Yellow tang

[Ferny27]

I just bought a yellow tang , I was very scared at first because they are known to get ich very easily . So I acclimated using the drip. I turned off all the lights when put him in the tank. Everything went perfect . Today I was excited he was doing well, but when I got closer I noticed he had a piece of his head scratched off. I think he ran into a Rock. Now I'm worried if that can get worse and get infected . What should i do? I don't want ich again in my tank.

 

[baron1282]

I bought a yellow tang and his fins were all nipped off. Make sure you get a clip with seaweed attached to it and throw that in three times a week for about an hour or two and let him eat that. Also feed well with a good pellet and brine shrimp, mysis shrimp, and krill. I also use plankton my fish seem to like that.

Also how big is your tank? I got mine in a 55 gallon tank and a lot of people say that is too small. Mine has had no issue and all his fins are healed and he is fat and healthy. It will not be his permanent home as I am upgrading to an 180 gallon at the end of the year. I am just saying I wouldn't have your guy in anything smaller at this point and time of it's development. He will need a bigger home sometime in his life.

Just make sure he is not flashing (Rubbing up against rocks to scratch), and make sure he is swimming. Feed him well and he should come out fine. If your tank is smaller than a 55 I would suggest taking the guy back as he needs some room to swim.

also post a pic if you can, might help to determine if anything serious is going on.

 

[tilton.s11]

Adding garlic x or something similar will also help his immune system.

 

[TheTodd]

I would just keep an eye on the scrape. Odds are, if water parameters are pristine, it will be fine. Ich would not be the direct result of a scrape. Stress lowers the immune system and opens fish up for stuff like Ich.

 

[Ferny27]

I have a 150 gal and he is eating a lot , also eating the nori on the clip. My question is what medication should i put in the food to make it heal faster?

 

[aquandrew]

do you quarantine new fish? often times you wont see ich in the new fish, but it will have it. it is very important to quarantine anything before adding it to your display tank

 

[Ferny27]

He doesn't have ich , but I'm worried because he has an open cut and it might get infected and then get ich. This is so complicated .

 

[aquandrew]

getting an infection doesnt cause ich it has to be introduced to the system. it is a parasite and doesnt appear out of nowhere

 

[Ferny27]

Would he get stressed because of the cut?

 

[baron1282]

He could, but as long as you feed him properly he should heal up nice. Also like I said before tank size matters. He won't heal up if he is stressed out in a small tank that does not provide swim space.

Is he in your 150 gallon tank?

 

[Ferny27]

Yes he is in a 150 gal with a lot of space to swim

 

[JustinKBreen]

Like was suggested feed algae regularly along with a varied diet. Also, what are his tank mates?

 

[Ferny27]

The area where he got injured is now red. What is that?

 

[Ferny27]

And now he got it!!!!! This is what I was dreading

 

[Scelzin1]

Get him in a small Quarintine tank ASAP and begin treatment while its still early. I am currently in the process of treating my lemonpeel angel with rid ich and a diet enhanced with garlic xtreme

 

[Ferny27]

I tried to take him out put I have 300 lbs of rock and he is hiding between it. I'm stressing him out more

 

[Scelzin1]

I agree that it can be tough with all of that live rock, but it will be better for his health in the long run to get him out and treated. Hopefully he can handle the temporary stress. But my lemonpeel wouldn't come out of the rock either. I literally had to slowly lift the piece of rock where I knew he was hiding out of the water so that he would gently fall out and into the tank water, then catch him with a glass viewer instead of a net if you can to reduce stress. This will be easier if you have 2 people as someone can help you. That way one person can gently lift the rock while the other is waiting to get the fish in the viewer/net when he falls out. It will stress him a little but in the long run if you can get him and treat him it will help.

 

[Ferny27]

Now my pyramid butterfly is attacking my tang!!!!!! I thought they were very calm fish. My poor yellow tang is not going to make it with all these issues.