Blue tang

[Soto413]

I finally bought a fish , I bought a Blue Tang because my daughters wanted "dory" anyways since I added him to the tank he has done nothing but hide , he squeezes between rocks looking like he is dead or stuck , it's has been driving me crazy just want to know if this is normal.... I use to have a little fake house that looked like coral and he wouldn't come out of it at all not even to eat so I took it out and now he squeezes between the rock

In the tank I also have :
Clown fish
Sailfin tang
Goby filefish

 

[Vettitude]

How many days has it been? I
have heard of some doing that. Mine didn't act that way but about after a week, succumbed to ick. I have heard that these can be an easily stressed fish and develop ick. I've known people that have had them for years without issue" I wish I knew the secret. All of my other fish are fine. All parameters normal.
If it only has been a short period of time, don't worry too much. If it has been days, it could be cause for concern.

 

[TheTodd]

New fish can do that sometimes. My worry would be long term if it makes it through the introduction. You have two Tangs in a 55g tank when they should be in closer to a 180g. Stressed Tangs have lower immunity to things like Ich. They also can be territorial, and that tank will not leave everyone much room for territory, which can lead to stress and/or aggression.

 

[Lucasb625]

Blue tangs are strange fish an "dory" depicts one perfectly. Hey are crazy. They will hide sometimes and then they will swim all over other times. Mine was like that too and it still does it when the lights are off. Just give it a couple of days. Mine i think also has ick. I hope this helped

 

[Soto413]

My blue tang has been doing much better after about 2 days she has been non stop swimming around she still hides when the lights are off but they all hide when lights are off

 

[Andy Sager]

Hippo Tangs definitely like to hide in the wierdest places. I actually saw one once within the tenticles of a Haitian Pink Tip Anemone. It was not being eaten by the anemone either. It willingly swam in to and out of the anemone. (The fish was a small juv. about 1 1/2" long.) Go figure. lol The ability to hide in small places tho is a natural thing as I have seen on film a school of Juv. Blue tangs hide within a piece of Brownstem coral when a larger grouper was swimming nearby. So your fish's reaction is not abnormal (Unlike Dory. lol A cute quirk for the movie but a little overboard. )
My only concern would be the other 2 Tangs. They might cause a problem depending on their sizes.
Also, Ick, while a parasite/ disease, is not really the problem. Ick is a sign of the fish being under stress. If your fish have Ick, it's a sign you need to be checking water parameters, temp fluctuations and in regards to new fish, your acclimating procedures. Something caused a stress and the Ick parasite usually only effects the fish when it's under stress.

Hope this helps.

 

[TheTodd]

Hippo Tangs definitely like to hide in the wierdest places...

Also, Ick, while a parasite/ disease, is not really the problem. Ick is a sign of the fish being under stress. If your fish have Ick, it's a sign you need to be checking water parameters, temp fluctuations and in regards to new fish, your acclimating procedures. Something caused a stress and the Ick parasite usually only effects the fish when it's under stress.

Hope this helps.

Agreed. Be aware that stress can come from fish being aggressive and/or territorial too. Odds are good that's gonna happen eventually with two larger tangs in a 55g tank. Something like a single Kole or Tomini tang would probably work, as the general consensus is that they don't need a six foot tank to thrive. They aren't Dory, but they have personality and they have a much better chance of not causing future problems.

 

[Soto413]

My sailfin tang passed away yesterday , there is nothing wrong with my tank we tested it everything was perfect we even went to our fish store and our water was fine , my sister in law bought the sailfin tang from another fish store I don't go to , we think the fish was sick before she bought it , all my other fun seem fine & are always swimming around more now ... Thanks for the advice

 

[Soto413]

Sorry meant Fish

 

[mr_X]

If that's the case I would hold off on any more fish until you see if that alleged disease was contagious. Give it a few weeks at least.

 

[Soto413]

Yea I definitely don't plan on buy any other fish anytime soon I'm afraid of them dying , I felt so bad for the fish when it died

 

[TheTodd]

This may be an odd set of questions, but in your profile, it says you started a saltwater tank in December. When did you start it exactly? How did you cycle it? When did the cycle finish? When did you add each fish?

I'm wondering if something was off like adding the Sailfin prior to the tank cycling fully. High levels of ammonia or nitrites could have done damage? It should have taken at least 4-6 weeks to cycle, so we've got a few fish added in a short amount of time? Just thinking out loud here...

 

[Soto413]

I started my tank the first week of December don't know the exact date & I actually didn't buy any fish my sister in law bought the fish & the guy told her it was okay to add all 4 to the tank (she bought the fish this past Saturday) , I personally thought he was wrong but then again he is supposed to be the fish expert so I just let them do what they wanted , my fiancé does everything to the tank I just give advice from things I read up on... Reading on here has helped alot I read from a couple other threads to add one fish at a time so that's what we were going to do till my sister in law showed up with 3 fish and my daughters wanted them....

 

[Soto413]

I'm trying my best to do this correctly I don't want anymore fish as of right now or anytime soon , there's still so much that I'm learning I need to buy , and I felt rushed when we put the fish in the tank .

 

[TheTodd]

Slow and steady is the way to go with saltwater. You've got to allow enough time for your beneficial bacteria to be at a proper level for the amount of fish waste. You can probably get away with two smaller fish from time to time and one or two a month is probably a good general rule to follow.

It's good to hear that you sound like you are on the right track with taking a break and reading more. You can always ask questions here. Lots of good people with a lot of experience.

 

[Andy Sager]

Unfortunately, there is no hard and fast rule as to how many fish can be put into a tank at one time. Is puting 4 fish the size of say, an adult queen angel the same as putting 4 Royal Grammas into a tank? The answer should be NO. The only real answer however, is given by an ammonia test. If the ammonia doesn't rise, it was okay, if it does rise, you could be doing a "mini cycle". (Potentailly not a problem.) If it continues to rise, you've overloaded the system....time for a water change.
Too much attention is being paid towards the timing when it should be directed to the establishment of the biological filter. You can have a brand new set up that was seeded with established biological so the fact that the tank is a week old is meaningless.
You have to remember that you are creating an ecological system. Like any system, small changes shouldn't effect it in a drastic way. Big changes can create chaos.
Hope this helps.

 

[Soto413]

Well when we added the fish nothing changed ammonia didn't even rise at all ...everything is still good right now ... Hopefully the 3 I have left will survive ! Thanks for the help appreciate it

 

[Andy Sager]

Well when we added the fish nothing changed ammonia didn't even rise at all ...everything is still good right now ... Hopefully the 3 I have left will survive ! Thanks for the help appreciate it

Great, but here's some things to consider:
In a brand new, uncycled, unseeded, just added first fish tank, it usually takes about 7 days for the ammonia to reach a readable amount on most test kits.

What I would do, is to keep testing ammonia daily to make sure it does not rise. If it should rise, either seed the tank from an established tank or purchase a nitrifying bacteria culture at your local store ( not online cause by then time will be of the essence) to ensure that the ammonia level does reach toxic levels. If it should reach toxic levels, be prepared to do major water changes until you get your beneficials established .

The good news is that right now, things are fine. The bad news is that you are
not out of the woods just yet.
Hope it all works out.

 

[Soto413]

Thanks I will definitely test the water as soon as I get home , I'm in a class lecture right now my fiancé does water changes on Friday so tomorrow will be another water change