My poor yellow tang...

[jimandjess3096]

Here is a pic of the tang.

 

[jimandjess3096]

Now he's looking a little worse than that and is starting to turn a little whiter at the bottom of his stomach.

 

[jimandjess3096]

Here is the tank.

 

[quarryshark]

Really, do some more water changes, he is definitely stressed for some reason.
What is the water volume for the tank? A yellow "needs" surface area to swim. They are "movers and shakers". It is probably an environmental issue, he may just need room to move.

 

[steve-s]

True tangs need horizontal room moreso than the volume itself. The recommended minimum is a 4 ft tank length.

That said though without knowing your nitrate readings it's hard to say where to proceed from here. If you've been keeping up with the water changes/feeding and things are getting worse it could be too much for the tang to heal on it's own. The appearance of the tang definately suggest bacterial.

At this point I'm kinda leaning towards a combination of problems. The Fluval by the looks of the tank is the only thing moving water aside from the skimmer. That's only going to amount to less than 300 GPH. The max rating for the 404 is 340 GPH but that is calculated before head pressure and without media. If so, that about ½ of the minumum recommeded flow for SW. Combine that with the plastic lid and you most likely have a cronic pH problem which could easily result in acidosis. Your only reference to pH was made at noon (?) so I would be sure to repost what the pH is later in the afternoon.

I would definately suggest removing the lid completely and replacing it with eggcrate (see attached pic) and augment the flow with at least one Maxi Jet 900 (preferabley 2) or something of a similar velocity.

I think the best route for the tangs sake is to set up a QT and treat with Maracyn II for seven days at double the dose each day. While the issues with the tank are resolved, the QT being an open environment will have a better pH and the antibiotic will help if bacterial. Be sure you acclimate the tang to the QT the same as any new fish. If suffering from a pH issue, a sharp increase can be just as bad.

Cheers
Steve

 

[jimandjess3096]

my poor lil tang

well guys my tang is chipper as could be his health is great i used some copper substrate and mixed it with instant ocean super protien mix now all my fish are swimming around like they were born

 

[rubysoho]

glad to hear your fish is better now

 

[jimandjess3096]

hmmmmn well im not sure but this mix i made has made my fish crasy iv never seen them swim so much but i guess this is good if you have ever seen a improvement so fast it took like a hour im really concerned they might have heart attacks

 

[jimandjess3096]

oh my damel the big one was a bully over the other damsel and made him stay in the corner of the tank but now the tang is picking on the bully and my clowns are protecting the damsel two different species interacting like this is amasing if you have any imput about this please feel free to help me understand this thanks....

 

[jimandjess3096]

ok the last 3 replies were Jim. Just ignore it! he didn't put copper in the tank. He told me he did several water changes today and that the gravel was filthy. Is it food and waste that cause nitrates to get high? The tang does look better. He is still a little red, but he's looking better though. Should we do anything else besides water changes? I'm going to test the water and post the results in a few. I haven't gotten the tests for the nitrate or alkalinity. But like I said a while back, I was told that testing for ph would tell you the alkalinity level. please advise! thanks, jessica

 

[Terry B]

I think I have seen this condition in yellow tangs 100 times. It is caused by stress. The most frequent offenders are a pH below 8.0, a high dissolved organics load in the water and too much free floating bacteria (Bacteria tends to grow when there is too much dissolved organics in the water). The condition is the result of vibrio species of bacteria that are opporunistic and attack weakened tangs. Some call the condition the "Red Pest." Your pH is definately a contributor is not the outright cause of the problem. If you don't use a powerful protien skimmer then you should consider it as a means of controlling the dissolved organics in the water and therby the bacteria population.

The good news is that the fish usually recover with a large water change or two using well aged and aerated saltwater. Keep the pH up. If the fish does not recover after some good water changes then consider treating in quarantine with a good antibiotic. Maracyn-Two will usually work well at the double dose for 7 days. There are a couple of other antibiotics that usually work as well.

Here is a link to an article on keeping tangs. http://www.marineaquariumadvice.com./mellow_yellow_maybe_not.html

Cheers,
Terry B

 

[steve-s]

ok the last 3 replies were Jim. Just ignore it! he didn't put copper in the tank.

Jess, Please conect the back of your hand with the side of his head... LOL 8)

He told me he did several water changes today and that the gravel was filthy. Is it food and waste that cause nitrates to get high?

