Thought I'd try again with a Yellow Tang. He's been in quarantine since buying him 2 weeks ago, a few days after he arrived at the store. He's been eating fine (mysis 2 x per day and nori) and acting normal until this a.m. He wouldn't eat, is breathing heavy and currently swimming in the current of the filter. Although, I did see him pick at the nori a while ago. He's in a 10 gal tank w/only a hang-on filter w/firefish who is acting normal. I changed 3 gal water this afternoon. I dropped the water down to get more agitation, thinking maybe he's not getting enough oxygen in the water. I tested nitrate -- very low. pH is just a bit low -- 7.8 as opposed to 8.0. He's got no spots or marks. My not-so-knowledgable husband thinks it's because he's in such a small tank, since Yellow Tangs are such active fish, which I suppose isn't out of the question, but do I dare move him like his is. I'm thinkin' not. Anybody?
Yellow Tang
- Thread starter joyski58
- Start date
my purple tang did that about 3 days after I got him, but he also had all the spots, he just got stressed from his move from the petshop to home. I raised the temp and the salinity and he was perfectly fine in a couple days, I also fed garlic soaked food. But you said yours did not have spots, so I don't know what to think. It sounds stress related to me though.
I doubt PH is the issue.
The biggest killer in a QT tank is AMMONIA............ due to a tank not being cycled long enough or not having sufficient bacteria to immediately support a new inhabitant (that we often overfeed or that does not eat well and food becomes waste).
Also keep an eye on the temperature, a 10g tank is most influenced by the room temp and very quickly.
The biggest killer in a QT tank is AMMONIA............ due to a tank not being cycled long enough or not having sufficient bacteria to immediately support a new inhabitant (that we often overfeed or that does not eat well and food becomes waste).
Also keep an eye on the temperature, a 10g tank is most influenced by the room temp and very quickly.
The ammonia thing crossed my mind, since there has been no inhabants in the tank for a long time, other than bristle worms, but my test kit had expired and I do keep the tank fed when unoccupied. Plus the firefish is fine. I'll get one at lunch and test. I'll just @#$%^& if that's the case. I have fed a lot. JKJ
Got a test kit and tested for ammonia at lunch today. No trace of it. Mr. Tang is now hanging out by the top of the water, still breathing heavy. Crapola. Guess I'll try another water change and an airstone this evening. Firefish still fine. To Hell with the money; I hate to loose the life. Any other ideas or comments?
Tazbader
New member
this doesn't sound good..... seems like stress or an oxygenation issue.... lower salinity might help, as well as a hiding place.. depending on where you bought it I'd say cyanide might be an issue but I'd like to think not... or at least that it was bought from a reputable source.. acclimating a tang is a pain sometimes... and sometimes they seem bulletproof. Hope it gets over the hump....
coralreefer
No Pistons
Joyce it still sounds like an oxygenation problem to me. I'd put an extra pump/power head in the tank if you've got one. A hob filter and an airstone might not cut it for a tang.
I'd also do like taz said and lower the salinity...easier on the fish...and if you don't already have them and some "hiddy holes".
He seemed stressed in the store tank w/no hiding places; kinda why I chose him. My QT tank is in a closet and does have some hiddy holes, and the light is low. I added a airstone, which kicked up the flow in the whole tank, and did another 3 gal change -- lowered the salanity just a tad. It's now at 1.021 down from 1.024. HOW LOW SHOULD I GO? He was swimming around after I turned the lights out last night, and I swear I saw him pick at the rocks a bit. His color is still good. The firefish is still fine. I'm not giving up on him yet. Took me forever to convince myself to get a new tang. I appreciate the discussion, guys !!!! Thank you.
You can take the salinity down as low as 1.009 when treating for ICH. I ran FO at about 1.017 - 1.019 and I have checked the salinity of SW fish shipments, it has been about the same. You do not want to go up or down quickly for obvious reasons. I always heard down was less stress than up.
With the tank in a closet, good water quality, hiding places for the tang, no aggressive tank mates???? Tough to say what the issue is - perhaps flow as Amy said. My QT has a HOB and I dropped a powerhead in there also.
How is the tank temperature?
Is it still not eating?
How many hours of light are you doing?
With the tank in a closet, good water quality, hiding places for the tang, no aggressive tank mates???? Tough to say what the issue is - perhaps flow as Amy said. My QT has a HOB and I dropped a powerhead in there also.
How is the tank temperature?
Is it still not eating?
How many hours of light are you doing?
here is one last step you could try Joy, but I am sure most would not recommend it, I did it for my sister in laws yellow tang and I saved its life. She purchased a yellow tang and put it in her small tank, but her tank was very new, the tang went downhill fast, I took it and put it in a tank with established "old" water, and in less than two days the fish was perfectly fine. Perhaps you could try doing a water change in the QT tank with water from your established tank. Its worth a try. I am no expert at all, so if someone else says not to try this, then don't, I am just letting you know what worked for me.
Also Joy, I know how you feel about animals and you need to know that this tang is not failing because of anything you did, as you stated, you picked this tang because of how shy he was and so on, so it is probable that this would have happened no matter where this fish went, at least you are doing every single thing you can for it, thats all that matters.
Tazbader
New member
Quote, "He seemed stressed in the store tank w/no hiding places; kinda why I chose him..." and "I hate this part the most. Wish I knew what "the lesson" was here...." I guess the lesson IMO would be only buy the best looking fish outta the bunch... and see it eat. Also you said that it was in a closet... I was wondering if part of this might be it freaking out whenever you open the door to the closet... dim lighting may help.
