yellow tang

[dwint]

i have had my yellow tang since november and he has been great.he stopped eating about four days ago and i have'nt changed anything.my water and filters are changed every two weeks and he use to race back and forth in the tank but now he hides.i don't see any signes of ick.any ideas?

 

[joy13]

Try and get your hands on some live macro algae. I provide a couple of friends with fern caulerpa for their tang and fox face. Sometimes they stress out in a smaller tank, by that I am saying anything under 100 gallon. Garlic guard will sometimes help their get their appetite back too.
ReefCleaners.org | Clean Up Crews and Macro Algae - Gracilaria (Refugium and Food Grade )

 

[dwint]

thanks,i am going to the pet store today and get my water tested and see what they have as far as algae

 

[dwint]

thanks,i am going to the pet store today and get my water tested and see what they have as far as algae

my water was great.i took a better look yesterday and i think i see his gills look fuzzy.i read somewhere on here was it marine velvet?i have him in a qtank now it's been 15 hours and he is still alive.i forgot to mention that this fish is breathing heavy.

 

[carey]

You might want to invest in your own test kit, the API master saltwater kit has everything you need almost. It's so much better to be able to test yourself. Does your lfs use test strips or liquid btw?

Following along to see how this works out.

 

[dwint]

he had the stick you compare on a chart

 

[carey]

ahh, not the most reliable testing equipment. i think your fist step if youre gonna keep such cool fish is to invest in your own kit. It sounds like a lot but for about $20 its a great investment. You can check your water yourself and reliably too.

How big is the tank you have the tang in usually and how big is your qt? Is there any improvement in the fish yet?

 

[dwint]

strange he doesnt look that sick but the breathing and his insides look dark after the cooper treatment.still not eating been in qt for 19 hours .do you think its the marine velvet?i bet the percentage of saving him is slim but all you can do is try

 

[FortheFishes]

strange he doesnt look that sick but the breathing and his insides look dark after the cooper treatment.still not eating been in qt for 19 hours .do you think its the marine velvet?i bet the percentage of saving him is slim but all you can do is try

There's another thing you can consider: stop buying wild caught fish. At least then, you won't be hurting wild populations when yours keep dying. Hawaii's wild yellow tang populations in collected areas are 73% lower than those in protected areas. The state now officially calls the aquarium take "unsustainable". Please only buy captive bred fish!

 

[Sarcothelia]

Where does it say whether it was wild or not...Could be captive bred for all you know. And either way, there are a lot of things in much more danger than tangs, IE SPS

 

[SteveFishman]

stay on topic.... I would guess marine velvet

 

[FortheFishes]

Where does it say whether it was wild or not...Could be captive bred for all you know. And either way, there are a lot of things in much more danger than tangs, IE SPS

There are no captive bred yellow tangs. Researchers just got a handful of larvae to the 14 day stage last month. Breeding/raising them in commercial numbers is still years away, if at all possible.
Collecting is decimating Hawaii's fish populations, and several species that were once commonly seen are now rare. It's just not ok to harm wildlife (populations and individuals) for a hobby. Stick to captive bred only and the worlds reefs will be much better off.

 

[Greenmaster]

Wow... I'm not quite sure how to take you... I don't think you realize what having fish like this does... having these beautiful fish in our tanks helps people to understand what beauty there is out there. I believe that with they way global climate change is happening in the not too distant future the only place to find some of these fish and coral will be in our tanks, where we can ensure proper water conditions. I also believe that if you can get a captive bread fish then you should get that above and beyond the wild caught. I have to say though, if there wasn't the high demand for the yellow tang then there wouldn't be a group of researchers trying to breed them. Because of this hobby and the desire for fish (originally from the wild) people have been trying to captive breed all kinds of popular fish. If everyone followed your don't buy caught fish then there would be no breeding set-ups. Also FortheFishes I hope you don't eat any wild caught fish, most fisheries are on the verge of collapse.

 

[SteveFishman]

Let's keep on topic

 

[carey]

Yeah, I think you guys scared away the OP. LOL

 

[austinsdad]

Velvet does start in the gill area. Kills fast too. Best of luck to you.

Everyone - Let's try to help the OP with the problem.

 

[Greenmaster]

Sorry, I even have some help too... If you have velvet one thing that can help is a 50 micron filter, you should clean/sterilize the filter as often as you can because even after the velvet gets stuck in the filter it can still divide so you should do it several times a day. UV sterilization can work as well.

 

[Sarcothelia]

Running a UV sterilizer over your output is a good way to kill off the stuff, in addition to a 50 micron filter, constantly cleaned, as above.