yellow tangs keep dying

[mainermark]

I have a 90 gal reef tank 1.024 sal zero nitrates, etc. hardness 425, ro system, I have plenty of other fish, clowns, goby, coral beauty, cardinal all for over a yr. I cant seem to keep the yellow tang. I provide algae strips 3-4 per week. After 3-4 months the tang becomes slow and just dies. ANy idea why? this has happened 3 times in the last 16 months. no other fish die. thanks

 

[ca1ore]

Any signs of disease, ich, etc? Fish wasting away can be a sign of internal worms. Do you QT new fish? Other than observing for disease, QT is an excellent way to fatten up a new fish. I QT all new fish and feed them multiple times a day. Need to keep an eye out for ammonia, but no worries on nitrates or phosphates, so can feed them as much as they will eat.

 

[mainermark]

Thanks No signs of ick. Fish eats well right up until day before it dies. Odd keeps happening only to Tangs

 

[BrianD]

Do you offer other food besides nori? Also, I would always have nori out (not just 3-4 days a week).

 

[maikoa02]

Sounds like internal parasites. Tangs are generally very hardy once they've conquered the ich stage. Check your supplier (LFS) where they purchase their tangs from. PIA is a very good source for healthy yellow tangs.

 

[degibson84]

I have only had one tang survive. My current tomini. Any other tang i have ever purchased has died. Tangs are one fish I will never attempt again

 

[BrianD]

Sounds like internal parasites. .

I'm curious. Why it that?

 

[BrianD]

I have only had one tang survive. My current tomini. Any other tang i have ever purchased has died. Tangs are one fish I will never attempt again

I have had multiple varieties of zebrasoma, and don't find they are difficult to keep.

 

[gobolts23]

on the next attempt i would treat with prazi pro in QT...it could be flukes or intestinal worms.

 

[snorvich]

Do you offer other food besides nori? Also, I would always have nori out (not just 3-4 days a week).

zebrasoma tangs are normally easy, but all tangs eat a lot (and poop a lot), so you may not be feeding enough. Any unusual behaviors occurring? Reclusiveness? Fast breathing? Twitching? Flashing?

 

[MrTuskfish]

Most tangs are easy, yellow tangs could live on the floor for a week. All fish should be quarantined on arrival, but tangs top the list of fish that benefit from a QT. You can catch most tang problems, fatten them up (vital, IMO), get to know their normal behavior, etc. If you don't use a QT, I'd wait with any new fish. FWIW, most dead/dying YTs I've ever seen were malnourished or had internal parasites that led to the same skinny appearance. Yellow and Regal (hippo) tangs may be the most abused fish in the hobby. They can take a whole lot of mis-treatment (not saying its intentional) and hang on long after most fish would have croaked.

 

[BS]

Tangs should be allowed to graze all day... Mine has nori on a clip for most of the day and I feed some emerald entree when I get home

 

[snorvich]

Tangs should be allowed to graze all day... Mine has nori on a clip for most of the day and I feed some emerald entree when I get home

Exactly. Even in very large tanks with inherent grazing, nori should be constantly available.

 

[TWISTER702]

exactly. Even in very large tanks with inherent grazing, nori should be constantly available.

+1

 

[mainermark]

Thanks for all the comments. I do not have alot of algae so more feeding (against what I like to do for all the other fish) seems like the best approach. I just did not know if a 90 gal tank was big enough Thanks again

 

[sniceley]

Tank size doesn't matter much when you are talking about one fish. Big groups of one species or lots of different tangs together then tank size matters more for aggression than anything. I had similar issues with yellows for a while and it came down to internal parasites (worms). Even if the fish looked healthy they would just doe and it turned out to have a digestive tract full of worms causing blockage. Prazi treatment in quarantine is the only way to go. Do two treatments over a week and you should be good and always treat for Ich in my opinion, I use chloroquine phosphate and it does wonders.

 

[BrianD]

Thanks for all the comments. I do not have alot of algae so more feeding (against what I like to do for all the other fish) seems like the best approach. I just did not know if a 90 gal tank was big enough Thanks again

If you can't provide algae continually, I wouldn't add a tang.

 

[SDguy]

If you can't provide algae continually, I wouldn't add a tang.

I agree with Brian. Doesn't sound like you have enough algae, and doesn't sound like you want to add more food, which incidentally depending on your tank husbandry might cause algae.