As a side note... sometimes in an attempt to quarantine a new critter the total isolation thing can be counter-productive. I noticed this alot in chameleons and some snakes... as well as fish, especially sharks and eels. They gotta get used to you fast as you are their source of food. Imagine if when our mom gave us the ...... ... um... bottle we flipped out in horror and hid away. Just a thought... good luck with your tang..............
As a side note... sometimes in an attempt to quarantine a new critter the total isolation thing can be counter-productive. I noticed this alot in chameleons and some snakes... as well as fish, especially sharks and eels. They gotta get used to you fast as you are their source of food. Imagine if when our mom gave us the ...... ... um... bottle we flipped out in horror and hid away. Just a thought... good luck with your tang..............
Again, thanks for all the feedback. The support helps so much.
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Tang gone. Sadness within this animal lover. Firefish still fine; moving him to the display tonight. The (fish) closet's door does stay open when I have a resident, and this tang ate well and got excited to see me/food for at least 2 weeks before he stopped eating. I sure toyed with moving him to the display tank. And I get what you mean about the flipping out. Many lessons here, but the lines are fuzzy. I hate to talk about it, but if there's any answers here ... when he died his body showed like hemoraging or something inside. Redness through his body. Started with his snout and spread over his top and bottom inside.
Thank you again, guys.
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Tang gone. Sadness within this animal lover. Firefish still fine; moving him to the display tonight. The (fish) closet's door does stay open when I have a resident, and this tang ate well and got excited to see me/food for at least 2 weeks before he stopped eating. I sure toyed with moving him to the display tank. And I get what you mean about the flipping out. Many lessons here, but the lines are fuzzy. I hate to talk about it, but if there's any answers here ... when he died his body showed like hemoraging or something inside. Redness through his body. Started with his snout and spread over his top and bottom inside.
Thank you again, guys.
Tazbader
New member
I don't know what the red hemorrhaging thing is but I have seen it before too.. always around the belly area and the lips in dead or nearly dead yellow tangs. It almost seems like they get a bug in their gut and they just quit eating, like some sort of entercolitis. Maybe it is an oxygenation issue from cyanide capture.. which can show up in the belly too as cyanide will make the liver swell up and rot the gut. I don't know, maybe it's just what they do as they die. It almost seems that they build up alot of capillary blood flow and get "flush." It seems a shame that it was doing well for a good while then turned south like that. Kind of a puzzling thing this hobby....
I do know of a yellow tang in the area that is doing very well and is not too big, (2 1/2 in or so)
if you are looking for a replacement. Let me know.... BTW sorry to here about the fish, and thanks for sharing your situation. It might help someone...
I do know of a yellow tang in the area that is doing very well and is not too big, (2 1/2 in or so)
if you are looking for a replacement. Let me know.... BTW sorry to here about the fish, and thanks for sharing your situation. It might help someone...
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Salty Bginners
Premium Member
Well, at least you had him for a little while.
Take it as a lesson on buying things that look ill or abnormal in the store. As has already been stated, try to pick out the best looking, strongest fish in the tank, and before you buy make sure you get a good look at the fish to check for parasites/ick/injury/whatever. If possible, try to get to the store at feeding time and watch the fish to see if it eats.
As for the red 'blush' or 'hemmorage' I think I can explain that with simple biology. As the heart beat slows, blood pressure dips. Capilaries, which are the smaller vessels that travel between arteries and veins often go up to the skin's surface to feed the cells there (check the palms of your hands if you don't beleive me). These capiliaries are very, very small and it takes a lot of pressure to force blood through such a small opening (Which is why fatty buildup can cause heart attacks and stroke). As the heart fails, the pressure reduces the most in the extremities where it is farthest from the heart (Fingers and toes in humans, lips and fins in fish). The blood in these areas no longer have enough pressure to flow through the capilaries and it pools there. As the blood pressure weakens this pooling spreads, and when the heart stops, pooling continues throughout the body. This is often seen in dead people, and police often use it to tell if a body has been moved or repositioned.
Just a thought, but that could explain the 'blushing".
~Bginners.
Take it as a lesson on buying things that look ill or abnormal in the store. As has already been stated, try to pick out the best looking, strongest fish in the tank, and before you buy make sure you get a good look at the fish to check for parasites/ick/injury/whatever. If possible, try to get to the store at feeding time and watch the fish to see if it eats.
As for the red 'blush' or 'hemmorage' I think I can explain that with simple biology. As the heart beat slows, blood pressure dips. Capilaries, which are the smaller vessels that travel between arteries and veins often go up to the skin's surface to feed the cells there (check the palms of your hands if you don't beleive me). These capiliaries are very, very small and it takes a lot of pressure to force blood through such a small opening (Which is why fatty buildup can cause heart attacks and stroke). As the heart fails, the pressure reduces the most in the extremities where it is farthest from the heart (Fingers and toes in humans, lips and fins in fish). The blood in these areas no longer have enough pressure to flow through the capilaries and it pools there. As the blood pressure weakens this pooling spreads, and when the heart stops, pooling continues throughout the body. This is often seen in dead people, and police often use it to tell if a body has been moved or repositioned.
Just a thought, but that could explain the 'blushing".
~Bginners.
As much as I hate to admit this in front of all you aquarists, I came home Friday after work to find the firefish dead. The evening I was gonna move him to the display. [Kick myself over and over and over for not doing it sooner.] I killed these 2 beautiful fish. I can't believe it. It's a first for me -- killing a fish. I've always been an advocate of the quarantine tank; for now, not so much. I took the tank down, cleaned it with fresh water and vinegar and discarded the (very old) substrate. I put the rock back, bare bottom, along with the filter pad. Will I get the nerve up to put another fish in there any time soon ... ???? How can I be assured a 10 gal tank is safe?
