In with the new and then a dead Yellow Tang

[Guest]

Well, I am kinda sad today. I found my YT dead today. Yesterday, I got some new additions, a rock with zoos, a Xenia frag, and some halimeda. I noticed the YT muching on the Halimeda last night...Nothing is wrong with the other fish, parameters are good, except for nitrates being at 20 meg/L. So strange. In with the new, out with the old..

Anyways, I did a 30% water change, and am hoping for the best....

 

[reefrunner69]

I'm so sorry to here that!! If the tang was sampling the new greens, it may have munched on the new zoos...zoos are highly toxic.

 

[Guest]

I was checking out the new additions and to my suprise, the Xenia looks like it has been munched upon. On every main stalk, there are breaks in the skin, almost looks like the mouth of an anemone.. There are 4 of them and it is wilted bad. I am suspecting the Blennies for this...but, if perhaps it was the Tang, is Xenia toxic to them? Have you ever seen one munch on it? I am confused. The zoos from what I can tell look untouched. But I know that they are very toxic and that it was less than 24 hours to death. It was doing great last night..very playful as always...

 

[reefrunner69]

if perhaps it was the Tang, is Xenia toxic to them?

Not that I am aware of, I had to get rid of a six-line wrasse cause it kept eating the polyps on the xenia, it never poisoned it.

 

[Guest]

Went home for lunch today and checked on the tank and found no fish dead. The Xenia is opened back up, not pumping though,, The polyps what I call little hands) are stretched out... I am going to move it closer to the light when I get home from work today... I did notice that a few of the polyps are gone and the flesh wounds appear to be healing..I think also, After doing a water change, the nitrates are down. Will test that when I get home also...I was excited to see it back open again though...I guess in the wild, they have to deal with munchers all the time...

 

[maiceman]

You may want to check your ph as well. Xenia is known to slow or stop pulsing if the ph drops below 8.0 or so. I know there are other reasons for it to stop pulsing.. such as fish nipping at it... my coral beauty does this all the time. At any rate I think I would check the ph just to be sure.

 

[Guest]

Thanks, I checked the parameters and the PH is 8.4. The only thing I noted was the increase in Nitrates. I did the water change and it seemed to help...