Tank Transfer Day 2 - Kole Tang not eating

[Deinonych]

Hi all,

A little background - I've had a Kole Tang in QT for about 5 weeks now. I tried to treat him prophylactically with Cupramine, but he did not respond well (stopped eating). I removed all the copper and observed him for a couple weeks. He has been very energetic and has been eating like a pig. I haven't seen any spots on him, but I did notice some blotches on his right pectoral fin last week.

Yesterday, I started tank transfer to ensure he did not have any ich parasites. He ate well yesterday, and was his normal active self. This morning, I noticed that he was just hanging out in the front lower left corner of the tank. He wasn't zipping around the tank like he normally does, and his breathing rate seemed to be elevated. After watching him for about 15 minutes, I noticed him pass some yellowish mucoid feces that were somewhat stringy. I found this strange, as he has been through two treatments of Prazipro which ended over two weeks ago. I went ahead and dosed 5ml of Prazi to the tank to be sure.

I gave him a few mysis this morning, and he showed a bit of interest at first, but then spit out the one piece he ate. I have some nori banded to the PVC elbow in the tank, but he has not eaten any. He does swim up to the nori from time to time acting like he is interested, but doesn't partake.

Any ideas what could be going on? His color looks normal, and he seems alert otherwise. He is in fresh saltwater which was aerated for 48 hours, and the salinity is within .001 of his previous tank. I also dosed 2ml of Prime last night to make sure there was no ammonia. Below is a video showing his current condition.

http://youtu.be/5V3u-dkuOQI

 

[saltyair]

from the video i would suggest adding air bubblier - the meds might be depleting oxygen from the water.
defiantly gasping for oxygen imo

 

[Deinonych]

I have a HOB filter and a powerhead in the tank - should provide more than enough surface agitation for gas exchange.

 

[Deinonych]

Bump. I turned off the powerhead this evening to see if that changed anything. He's now lazily swimming around the tank more. He's still breathing rapidly still, though. Completely at a loss about what to do.

 

[Deinonych]

Morning update: whatever was ailing him appears to have passed. He was swimming around the tank without effort, and his breathing has normalized. So, either the prazi knocked out whatever it was, or he was able to fight it off. Will obviously keep monitoring him throughout the transfer process. He transfers to the other tank tomorrow (day 4).

 

[Deinonych]

This morning (day 4) I moved the Kole Tang to a new tank. I dosed the new tank with prazi to continue his treatment from the previous tank. His condition hasn't really changed much, although he isn't swimming around as much. Just stays in one of the back corners and periodical swims the length of the tank before going back to a corner. He still shows no interest in food whatsoever, and has not eaten since Sunday morning.

At what point should I start being concerned? Before I started TT, he was extremely active and outgoing, and he ate everything I put in the tank. I'm wondering if the TT process is the cause of his change in behavior and is stressing him out? He has not exhibited any signs of crypto infection since I got him, and the TT process was performed to be absolutely sure he wasn't infected.

Really could use some advice from the experts here. I don't want to lose this fish after investing so much time into his care.

 

[sleepydoc]

I'm guessing you're probably right - it's a rxn to the TT and he's just unsure about being in a new tank. Assuming your water parameters are OK, I'd carry on and Ride it out.

 

[Deinonych]

Thanks Sleepydoc. He is a small (maybe juvenile?) fish (about 3" long), so perhaps he is more sensitive. Water parameters are good - I've been testing for ammonia twice a day and have a Seachem ammonia badge for good measure. I'll just stay the course and hope for the best.

 

[Deinonych]

Well, the tang didn't make it. Found him dead at the bottom of the tank this morning (day 8 - did another transfer yesterday). I'm really puzzled at this situation. I've lost fish in quarantine before, but usually it's early in the QT process due to disease or acclimation stress. I've never had one go nearly six weeks and then suddenly take a turn for the worse. Not sure what I could have done differently. I guess he was just extremely sensitive and couldn't handle the tank moves. At least this happened in quarantine and not the display. I'm still bummed though.

Would appreciate any thoughts or insight. Are Kole Tangs usually this sensitive? I thought they were a fairly hardy fish.

 

[HumbleFish]

I think certain fish just don't make it due to an inability to acclimate to aquarium life or some unknown disease/condition. There are probably a slew of diseases we hobbyists are not even aware of because they are so rarely encountered. Also, don't completely dismiss the possibility of cyanide poisoning - it's uncommon these days but not unheard of.

I've ran countless fish thru TT - including many "sensitive species". But I've lost two small Cherub angels in a row now while doing TT. They just die - no visible signs of anything wrong. Just goes to show ya.....

 

[Deinonych]

Thanks Humblefish. I'll just chalk it up as another learning experience and try again. I surely hope it wasn't cyanide poisoning. This fish came from Hawaii, and I didn't think they used those methods there. I suppose anything is possible, though.