sg1838
New member
Hi All,
Well, I think I have a Yellow Tang with Fin Rot. I'm not 100% sure as I've never specifically been shown a Yellow Tang with Fin Rot, but from my research this is my best guess.
In short, mature tank, been running about 10 months. All water parameters look good, and have been stable at these levels for the past 4 to 6 months (see below). I've had the Yellow Tang for about 9 months, and he's been perfectly happy and healthy the entire time I've had him. Initially, there was some aggression between it and my Diamond Goby, but that subsided months ago. No other aggression towards the Yellow Tang has been observed.
A few days ago I noticed it's dorsal fins appeared to be looking a little ragged. No other change in behavior has been noticed. It is still swimming actively, and eating voraciously. Over the past couple of days, the fins definitely appear to be getting worse. Closer inspection of the fins shows a small amount of brown left on the edges of the fins where they have worn away. I have not observed any other spots or discoloring on the fish (e.g. white spots which would lead me to believe it might have Ich).
Here are the water parameters as of the last hour:
Temp: 80.4°
Specific Gravity: 1.026
pH: 7.95 (w/House Air Conditioning On - With House Air Conditioning Off, runs about 8.3)
Ammonia: <0.25ppm (that's the lowest value on my Salifert test kit when no color has been observed.)
Nitrate: 5 - 10ppm
Phosphate: 0.0 - 0.1ppm
Calcium: 420ppm
Alkalinity: 2.8 meq/L (7.85 dKH)
Magnesium: 1375ppm
I dose 20ml/day of BRS Calcium & Alkalinity. I'm running GFO & Carbon - both substrates were changed less than 1 month ago.
I daily feed alternately 1 cube of 50/50 Plus from H2O Life Aquarium Foods (Brine Shrimp, Artemia sp., Bloodworms, Chironomus sp., Mysis Shrimp, Mysis sp., water sufficient for filling and freezing, potassium ascorbate.
(source of Stabilized vitamin C).) and 1/2 Tsp. of 1mm Spectum Pellets. 1 to 2 times per week I supplement feed with Nori. Again, the Yellow Tang has been gobbling up all three. Of what I have read, the only thing I can see from my feeding schedule is to possibly up the Nori from 1 to 2 times per week to 2 to 3 times per week. There really aren't any other greens in the tank for the Tang to eat, so whatever he gets is from the Nori and Spectrum Pellets.
Other tank inhabitants are listed below in my signature block. I can't remember off the top of my head, but these three may not be in my signature block, as they were the last 3 inhabitants added: Female Bellus Angelfish, Exquisite Fairy Wrasse (both about 2 months ago), and a Peppermint Shrimp (about 1 month ago). Again, no aggression has been observed recently.
So, questions:
1. Do you think my conclusion is correct?
2. What do I do now?
This is a full reef tank with corals & inverts, so treating the tank with Copper is not an option. Removing the Tang would also most likely mean tearing the whole tank down to catch it.
I'm really bummed because my beautiful pristine Yellow Tang now doesn't look so pristine any more. :sad2:
Any help you can provide is much appreciated.
Well, I think I have a Yellow Tang with Fin Rot. I'm not 100% sure as I've never specifically been shown a Yellow Tang with Fin Rot, but from my research this is my best guess.
In short, mature tank, been running about 10 months. All water parameters look good, and have been stable at these levels for the past 4 to 6 months (see below). I've had the Yellow Tang for about 9 months, and he's been perfectly happy and healthy the entire time I've had him. Initially, there was some aggression between it and my Diamond Goby, but that subsided months ago. No other aggression towards the Yellow Tang has been observed.
A few days ago I noticed it's dorsal fins appeared to be looking a little ragged. No other change in behavior has been noticed. It is still swimming actively, and eating voraciously. Over the past couple of days, the fins definitely appear to be getting worse. Closer inspection of the fins shows a small amount of brown left on the edges of the fins where they have worn away. I have not observed any other spots or discoloring on the fish (e.g. white spots which would lead me to believe it might have Ich).
Here are the water parameters as of the last hour:
Temp: 80.4°
Specific Gravity: 1.026
pH: 7.95 (w/House Air Conditioning On - With House Air Conditioning Off, runs about 8.3)
Ammonia: <0.25ppm (that's the lowest value on my Salifert test kit when no color has been observed.)
Nitrate: 5 - 10ppm
Phosphate: 0.0 - 0.1ppm
Calcium: 420ppm
Alkalinity: 2.8 meq/L (7.85 dKH)
Magnesium: 1375ppm
I dose 20ml/day of BRS Calcium & Alkalinity. I'm running GFO & Carbon - both substrates were changed less than 1 month ago.
I daily feed alternately 1 cube of 50/50 Plus from H2O Life Aquarium Foods (Brine Shrimp, Artemia sp., Bloodworms, Chironomus sp., Mysis Shrimp, Mysis sp., water sufficient for filling and freezing, potassium ascorbate.
(source of Stabilized vitamin C).) and 1/2 Tsp. of 1mm Spectum Pellets. 1 to 2 times per week I supplement feed with Nori. Again, the Yellow Tang has been gobbling up all three. Of what I have read, the only thing I can see from my feeding schedule is to possibly up the Nori from 1 to 2 times per week to 2 to 3 times per week. There really aren't any other greens in the tank for the Tang to eat, so whatever he gets is from the Nori and Spectrum Pellets.
Other tank inhabitants are listed below in my signature block. I can't remember off the top of my head, but these three may not be in my signature block, as they were the last 3 inhabitants added: Female Bellus Angelfish, Exquisite Fairy Wrasse (both about 2 months ago), and a Peppermint Shrimp (about 1 month ago). Again, no aggression has been observed recently.
So, questions:
1. Do you think my conclusion is correct?
2. What do I do now?
This is a full reef tank with corals & inverts, so treating the tank with Copper is not an option. Removing the Tang would also most likely mean tearing the whole tank down to catch it.
I'm really bummed because my beautiful pristine Yellow Tang now doesn't look so pristine any more. :sad2:
Any help you can provide is much appreciated.
