What's up with these yellow tangs?

A

aravindk

New member
Hello,

About couple of weeks ago, I bought six yellow tangs hoping to create a school. They went through QT process. I pretty much followed the process outlined here:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/blog/quarantining-marine-fish-made-simple

Three weeks into QT, all of them were quite healthy and feeding well. One day I found one of them got stuck in the filter. Once I switched off the filter, he started moving. I've put a five gallon tank inside the QT tank to provide him a quieter place away from the remaining tangs. He seemed fine for two days but died later. A day or two later, another one went and got stuck. Then the third one. After I lost three of them, the same thing happened to the fourth one. Although I rescued him, he was badly bruised with red marks on this body. I moved him to a separate QT tank so he can heal. The four weeks QT was coming to a close, So I decided to move the two healthy tangs to display. All along, I was wondering if these guys couldn't handle simple HOB, how are they going to put up with the remaining tangs in display and two MP40 and a WP40.

As soon as I dropped both in the display, within minutes, one of them swam towards the PH as if he was a magnet. So he gets stuck again. Had to power off, so he can swim away. This was three days ago. Now one of them is missing. RIP. The other one is happily getting along with the rest of the tankmates. He seems healthy.

Meanwhile the one who was healing in the QT stopped eating. He pretty much stayed in the same location, although he looked just fine otherwise. Today I came home from work only to find out he is stuck in the HOB filter again. He is barely alive and I don't expect him to make it.

Can someone help me understand this phenomenon? All fish looked healthy to my eyes. The HOB filter are the regular ones sized for the QT tank.

Any input is appreciated.
 
Did you treat the tangs with any of the mentioned meds in the link you provided? If so which ones and what exactly did you do? The fact that all the fish became so weak that they couldn't stay away from the filter or power head is very odd. I assume they were eating and eating well? What were they eating? Do you have a ammonia alert badge in the QT? How big was the QT for the 6 YT? How big were the tangs? More info will help better pinpoint the problem that occurred
 
I had them in two QT tanks three tangs each. One is a 40 gallon breeder and the other one is a 30 gallon. I also had five barlett anthias along with them. Three in one tank and two in the other. They are doing perfectly fine and they are in the DT now.

I had ammonia alert badge in both tanks and didn't register anything. I also did a 10% water change every three days. I treated them with prazipro first and then cupramine. No other medication was used since it wasn't necessary.

One another thing worth mentioning here. I started the QT about four weeks ago, with three more fish. A long nose butterfly, a blonde naso and a flame angel - all of them in the 30 gallon. I lost the butterfly and the blonde naso on the third day of QT. Worried about the ammonia overload, I had set up the second QT. Everything was fine for a while. Once I started the cupramine, I lost the flame angel (should've known better). After that no loss for three straight weeks and all fish were healthy, eating etc. I fed mysis every other day. Alternate days I fed them nori. They were eating just fine.
 
Well I'm kind of at a loss, with the PP being administered that should of taken care of internal hitch hikers which I would usually blame this on. Did you do two doses of the PP or just one? What were in the two QT tanks before they were QT tanks? Just trying to rule out something that may have been left over in a tank? Hopefully Snorvich will give you some knowledge I am missing in all of this
 
thanks for the response. I did prazipro twice. The second day of QT and then again after one week. Prior to this, I used the QT tank for another set of fish for which I followed the same method. (prazipro+cupramine).
 
A handful of observations:

1. That's a lot of fish over a relatively short period of time - nothing good comes from rushing in this hobby.
2. Although there are mixed opinions on the subject, I personally do not like to treat prophylactically with cupramine
3. Getting stuck on an HOB filter suggests something very amiss with the balance of a fish and I'd be inclined to think some kind of bacterial problem (absent any external symptoms).
4. I have had very good success with using nitrofuracin green powder (except on wrasses) on all new fish.
5. How are you acclimating new fish to QT?
6. Make sure to really clean out your QT tanks (dilute bleach solution) and let them fully dry before using again.
 
Another couple of questions: Where did you get the fish? If brought on-line, where?
If local? How long were they at the LFS before you purchased them?
 
Rea17 said:
What concentration was your cupramine at? Did you test it?
Click to expand...

2.5 ML of cupramine on the first day of dosage. repeat after 48 hrs. I tested using salifert for a concentration of 0.5. I also added five drops after every water change.
 
they could have been caught in the wild using so kind of poison, cyanide? sounds like they were unhealthy from the get go. petco isnt a great place for livestock either
 
aravindk said:
The tangs were bought from petco. I am not sure how long they had them.
Click to expand...
Petco the physical store doesn't have the best reputation for healthy fish. IME, some Petcos are good, most are not.

Word is that Petco online uses the same suppliers as some of the more reputable retailers which would make Petco online a safer alternative then their physical stores. I believe the debate goes on with Petco online since it is still supporting a chain that doesn't particularly take the best care of their livestock...


brett7768 said:
they could have been caught in the wild using so kind of poison, cyanide? sounds like they were unhealthy from the get go. petco isnt a great place for livestock either
Click to expand...

I thought about them being caught in an inhumane manner as well. I agree with the Petco part as well...

Best of luck, and keep us posted...
 
With the water for the QT did you use anything like a water conditioner in the water? I ask because this will make cupramine much more harmful at the recommended dose. Petco the store is a bad place to buy fish from, petco.com on the other hand is a much better place to get them from if using petco since the come from Quality Marine or CIS Holdings whichever you would like to call them
 
I would rule out cyanide caught fish being that they live only in the range from japan to Hawaii and Marshall Islands areas
 
Dmorty217 said:
I would rule out cyanide caught fish being that they live only in the range from japan to Hawaii and Marshall Islands areas
Click to expand...

Good point. I pay a lot of attention to the source of all my fish and avoid several areas. For some reason, its seldom discussed. Good online dealers always list where the fish was collected, many lfs have no idea.
 
aravindk said:
2.5 ML of cupramine on the first day of dosage. repeat after 48 hrs. I tested using salifert for a concentration of 0.5. I also added five drops after every water change.
Click to expand...

Get the Seachem test for copper, I'm not sure if the salifert test will read cupramine. Did you ever get a actual reading of copper with the test kit after dosing? I had 4 fish 10 months ago in a 75g and had a bad test kit and almost killed them because of this same reason.
 
Dmorty217 said:
Get the Seachem test for copper, I'm not sure if the salifert test will read cupramine. Did you ever get a actual reading of copper with the test kit after dosing? I had 4 fish 10 months ago in a 75g and had a bad test kit and almost killed them because of this same reason.
Click to expand...

I've used Seachem and salifert to test cupramine, salifert is easier to read and seems more accurate (based on how the test is performed vs Seachem), but I usually use both kits and compare to make sure my reading is accurate. With Seachem, I also always run the reference test for comparison.
 
Dmorty217 said:
Get the Seachem test for copper, I'm not sure if the salifert test will read cupramine. Did you ever get a actual reading of copper with the test kit after dosing? I had 4 fish 10 months ago in a 75g and had a bad test kit and almost killed them because of this same reason.
Click to expand...

With the salifert kit, I did see the copper reading 0.5. I have no reason to suspect the test kit.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

M
help with new dracula goby
Replies
5
Views
407
leebca
L
C
Tang aggression
Replies
3
Views
1K
OrionN
OrionN
D
Coral beauty Sick - how do i treat
Replies
3
Views
1K
leebca
L
OrionN
Naso elegans, the Blonde Naso
Replies
1
Views
235
OrionN
OrionN
beckya
purple tang
Replies
1
Views
170
OrionN
OrionN
Back
Top