powder blue tang acting oddly

[oishii]

So we just got a new powder blue tang for our new tank. Its in there with an orange clown fish and a magenta dotty back. Since the tang was put into the tank hes been swimming in one corner nose down. It will sometimes swim up in the corner or along the sand on the bottom but never out in the middle of the tank even when we feed them. I was thinking it may be a ballast problem but have been reading stuff on them liking places to hide. Any ideas?

[MR294]

What size tank? How long has the tank been set up? How much live rock is in the system?

[oishii]

Its a 50 gallon tank. Its been set up for about 5 monthes but this is the first time weve had anything live in it besides dinner and no live rock. I really know nothing about fish, its my husbands tank. Just trying to help out.

Powder blue's are pretty much at the top of the list as far as hard to keep tangs go. I would not recommend them for new set ups. In fact many don't even acclimate well in established mature tanks.

Given the size of the tank and lack of available places for the tang to hide, I would say it is extremely stressed. Chances are very high in these cases that the animal will not survive. It also won't take long for the dottyback and/or the clowns to take advantage and start harrasing the tang.

Best advice in this situation is to return the tang. I can see no other way to solve this....

Cheers
Steve

[d9hp]

I agree, he sounds stressed.

[reefrunner69]

but this is the first time weve had anything live in it besides dinner

I am extremely curious about this statement, could you elaborate.

[fishfreek]

Check your water peramiters. With those three fish bing the first acuall boload in the tank you might have issues with ammonia. Expectally if its been 5 months since you set it up.

Tanks need vegie matter in their diet. Feed it algae sheets from your LFS or find some dried nori and feed that by using one of those lettice clips.

[bizzybeas]

Kind of a small tank for any tang...especially a powder blue. When I designed my system I changed my plans from a 50 to a 65 gallon because my son wanted a yellow tang.

[oishii]

My husband has had crabs, oysters and a few prawn in the tank for a bit before he got around to cooking them.

The tang seems to be doing better today. Swimming more in the middle of the tank rather than the corners. We got some cave like rocks for him to hide near.

The other fish dont seem to bother him or vise versa. Our clown fish is usually near by though.

C

[oishii]

ok....now that i feel very foolish and found out my powder blue is actually a royal (hippo) tang... he seems to have been doing better even though sometimes hell suddenly flip on his side and swim like that for a bit. is that normal? Im still rather worried.

Common mistake on the ID, wouldn't worry to much about that... 8O

Can it hover in the water and stay upright or does it look like it's having trouble with it's balance?

Does the regal show any signs of physical damage? How was it acclimated?

If no sign of damage it could be a simple bladder problem that can be brought on from quick temprature changes and/or rough handling.

Keep an eye on it and make sure the other fish do not harass it. Try feeding with a vitamin soak like Zoe or Selcon for a few days. If there is no improvement you may need to QT and feed with food soaked with an antibiotic.

Cheers
Steve

[oishii]

The regal is having a lot of trouble with its balance and constantly fights to keep low in the water and upright.

It was acclimated in itst bag to the water temperature of the tank and then in a bucket with water from its bag and from the tank and then moved over to the tank.

However, I think the stress from being in the bag brought this about because as I acclimated in its bag to the temperature of tank it faced downwards the entire time.

The other fish have not harassed it, and as a matter of fact it seems to harass thee other fish every once in a while. He seems very territorial.

What/where/how do I get vitamin soak like zoe or selcon?

Judging by what you have said I would definately say it's the swim bladder. It can be sometimes from constapation beleive it or not. Have you seen it poop lately? If not try feeding some green peas. That should "clean the pipes" and reduce the pressure on the bladder. If that does it then it's all good, I would try that first..

If it's diet is producing the proper waste then you should QT the regal and treat for possible swim bladder infection. Soaking the foods in a gram negative antibiotic like Maracyn II is best. Pepare the dosage in a glass of tank water and take out a few teaspoons and place it in a small cup with some brine add the remaining amount to the QT. Do this for the first day or two. After that just continue for seven days with the normal addition of antibiotic. Do not treat the antibiotic in the main tank only in a QT environment. Maracyn II contains a vitamin additive so the other vitamin additions are not really necessary.

The agression is normal. Be glad it's not the other way around. How big is the regal?

For future reference... Zoe , Selcon , Something that you should consider adding to their dietary menu.

Cheers
Steve

[reefrunner69]

even though sometimes hell suddenly flip on his side and swim like that for a bit. is that normal?

IME, that is fairly normal for hippos.

I have never personally seen a hippo swim on it's side for more than a second or two, including the one in my tank. Definately not in the fashion decribed.

Originally Posted by oishii

The regal is having a lot of trouble with its balance and constantly fights to keep low in the water and upright.

I also believe that by the description of what oishii has relayed it would not be considered normal.

I could be wrong, but the descision to treat or not is up to you....

Cheers
Steve

[reefrunner69]

When I got the email, I clicked the link which took me to this post...

ok....now that i feel very foolish and found out my powder blue is actually a royal (hippo) tang... he seems to have been doing better even though sometimes hell suddenly flip on his side and swim like that for a bit. is that normal? Im still rather worried.

Which is the last post on the first page, I did not notice there was a second page with more info , my comment was soley based on that one post, my apologies for not noticing, please follow Steve's advice.

I also believe that by the description of what oishii has relayed it would not be considered normal.

From the three posts I kust read, I agree completely.