Sick Blue Tang

[pat8you]

Wondering if someone can tell me whats wrong with this guy and how to make him better.

 

[pat8you]

oh so i screwed up and didn't read the sticky about sick fish posting. here is more information on the fish.

-only had him about 1.5 weeks.
-no aggressive tank mates. (2x clowns, diamond watchman goby, copper band butterfly,
Blue Flavivertex Pseudochromis)
-water parameters are all normal
-sometimes seems to be scratching but otherwise acting normal.
-still eating well
-90 gallon tank fish only with live rock no meds in tank

He is currently in a 10 QT and we gave him a freshwater dip today since we heard that it help with a variety of problems.

 

[lando]

It is hard to tell from the pic but it could he HLLE disease. Causes are not truely know but it has been linked to excess stray voltage in the tank and poor diet. I would guess diet related first. Can you explain what and how often you feed? Do you use any dietary suppliments?

 

[melosu58]

A little bit bigger pic would help but it does look like HLLE. When I get home to my computer I`ll send you some info on it, I dont have that info at work.

 

[cmor1701d]

Do you feed nori or other vegetable matter (brocolli)?
Is there algae growing on the LR that it picks at?

You may want to read this http://www.ecosystemaquarium.com/html/hlle.html article

 

[pat8you]

Well we haven't had him for very long only about a week and a half. We have been feeding him mysis shrimp, some pellet food thats mostly for the clowns that he nibbles on as well. We also have some frozen vegetable food that the LFS recommended. He said thats what he feeds his tangs and they do well on it. Since we moved him into the hospital tank we have gotten him a veg clip and some seaweed in case he likes that better. We feed the tank twice a day usually. I have never seen him pick at any of the algae in the tank.

I read a bit on HLLE and saw that most info said there wasn't really any medicine for it just good water quality and good nutrition. Its not going to spread to our other fish so should we put him back in the main tank where he might be more happy or leave him in QT?

 

[pat8you]

this is pats brother, just adding some further pictures. i attached a larger image of the original picture posted and then a few of him now after the FW dip and a day in QT. sorry the pictures in the QT are poor the lighting is way insufficent and he was snuggled up in the worst corner to take pictures in. I made them as big as i could. Also last night, we were sure he wasnt going to make it because when he was sleeping all the color seemed drained out of him and it looked like he was dead, but this morning he is at full color again. Is this normal? or a clue perhaps to his condition? Please let me know if you would still like bigger pictures i can file host them somewhere else so you guys can see the full pictures (3456x2304) a little too big for the (620x420) limit.

 

[roka64]

What are your water parameters? We need exact numbers? What is your pH. Some fish (I'm not sure about tangs) will change colors when stressed, sleeping or mating, or just being mean (like my old blue devil damsel).

 

[pat8you]

PH ~ 8.0-8.5
Nitrates ~ Around 40 ppm
Nitrites ~ 0 ppm
Ammonia ~ 0-.25 ppm
SPG ~ 1.025
These are for the main tank

 

[melosu58]

Yes your pics look like HLLE disease. Just for future reference dont do a FW dip. They are for getting rid of parasites and I dont recmmend them for that because I`ve never seen a case where the fish came out better. They almost always cause the fish to be worse or die. I`m not a big fan of them as you can see. Here is that articles I promised you.

http://www.fantasyreef.com/database/index.php?p=getitem&db_id=11&item_id=51

http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/headlledisease/a/aa040901.htm

 

[roka64]

You'll definitely want to do a PWC to get the ammonia down and keep your water parameter in check. It should also help with your nitrAtes.

 

[austinsdad]

Also looks like he's in the main, not QT tank. If so, did the problem start after he was added to the main?

 

[cmor1701d]

The blue tang will go pale at lights out. The color comes back in the morning.

What is the source of the ammonia in the tank?
Nitrates at 40 is not a problem (yet) but you should try to get that number lower if you can.

I agree with the others on PWC for now to get water back to pristine levels and feeding some nori that has had a few drops of Selcon or other vitamin additive applied.

My blue tang has always gone for nori. Algae is an essential part of their diet.

 

[pat8you]

He doesn't seem real crazy about eating the vegi food we put in there for him? is there any way to encourage him to eat more of that stuff?

 

[roka64]

Soak it in garlic guard for about 20-30 minutes, that may help.

 

[cmor1701d]

Thanks Scott. I realized after my last post that I forgot about a a few drops of garlic guard. That stuff is potent.

Can you do a daily 10% water change?
Other than a parastic infestation I have found those PWC's to do wonders.

 

[pat8you]

I am happy to say that the little blue tang seems to be recovering nicely and is almost back to normal. He still has a bit of a light spot that i'm hoping will heal up over time but other then that is eating well and following around his clown fish buddies as usual.

 

[cmor1701d]

Congratualtions, that is wonderful news.

 

[roka64]

Awesome, I always like a happy ending!

 

[lando]

That is very good news. I do hope you find the source of the NH3 and correct it. That is most likely the biggest problem with your tank. I may have missed it, but make sure you are hanging Nori or seaweed (I like Seaweed Salad by San Fransisco Bay brand foods) daily for your tang to graze on. The addition of iodine has also been linked to HLLE recovery. That would be...adding it to the food and not the tank. I must caution you on adding this however. It is pretty tricky to dose and requires constant testing and monitoring. If diet alone seems to be helping then stick with it. Just don't forget the dietary suppliments like Selcon and vita-chem.