Yellow Tang Rash

[talenzmeier]

Hello,

I have a Yellow Tang that seems to be acting odd and he has some dicoloration near his tail. He seems hyper sensitive to light lately. When the light is on he swims frantically back and forth. His behavior calms down when the light is turned off. Today I noticed that he has what appears to be a rash around his tail. The rash looks like red splotches. The only change of late was the addition of about 6 lbs of LR. I'm religious about water changes. The SG is normal, as are the NO2 and NO3 levels. Any ideas?

 

[steve-s]

With the addition of the new LR, I would also suggest checking the ammonia, you never know. Reaction to light can sometimes be from eye problems so be sure the eyes are very clear. If they do not show any sign of a problem, then I am unsure of why the reaction to light.

The red splotch at the base of the tail is a bacterial infection. If you have not just recently done a water change, I would suggest one soon. The bacterial problem can often be cleared up by simple repeated small water changes to reduce DOC's and other nutrient sources that feed the bacteria. The addition of a good vitamin to the foods will also help the fish natural immune system to fight the infection. In stubborn cases, you may need to quarantine and treat with a gram negative anti-biotic but I would start with the above first.

Are there any other tangs in the tank?

Cheers
Steve

 

[ReefLady]

Our YT (which we've had close to 5 years) went through a time of red splotches/streaks a few months back. We seemed to narrow it down to the time frame when we were trying to sparingly feed the tank (cyano battle).

As soon as we increased the Tang's food, made sure he had Nori/Dulse/Seaweed Select/Organic spinach or romaine - some combination of those - to graze on at all times, the redness slowly went away, and has never returned.

I'm not saying that diet is 100% the cause, but it can be a contributor.

HTH,