. Same goes for the Kole tang shown in the pictures. Both fish need a great deal of swimming space - at least 4 feet of tank length.

 

[thax]

its not a 29g its a 120

 

[snorvich]

its not a 29g its a 120

Even in a 120 with two algae grazers you need to feed nori constantly. Updating your profile would help us a lot.

 

[ThRoewer]

That fish isn't skinny - it's more like skin ands bones, he is seriously undernourished.

There are several possible reason:
1. you don't feed it enough
2. intestinal parasites
3. it was caught with cyanide and got a too high dose which caused liver damage

Since you had it for over a year now we can probably exclude 3.
The fact that it's belly is also sunken in makes 2 unlikely and rather points to 1.
So I would suggest to up its feeding by at least 300%. Nori ,like Steve and Chris suggested, should always be available to him during daylight hours.

You may also want to cultivate algae rocks covered in hairy algae. You can do that by placing rocks into plastic bins outside in a sunny place. You will need a powerhead for circulation. You also should add some liquid fertilizer. Guillard's f/2 would be best but Miracle Grow will do fine too. Either take some rocks from your tank or seed new rocks in your tank for a while (they should be good when you start seeing algae growth on them).

 

[snorvich]

That fish isn't skinny - it's more like skin ands bones, he is seriously undernourished.

There are several possible reason:
1. you don't feed it enough
2. intestinal parasites
3. it was caught with cyanide and got a too high dose which caused liver damage

Since you had it for over a year now we can probably exclude 3.
The fact that it's belly is also sunken in makes 2 unlikely and rather points to 1.
So I would suggest to up its feeding by at least 300%. Nori ,like Steve and Chris suggested, should always be available to him during daylight hours.

You may also want to cultivate algae rocks covered in hairy algae. You can do that by placing rocks into plastic bins outside in a sunny place. You will need a powerhead for circulation. You also should add some liquid fertilizer. Guillard's f/2 would be best but Miracle Grow will do fine too. Either take some rocks from your tank or seed new rocks in your tank for a while (they should be good when you start seeing algae growth on them).

I agree. I discounted two and three as reasons because of the time line. The cultivation of algae rocks is an excellent idea.

 

[thax]

Some of my rocks are covered in a short mat of algae I guess it doesn't like that kind? My tang loves the rock algae though. Should I do any thing else?

Il start puting nori in every day and put some hairy rocks form my other tank in.

 

[ThRoewer]

Try as many other foods as possible to figure out what he likes and then see that you get him stuffed.

I would also try those food tablets that you can stick the side of your tank. And try algae tablets too. Hikkari makes some good ones.

The thing that worries me the most is that he already has a well developed knifeback. It will take some serious effort to reverse that, if it's possible at all.
Most fish I've seen with that didn't make it in the long run because they had no reserves left to fight diseases or parasites.

 

[thax]

I went to the lfs and brought 5 types of algae food pelts flakes wafers and red green and Brown sheets and 2 nore veggie clips he ate every thing a put in there other then the wafers. Should I soak the sheets in PraziPro or treat the tank tomorrow or would that do more harm then good? But every time I see a clip empty I will put new sheets on it how much will 3 sheets of algae hurt the water quality?

Is there any thing I should soak the food in to make it habe more calories or nutrition?

I noticed his poo doesnt look like it digests all the way and he poos long hair algae that looks 100% like it just came off a rock still bright green and it seems like it takes it a while to pass it

 

[Deinonych]

You could soak the food in Selcon, but frankly I think you really just need to increase calorie intake first and foremost. I wouldn't dose Prazipro unless there are clear indications that the fish has internal parasites. Partially digested food is common for these fish.

 

[ThRoewer]

Hairy algae always look like they were undigested, but they are.

I wouldn't do any experiments with medications at this point and just get him stuffed as much as possible. Maybe drop some Selcon on the algae sheets.

 

[snorvich]

Selcon is a good solution; caloric intake is key, however.

 

[thax]

fish is starting to look better and is swimming around and not hiding as much anymore and stopped letting the tang chase him back to his hole. i cant tell if he looks any fater yet, how long does it take a fish to get back to where it should be?

also is their any nori that holds up good under water? all the brands i tried all fall apart and get stuck some place after a few hours

 

[ThRoewer]

It can take a while (=months) until he regains his losses up in the neck area.

No idea on the nori but are you using a holding clip?

 

[thax]

Yea a tlf veggie mag but with in about 2 hours it rips off or faster when my foxface starts grabbing it and trying to swim with it. I tried folding a sheet over on it self every way I can think of but it just never holds up. The brand my lfs sells is paper thin and some one has to make a thicker sheet that would hold up better?

 

[ThRoewer]

One option would be to feed less more often. Nori is too processed and basically just like paper (manufacturing process is identical to traditional Japanese paper production).
If you have a Japanese grocery store somewhere near by you could check their dried algae selection. Many of them are pretty much unprocessed and just dried. If you soak them in water they become like fresh algae again. Korean or Chinese supermarkets may have good selection too.
If you have no local store try online.
I would first try dried Wakame or a sea vegetable mix that is often used for soup. Konbu may or may not be too hard and high in Iodine but maybe still worth a try.

BTW: most of the nori you buy in fish stores is just scrap from production of unseasoned nori sheets for sushi and the like.