What's wrong with my Yellow Tang?

[gonpostal]

I ordered a tank raised Yellow Tang online 3 or 4 months ago, and when I got him, he was very skinny. He was acting normally and eating well, so I figured he would fatten up. I noticed pretty quickly that he had clumps of long stringy poop trailing behind him, but thought maybe some strands of chaeto made it out of my sump, and he ate it.
His poop stayed that way, and he never fattened up after several weeks, so I figured he must have worms. I treated with PraziPro in my DT (big mistake, but that's for another thread). It didn't help, so I set up a QT, and tried more PraziPro. After that didn't work, I tried treating the QT with Seachem Metro (3 doses: once every other day as per instructions). That didn't work, so I mixed the Metro with Seachem Focus, and soaked his food in it every day for 7 days. I also dosed the QT with Metro every other day while I was feeding it. I followed the instructions on the Prazi and the Metro carefully.
After all this, he's still very skinny and has long stringy poop. Other than that, he's eating well and acting normally. He's back in the DT, and I'm at a loss. Here are a few pics. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd love to hear them.
Thanks.

 

[C0rp]

If anti worm, anti hex treatment didnt help, I would start treating for bacterial disease. Sulfa or Furan, Seachem Paraguard maybe. Good luck, he doesnt look good.

 

[gonpostal]

Thanks for the reply. According to Seachem's website, Metro is supposed to treat bacterial infections. I figured if the Prazi didn't cure him, the Metro would. Not sure what else I can do.

 

[C0rp]

If I needed to treat a fish for bacteria, metro is not what I would use. Do a triple sulfa bath or furan 2 bath. Maybe it has fish TB which is not curable. What have you got to lose?

 

[forthefishes]

Something to consider: please stop buying wild caught fish. At least then, you won't be hurting wild populations when yours keep dying. Hawaii's wild yellow tang populations in collected areas are 73% lower than those in protected areas. The state now officially calls the aquarium take "unsustainable". Please only buy captive bred fish!
I'm sorry to say but if you do acquire a yellow tang the chances that it will die after a relatively short while are incredibly high, for now they are just not the kind of fish that can survive outside of the reefs. Sorry if that's a bit harsh but buying a captive bred fish will be much more rewarding as it is well adapted to life in a tank and will last much longer and keep all of its beauty in tact. Thank you for reading!
Golly though the poor guy does look really bad...

 

[Toddrtrex]

Something to consider: please stop buying wild caught fish. At least then, you won't be hurting wild populations when yours keep dying. Hawaii's wild yellow tang populations in collected areas are 73% lower than those in protected areas. The state now officially calls the aquarium take "unsustainable". Please only buy captive bred fish!
I'm sorry to say but if you do acquire a yellow tang the chances that it will die after a relatively short while are incredibly high, for now they are just not the kind of fish that can survive outside of the reefs. Sorry if that's a bit harsh but buying a captive bred fish will be much more rewarding as it is well adapted to life in a tank and will last much longer and keep all of its beauty in tact. Thank you for reading!
Golly though the poor guy does look really bad...

And you waited a month to make this post?????

 

[chasedasea]

Just found this. Any updates gonpostal? Did you find anything that worked?

 

[jhentr]

Just food for thought:

I was scared when I saw similar things came out of my sailfin and trigger. But I concluded that it was chaeto that they ate since the small clump that I tossed in the DT was gone. Once the chaeto was gone, so were the 'stringy poop' similiar to yours.

 

[mtnbiker44]

Loosing my Yellow Tang

Loosing my Yellow Tang

Tank has been set up for 4 yrs. Have had this guy for 3 & has never gotten any bigger & now he's getting skinny. He eats like the other fish & seems to act normally. I've fed him ( & all my other fish) brine shrimp for years. As you can see he is lamost transluscent! I've recently been told I should be feeding him sea weed, so I have been with a combination of mysis shrimp. Phosphates have been off the charts. Up till 2 months ago I've been using tap water without noticable problems. I've since ( 2 months ago) gotten an RoDi & a skimmer. I have a terrible algea problem. I have a bag of Phosban in my FX5 filter till I get a reactor set up. Does anyone have any ideas? Do you need more information?
Thanks for your help

 

[jimmy frag]

IMO brine shrimp doesnt have enough neutreants in it and tangs need algea to help digest there food. sounds like he has been starved

 

[lagatbezan]

did you try doing a fw dip and see if anything falls off? if he is eating and losing weight at the same time then i would guess that it has to be some sort of internal parasite.
I doubt he would have lasted so long if it was an bacterial infection (but i could be wrong). also maybe try soaking his food in garlic which might help.
Try to give your tangs seaweed atleast a couple of times a day.
but i have to say that last pic doesnt look too good.

 

[nonstopfishies]

did you try doing a fw dip and see if anything falls off? if he is eating and losing weight at the same time then i would guess that it has to be some sort of internal parasite.
I doubt he would have lasted so long if it was an bacterial infection (but i could be wrong). also maybe try soaking his food in garlic which might help.
Try to give your tangs seaweed atleast a couple of times a day.
but i have to say that last pic doesnt look too good.

Agreed. If the fish eats a lot of nutritious food and stays or gets more skinny it would be from an internal parasite.

 

[mtnbiker44]

I went out last night & bought some seaweed & he began picking at it right away. I put another one out this morn & we'll see later how he does.
I appreciate all the input. Although I've had this tank several years, I'm finally learning how to do it right with RC & your help. I will keep you updated after work today.

 

[jhentr]

As long as he's eating seaweed/nori, I'll make sure he has it at his disposal anytime he wants to fatten up his belly.