I have also found that the skin between the spines on his fins grow back in a very predictable pattern. It starts back near the tail and moves forward. I don't know what that means, but it is something that I have noticed. The yellow in the tail always seems to be ragged though.
What wrong with my blue tang?
- Thread starter roktsintst
- Start date
roktsintst
New member
Thanks dsp. Great info
roktsintst
New member
wow that is worse but mine had a lot of missing fins. i have done a number of things. my ozone isn't working like i thought. i got the fish out and he is in the sump like most advised, but i have a few questions. he just hides by the filter sock all day and night. i put some food by him but he doen't eat nearly what he used to. he looks to have a tiny fin regeneration but his hlle doesn't look any better. it has been a week now. i also am using "fish solution" which claims to heal hlle and i think it is helping with the other fish. should i be doing anything else to the blue tang in the sump or just leave him there? and for how long?
Hey fish, what ended up happening to your blue tang?
Hey fish, what ended up happening to your blue tang?
Chibils
halide loyalist
I think he's just stressed out from his move. And while I could see those as being bite marks, it looks more like severe hlle to me. Or a parasite.
I wonder if the three other tangs and regal angel combined mean he's not getting enough greens. If it's affecting them all, I'd say the foliage may not be scaling up to that many fish properly. And I have heard of multiple cases of hlle linked to carbon.
I wonder if the three other tangs and regal angel combined mean he's not getting enough greens. If it's affecting them all, I'd say the foliage may not be scaling up to that many fish properly. And I have heard of multiple cases of hlle linked to carbon.
sufunk
New member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13134111#post13134111 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Fizhstiks
That does not look like the result of aggression at all to me, my blue tang had a terrible case of hlle (worse than this one) that i could not seem to reverse no matter what i did...
pic (please no flaming, i tried just about everything i could think of to help this fish):
You guys are in serious denial! As bad as fizhstiks tang looks, notice it's fins aren't shredded, LIKE YOURS IS, and his body doesnt look like another tangs caudal spine is using it as a pincushion, LIKE YOURS DOES!
You cant just leave him in the sump. The sump is WAY to small to house a tang for any length of time. You are just prolonging this tangs suffering by leaving him in the sump until he looks a little better so you can shove him right back in the tank to get the snot beat out of him.
You need to address the problem and it aint broccoli, vitamins, etc... All your other fish are fine and this tang eats very well so you say so there is no way this is a feeding/water quality issue. The problem is one of your other tangs is beating him to death, literally!
Until you resolve that, your hippo is either gonna live in the sump or get beat to death in your display
roktsintst
New member
Hey sufunk read the Dang thread then. I HAVE TWO OTHER FISH WITH SOME HLLE. i didn't think it was a good idea to put him in the sump myself but i am trying the suggestions and THEY ARE WORKING SOME!
sufunk
New member
Sadly i have!
Actually, you started the thread by saying most of your fish were "perfect" and didnt mention any problems whatsoever with any others. After some flaming and imo as a way of justifying your stance, you said that upon inspection you can see some "slight" hlle on 2 other fish. "Slight" hlle that you never noticed until just now and the HORRIFIC problems your hippo has are 2 VERY different things
You really think that there is a problem so bad with water ,grounding probes, vitamins,etc. that your hippo looks THAT bad but somehow hasnt affected your "perfect" powder blue???????You can say whatever you want to justify your position but your 100% wrong, imo. All those holes on the side of his body look alot more like caudal spine inflicted injuries than any hlle injuries i have seen. That and the fact that none of your other fish are even a hundreth as bad as the hippo should tell you it isnt a problem vitamins,grounding probes, etc. will solve.
I have a weird feeling that in the week he has been in the sump, NOT GETTING BEAT UP BY ONE OF YOUR OTHER TANGS, all those puncture wounds on his side have gotten alot better havent they?
roktsintst
New member
Actually i was suprised to find that they are the same. if anything he has some fin regeneration!
sufunk
New member
Look, i'm not trying to be a jerk or just flame you . Honestly, i just wanna help you and imo, that fish is getting beat up. I just dont see how some of those injuries arent from getting beat up, especially when your other fish have little or no problems. Especially since he always eats good and your water is good.
