tang with Internal Parasite??? i think.

[shane 1111]

my tang looks healthy and eating well but i have noticed something weird. The tangs feces are long, white and stringy, and he swims around with the long string attached and it takes a while for him to get rid of it.
he is in my reef tank is there any medicated food i can feed him?
will other fish catch it?

 

[Rondelet]

What type of tang and what are you feeding it? You might find that by simply trying a few different foods (live vs. frozen vs. dry) or ingredients (meaty vs. vegetable) the situation will improve.

It's possible that your fish has an internal parasitic infection - although it's would very impossible to tell which type of parasite. Very important as this really dictates which med to consider. If this was the case, best course of action would be to try a medicated feed and see if the situation improves. You could try feeding it praziquantel (for tapeworms) or metronidzaole (for protozoans) - both of which infect the digestive track. Aquarium products makes a product called "Gel-Tek Ultra Cure PX" which contains both actives as well as Flubenol (which targets roundworms). Seachem makes metronidazole which can be added to "Focus" their binding agent and added to feed. Check out their website for more info. Hikari makes a formulation containing praziquantel ("Prazi Pro"). Or you could try to source a produce call Droncit (which is trade name for praziquantel). You can use the proprietary formulations, which you add to your feed, or make up your own (frozen feed, with gelatine etc. - lots of choices). There are several threads on this.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=755125

The only thing I would add is not to add such medications to the water as they would be much, much more efficacious if injested (despite what label claims may say).

Hope this helps.