Blue Hippo Tang not eating

[kdub]

I've had my Blue Hippo Tang for about a year now. He's been a very good eater, but for about a week now, he's been spitting out his food and is looking a little skinny. He still chases after the food but can't really keep anything down. I usually feed mysis shrimp, green algae sheets, and spirulina flakes. I also tried Formula One, but same problem. He doesn't have any visible white spots and doesn't appear to be breathing hard. He swims around fine and his color is good. I have done a couple 10% water changes but it doesn't seem to be helping. Water parameters are as follows.

PH - 8.1
Salinity - 1.022
Nitrites - 0
Nitrates - 10
Ammonia - 0

I also have a Vlamingii Tang, two clowns, and a Fairy Wrasse in my 80 gallon tank. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[melosu58]

Dont want to be the bearer of bad news but both those tangs need a bigger tank than they are in. A lot of times when a fish is put in a tank too small nothing bad happens right away. It takes a while and then all of a sudden the problems start to happen. Have you tried soaking your food in garlic. It is sometimes a stimulator of feeding. You might want to get a small bit of a live macro like grape calerpa and see if he eats that. Hopefully he`ll eat it but to really solve the problem you`ll need to move those tangs to a bigger tank.

 

[Aquarium1]

Dont want to be the bearer of bad news but both those tangs need a bigger tank than they are in. A lot of times when a fish is put in a tank too small nothing bad happens right away. It takes a while and then all of a sudden the problems start to happen. Have you tried soaking your food in garlic. It is sometimes a stimulator of feeding. You might want to get a small bit of a live macro like grape calerpa and see if he eats that. Hopefully he`ll eat it but to really solve the problem you`ll need to move those tangs to a bigger tank.

+1

 

[thincat]

Are you sure he is not eating? Fish don't chew so they suck in the larger piece and spit it out so they can swallow the smaller pieces.

 

[dannyb]

Vlamingii Tang needs at least 180G..
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+43+389&pcatid=389

The same thing will happen to the Vlamingii.. They just cant live in such small spaces.

 

[kdub]

Are you sure he is not eating? Fish don't chew so they suck in the larger piece and spit it out so they can swallow the smaller pieces.

It doesn't look like it. In the year I've had him he's never spit his food out like that before. He also used to go crazy whenever I put algae sheets in the tank. Now he just swims over there but doesn't eat.

 

[kdub]

Vlamingii Tang needs at least 180G..
Vlamingii Tang

The same thing will happen to the Vlamingii.. They just cant live in such small spaces.

Thanks. I actually have been planning to get a larger tank. I guess it will need to be sooner than I thought.

 

[dannyb]

Thanks. I actually have been planning to get a larger tank. I guess it will need to be sooner than I thought.

That's really good to hear. It's people that learn from there mistakes and don't start an argument from me telling them some fish need larger tanks.

Maybe try vitamin c enriched mysis. Every fish loves that.

Keep us posted how it goes.