I'm new here, and I have a question.

[Subatomicparticles]

Hello everyone, I'm new here, and I have a question which hopefully is not too complicated. I got my aquarium around January and it's been doing pretty good. Hopefully I can ask more questions as they come. Right now I have 7 fish (used to have 9, unfortunately 2 have died from swim bladder disease), 2 cleaner shrimp, and 3 coral. My question is regarding my yellow tang. I got him about a month ago, and he's pretty social, even though I've read that they are a shy species of fish. Today, however, he's been hiding behind the rocks in my tank in the exact same spot for the entire day, and only has come out to eat. Even when he came out to eat, he didn't eat much, and he seems to be swimming slightly slower than usual. I'm just wondering why he's been doing this, because he's typically the exact opposite of his recent actions.
Thanks for your help.

 

[jeffaquarius]

Most likely he is stressed, sick and with parasite. How many gal is your tank?

 

[Ingy]

In addition to size, other things we need to know;

Lighting
Filtration
Tests (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate)
Other fish in the tank
Water change cycle

 

[Subatomicparticles]

65 Gallons

Clownfish x2
Dottyback x1
Anthias x1
Cardinal x2

pH and nitrates should be fine (got them tested last week).

Artificial lights are on for 6-8 hours a day, however, natural light shines in as long as the sun is up.

Water changes about every 4 weeks, but I feel like it should be more frequent than that..

 

[jeffaquarius]

Your tank is barely 5 months old and you may still have parameter problem. You should do weekly partial water change. How big is yellow tang? You need to treat him in a 10 gal quarantine tank. Is there any white spots on him?

 

[Subatomicparticles]

He's the biggest fish in the tank. And I'd like to move him, but I'm not sure how I can keep the temperature at 77 degrees. I wanted to do that with my two other fish before they died, but I just couldn't think of a way to keep the water at 77.

 

[54seaweed]

you should have your own test kit
so yo can test on demand
you should always know your water parameters
that way you know what is happening in your tank before something happens

 

[jeffaquarius]

He will not last long in your 65 gal tank. They need about twice bigger than that. But you can save him before it gets worse and get credit from your local fish supplier. As long as temp is stable fish will take it at 82 deg.

 

[Subatomicparticles]

I don't get it though, why has he been ok up until now? He's been swimming around and has been very social.

 

[jeffaquarius]

Double check your water parameter most importantly ammonia. Four weeks with no water change specially on new tank can kill your fish. There are other things too like diet and supplements. How many inches is yellow tang?

 

[Subatomicparticles]

I'm not sure how many inches he is, sorry. As for his diet, I know you're supposed to give them seaweed, but whenever we put it out, he doesn't go for it.

 

[jeffaquarius]

If there is no sign of parasites like white dots do a 20% water change first thing in the morning. That is if he is still around.

 

[54seaweed]

sounds like he is slowly starving to death
its your responsibility to feed and if he don't eat you need to find out why
tangs are picky eaters not all will eat freeze dried seaweed
try some fresh broccoli frozen spinach fresh minced garlic ect a all time favorite boc choy
you need to know your fishes diet and give him different options as he will get bored of the same food over and over like we as humans do
here are a few choice macros you can place in your tank for your tang
there not only food , they can help with cutting down nitrates and they will grow in your tank it would be up to you how big they grow cause they need trimming now and than

you can get them at

Marine Plants: Saltwater Plants, Aquarium Marine Algae and Turtle Grass

 

[Pisces3473]

I'm going to look into these for my guy. Will my dragon goby or clown tear it up?

 

[Subatomicparticles]

Thanks everybody but he died. He had been eating while he was still alive. We gave him the option of seaweed, but he never took it. Not sure why this keeps happening to me.

 

[jeffaquarius]

Ammonia is killing your fish.

 

[Subatomicparticles]

How could you possibly know that.....My chemical levels are fine as I've said in previous posts..

 

[54seaweed]

looking back through the whole post it's possible to be ammonia poisoning the symptoms are there,
very active than suddenly not so active ,not eating , hiding
rather than depending on when you get to pet store to have water tested
I would suggest is getting yourself a good test kit
a lot of times things can be caught early if you test on a normal basis and keeping a log , a log can become a useful tool as it has a history and if you keep it up to date you can see things going down hill and correct them before something like this happens again
sorry bout your lose as I know these fish are not cheap
another thing I would suggest would be more frequent routine water changes
it will improve the overall health of your tank and make all the inhabitants a lot happier
also research everything about each and every fish so you know how to care for them what,they eat , habits , compatability
ect , same with any inverts ,and corals ect
the more you know about your whole tank will make it that much easier for you
when a problem arises
remember behind every happy tank is the happy owner
you can have pride when showing your tank and knowing you can answer questions if anyone ever asks
another thing to remember a well maintained tank
will make it that much easier when you preform your weekly maintenance
saving you time and money and giving you more time to enjoy your tank

no one here will steer you wrong as we all want that perfect tank
and let me tell you you are well on your way

 

[jeffaquarius]

How could you possibly know that.....My chemical levels are fine as I've said in previous posts..

Simple answer. Four weeks without water change ammonia will build up quickly in new tanks. You keep adding fish without changing water. You never post any parameter readings or adequate information. By that, you can only expect a guess on what is going on with your tank.

 

[Subatomicparticles]

I posted everything you asked for, and you then later say I didn't post enough.......right.