What is wrong with my Hippo Tang?

[cobra617]

Hi all,
I have a fairly small Hippo Tang (maybe 2") that has a bunch of little dimples all over its body. Its fins look a little tattered.
Other than its looks, it behaves normally. It has a voracious appetite.

My guess is that a fish has picked at it. I am not sure that any of my other fish would be the culprits. They all seem to coexist peacefully. I did recently remove a small six line wrasse, who was absolutely harassing my Royal Gramma but otherwise seemed to coexist with everyone else without a problem.
Could some condition be causing this or is it a fish?


My other fish are:
2 Ocellaris Clowns (1.5" and 3/4")
1 Flame Angel (2")
1 Filefish (2")
1 Royal Gramma (1.5")
2 Clown Gobies (3/4")
2 Peppermint Shrimp


Thanks.

 

[Trademark]

do you have corals in tank,, could be burn marks,, jm2c

 

[cobra617]

do you have corals in tank,, could be burn marks,, jm2c

Thanks for the reply.

I do indeed have corals. I have:

Zooanthids
Mushrooms
Heliopora
Xenia
Assorted Polyps

Would like to add:
Frogspawn

I am not familiar with coral burns. Is this something that I should be concerned with?

Thanks.

 

[lisafoster]

It looks to me like the fish was getting beat up. I sometimes notice tattered fins in my tank but I never see any aggression. I think maybe it happens at night when someone moves into anothers sleeping area. Probably was the six line just keep an eye on him.

 

[Sitarangi]

Looks like HLLE. Feed Selcon and NLS or F1 pellets and try to get him in a QT. Id also do a general parameter test and check for stray voltage. Little hippos have a horrible track record of survivability and have very difficult nutritional needs. Good luck!

 

[klepto]

How big is your tank? Please provide more info about your tank history, equipment, husbandry practices (water changes, dosing etc.)

What and how often are you feeding this fish?

I agree with Sitarangi's advice.. Focus on nutrition! Try to regularly provide (ideally unroasted) nori or other marine algea... Do you have good coverage and a variety of algal species growing on your rock?

If the fish is eating 'voraciously', then there is a good chance that it's current diet is not sufficient. Tangs require a very dedicated food supply. I would start trying to feed nori at least 4-5 times a day. You can chop it up into small pieces, enrich it and then baste it into the water column or roll up a small sheet of nori to a piece of liverock with rubber bands and let the tang graze freely. Nori contains a good amount of phosphate so it's important to pull any large leftovers out before they start polluting the water. There are live algae on the market like this one.. http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=497+2057+1127&pcatid=1127 Gracilaria could provide a reliable food source.

Adding some well diced, fresh seafood like some shrimp or fish fillet into it's diet could be very helpful during recovery. PE mysis is a good option. Their mysis are very rich and are easy option for delivering a sizable HUFA, fat, and protein wallop for your livestock.

If you are feeding some frozen food- thaw it slowly and enrich it with a vitamin. It takes more time but you will see the results.. Strain the thawed food after it enriches (especially oily items like PE) to help reduce the amount of phosphate and other waste entering the tank.

I am not familiar with coral burns. Is this something that I should be concerned with?

I have never heard of anything like 'coral burns'. I doubt that is a valid concern. There are occasions when people will lose livestock (usually small fishes) to aggressive LPS corals.

 

[lisafoster]

What kind of vitamin would be good to enrich it with. I would like to start doing that for my tang.