Yes, uneaten foods and wastes are the main causes of nitrates. Do you have snails and /or crabs to help with keeping the tank clean?

The tang does look better. He is still a little red, but he's looking better though. Should we do anything else besides water changes?

As long as the water changes continue to show improvement, that's about all you need to do aside from feeding with vitamin soaked foods. How many water changes have been done and when did you (Jim) start them. 4 Days ago, the posts where looking as if the tang was getting worse!

I'm going to test the water and post the results in a few. I haven't gotten the tests for the nitrate or alkalinity. But like I said a while back, I was told that testing for ph would tell you the alkalinity level. please advise! thanks, jessica

pH won't tell you anything about alkalinity really. You can have a high alk level and supressed pH quite easily. If so and someone advises you to buffer it can have disasterous effects on the animals. Best to know both parts before making a descision on what to do. Once you have all new test results, please post them.

Cheers
Steve

 

[jimandjess3096]

Well earlier today i looked at the tang and all of the red had went away. now he is breathing even faster and he's mostly white and not eating much. it doesnt' seem like the water changes did much for him. is there any other suggestions? thanks, jim and jess

 

[srgetz]

that's about all you need to do aside from feeding

Unless I missed something, he needs to remove the lid and get some powerheads as well, right? Regardless of the type of sw fish in there, it's a small surface area...

now he is breathing even faster and he's mostly white and not eating much. it doesnt' seem like the water changes did much for him

Jess, what kind of water are you using, tap? If so, what tap conditioner? How long did you allow the new sw to mix for the changes? Was there an airstone or ph in the bucket of sw being mixed? I hope this improves soon, the panting is a bad sign IME...good luck.

 

[srgetz]

Also what is the tank temp? Might want to lower it a bit (slowly) to reduce the oxygen requirement of the fish. I would put that tank no higher than 77-78.

 

[steve-s]

that's about all you need to do aside from feeding

Unless I missed something, he needs to remove the lid and get some powerheads as well, right? Regardless of the type of sw fish in there, it's a small surface area...

You aren't missing anything I was only refering to not needing a med. As far as the conditions of the tank itself, it has been discussed several times.

Cheers
Steve

 

[steve-s]

Well earlier today i looked at the tang and all of the red had went away. now he is breathing even faster and he's mostly white and not eating much. it doesnt' seem like the water changes did much for him. is there any other suggestions? thanks, jim and jess

If the redness has faded, the water change did plenty. The rapid breathing and color loss could simpley be from stress. Given the possible change in water parameters and conditions of the tank water before the change it's more than possible.

Was the new SW mixed well ahead of time first (24 hrs)?

Cheers
Steve

 

[Salttanker]

Steve can probably remember the problems I had with my Yellow Tang. He had beginning stages of HLLE, red blotches, and turned white several times. At one point, I thought he was done, but I did what I could to save him. These fish are pretty delicate when it comes to changes. Since working with Steve, my Tang is doing awesome now. The ph was low due to the glass covers, which has since been replaced with egg crates. Awesome idea Steve! Also, using Selcon soaked food, as well as Garlic which helped improve conditions considerably. Also, I believe one of my powerheads was faulty causing stray voltage perhaps. Once it was removed, the Tang seemed to be doing better a lot faster. I had to do mega water changes to help nurse him back to health. Why do so many LFS rate these fish as Easy? These should be more like medium to advanced! Anyway, I hope you are able to recover your Tang. They are beautiful specimens.

Regards,

Mike

 

[jimandjess3096]

We don't have any tubs or anything big enough (or extra powerheads or anything) to "age" the sw before we put it in the tank. Normally I get the temp close to what's in the tank, but of course it's not exact. my lfs doesn't carry a test kit for neither alkalinity nor nitrate. I might have to go to another store further away to see if they have it.

 

[jimandjess3096]

Well we don't have glass covers. We have a plastic lid. I have a pic of the tank posted. Also, we do have a powerhead. There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with it from what I can tell. But what you're describing with your tang sounds a lot like mine. Now he is mostly yellow again. Hardly any red at all. But he still has a lot of spots all around his eyes and mouth and is breathing very fast. All of the fish seem to be breathing a little fast. But I'm not sure what is normal for how fast their gills and mouth should be moving.