Once a month about, my lieutenant and orange shoulder will fight and the next day, 1 or both of them will have maybe 1-2 wounds that look exactly like what yours has on the side. Hey i could be wrong but imo, he's gotta be seperated from whatever fish he's having a problem with or he's gonna look the same once he goes back in the display.
Once a month about, my lieutenant and orange shoulder will fight and the next day, 1 or both of them will have maybe 1-2 wounds that look exactly like what yours has on the side. Hey i could be wrong but imo, he's gotta be seperated from whatever fish he's having a problem with or he's gonna look the same once he goes back in the display.
roktsintst
New member
I appreciate your comments and i am sorry for getting a little frustrated. i do see what you are saying and i have always worried more about my coral rather than my fish. i am just beginning to research fish diseases now which i should have done years ago. i think it is my yellow tang that is the aggressor however and not the powder blue. i spend hours a day watching the tank and if anyone is the aggressor it is the yellow. i had them in a 90 which was the first mistake and the blue tang was getting beat up by the powder then. once i moved the fish to the 210 i put hte yellow in first and now he is the dominant one. i think i am going to take the yellow back to the store and but the blue back in the display because i just dont' like him in the sump. he "seemed" a lot happier in the display.
Anyway, i also see what you mean about the "puncture wounds" in his side and i do think now that the hlle is a stress thing more than a feeding water quality thing....
Anyway, i also see what you mean about the "puncture wounds" in his side and i do think now that the hlle is a stress thing more than a feeding water quality thing....
Definitely don’t keep the fish in the sump. Keep it in as natural an environment as you can. Keeping it away from the other tangs may help, and yes there may be some aggression. IME some of these conditions can happen with no aggression.
When my hippo tang developed similar symptoms his only tankmates were lots of various gobies and a foxface, there was no aggression in the tank. It started with the pits in the face, moved to loss of color and/or skin on the face, and then the fins started becoming very ragged or went missing in some places. The scars on the side I have not seen.
When my hippo tang developed similar symptoms his only tankmates were lots of various gobies and a foxface, there was no aggression in the tank. It started with the pits in the face, moved to loss of color and/or skin on the face, and then the fins started becoming very ragged or went missing in some places. The scars on the side I have not seen.
Back in the 90's, I used to see many fish with severe HLLE, mostly in FO tanks, often medicated to an inch of their lives. Blue tangs were notorious for the condition. It is quite possible for a blue tang to lose flesh/color, and have "melting" fins to the point of almost no tissue, with ZERO aggression from other fish. The pictures in this thread are EXACTLY as I remember what I am describing....the "webbed" look to the remaining tissue at the front of the dorsal fin and the split/separating/fraying tail tips are classic, IME.
The condition, however, does not happen over night.
On a side note, I'm not sure the melting fins and HLLE are one and the same, but they always seemed to accompany one another....
The condition, however, does not happen over night.
On a side note, I'm not sure the melting fins and HLLE are one and the same, but they always seemed to accompany one another....
Last edited:
Fizhstiks
New member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13141459#post13141459 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sufunk
You guys are in serious denial! As bad as fizhstiks tang looks, notice it's fins aren't shredded, LIKE YOURS IS, and his body doesnt look like another tangs caudal spine is using it as a pincushion, LIKE YOURS DOES!
Actually if you look at my picture closely, youll notice my tang was missing parts of his dorsal fin and his anal fin in back near the tail fin...
roktsintst
New member
Thanks for the replys guys. i think i'll get him back inteh display asap.
roktsintst
New member
Well i just pulled him out and he looks horrible. much worse and believe me that is possible. now he looks to be on the way out when before he was beat up but was doing ok.
Well see if he pulls through...
Well see if he pulls through...
It is good that it is back in the tank. It is a shame that so many insisted that it is not HLLE. Severe HLLE in hippo tangs seems to always be accompanied by wasting away of the fins, though it takes a long time to progress to that point.
I hope your tang makes it.
My tang’s healing has stopped recently. I’ve been without PE mysis for a few weeks and I haven’t been using garlic. Still lots of algae and vitamins. I picked up some more mysis today to experiment with.
I hope your tang makes it.
My tang’s healing has stopped recently. I’ve been without PE mysis for a few weeks and I haven’t been using garlic. Still lots of algae and vitamins. I picked up some more mysis today to experiment with.
roktsintst
New member
he is out swimming around now and some of his color is already starting to come back!
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