yellow tang given to me with possible HLLE and Bacteria Infection

[slathrum]

Well, I have a yellow tang that was given to me that has red blotches on him and the area around his head has the loss of color look that the pictures of tangs with HLLE show. They had a 20 gallon tank and didn't know any better when they bought him. They had 4 damsels and a clown in there too. All of the other fish died and the tang was the only to survive. The scales pretty much fell off of the damsels - it was very sad. Meanwhile, all their mushrooms and feather dusters continue to thrive.

I'm about to begin treating this guy in a QT for his probable bacterial infection. I'm just wondering if there may be anything more serious going on due to every other fish that was in this tank dieing. He's been eating well but they hadn't been feeding him the right foods so I plan to remedy that. With a little luck and some proper care I really hope he'll pull through as he would make a great addition to my larger tank. It's a 58 gallon which I'm sure many would say is not big enough, but it's definitely better than 20.

 

[slathrum]

Just got back from the LFS and all they had was jungle anti-fungus/bacteria tablets which have nitrofurazone in them. They did have maracyn 2 but it said it was for freshwater only. Is there a separate product for saltwater or is it safe to use the freshwater maracyn? I ended up getting the jungle tablets and some medicated anti-bacteria food with nitrofurazone in it too.

It's hard to see him very clearly because my QT is a big clear tub I normally use to mix saltwater with. It does look like the HLLE is allready improving as the color has returned to his facial area, if you call it that. Still has some red spots but they are improving as well.

 

[GSerg2]

Probably just improving water conditions will help. It could be that alone will allow him to fight off whatever is adversly affecting his health.

If you have to treat him for an infection, I would use the Maracyn II. The freshwater stuff is the same as the saltwater stuff but they add some vitamins to the saltwater version. I used it on a Yellow tang that had what I suspect was a bacterial infection and it worked well. Here is a thread that discusses it's use. I followed it to the letter and it worked. Follow TerryB's advice...

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=671026&highlight=maracyn

Also, I would suggest using a Selcon supplement. No matter what as this will help boost his immune system.

 

[slathrum]

Well, after a couple days of the medicine not seeming to do much good and a tang that seemed just a little stressed out from going from a 20 gallon to a 15 gallon QT, I decided to see how he'd do in my tank. It was risky with his condition, but I went off how most people say the bacteria infections are not spread from fish to fish. Overnight, all the red spots went away and he looks almost 100% better now. He still has a little scarring on his facial area from the HLLE, but I even caught him nibbling on some algae growing on my LR. He didn't really seem to care much for the seaweed selects on the clip, but once a piece broke off and floated in the current in the tank he went right for it. I'm hoping he'll develop a good taste for that and will then start grazing on what's on the clip.

 

[parkavenuereef]

feed it seeweed select and garlic, it will come back in a week or less.. I had a tang in the same situation.. still have it and has been great since the day i got it. I caused by stress and malnutrition.

 

[slathrum]

Yeah...I have pretty high hopes for him. He was in a 20 gallon tank and eating nothing but plankton and brine shrimp previously. He grew rather quickly too. He's allready a good 5 inches and was maybe 3 at most 2 months ago. I wonder if his meaty diet had anything to do with it, or if yellow tangs just grow that fast. I'd rather he be healthy than big, of course though. I'm very glad my friends decided to give him to me and I think he is too. I'll have to get some garlic so he'll take a little more notice to the seaweed, but he's always picking at my live rock so I must have some good algae on there!