Fish itching?

[edison9114]

I have a Royal Blue Tang, who is eating and swimning around normally and also does not have any visible signs of disease and appears to be healthy. I have noticed that at times he will try to rub a certain area of his skin against hard surfaces in the aquarium.

All my other fishes are eating and acting normally and also appear to be healthy.

Is the Tang's behavior indicitive of an illness or infection, and if so what is it most likely to be and how do I treat it?

 

[lando]

This behavior could very well represent ich. Tangs are very prone to this and rubbing against substrate or rock is a sign that something is not right. Just keep an eye him to see if it continues or you find spots.

 

[edison9114]

What does "keep an eye on him" mean?

What am I looking for?

What do I do when I see what I am looking for?

Thanks in advance.

 

[lando]

Look for anything abnormal. Like you mentioned, rubbing against rocks and substrate or along the bottom of your tank. Also, look for little white spots on your fish's fins. Make sure they are swiming normally and eating okay.

 

[edison9114]

And what do I do if I see abnormal behavior or white spots?

 

[soupy11]

Quarantine him if you see signs of ich and treat him. You can use Cupramine, Hyposalinity or other forms of ich treatment. How long have you had him for?

 

[srgetz]

And what do I do if I see abnormal behavior or white spots?

Come here and post in the sick fish forum! we will help

I agree, wait till you see more symptoms...I have seen tangs in the wild rub against things, it doesn't always mean disease.

 

[fireman26m]

FWIW...my yellow tang occasionally rubs the rocks and he's been in the tank for months. Maybe it's a tang thing? He's never had any diseases. (crossing fingers)

 

[PiscesLou]

hey, My yellow & regal blue tangs are doin the same thing..no visible signs of diseases.HMMMM??

 

[fishman]

just got back from Mexico and did some snorkeling....observed tangs there and a good majority of them rub on something most of the time. Also the more I read about tangs, they do this a lot. My regal does the same thing. I had him in QT for 6-8 weeks and 4-5 of those weeks in Cupramine. he developed HLLE and his poor face is begining to heal nicely. Has been in my main tank for about 6-8 weeks now. he rubs his face against the substrate and rocks from time to time and assume its because its healing. My point is they can rub for no reason at all or because they simply need to!! Just watch for white spots...otherwise he is just rubbing!!

 

[sharon a]

I have a Blue Hippo Tang and he always rubs on the coral too. Just on his very bottom of his body. He does not do this all the time but sometimes if you stay out of sight he will do it. He does not do it if he knows someone is watching. I have been watching for any changes too. I have not noticed any. He is swimming and staying active. And he eats normally. I did have a sick Clarkii that died this morning so I have really been watching the others. I put the Clarkii in a QT tank so I hope I kept the others safe. I think the Clarkii came with (clownfish disease) from the store. I only had him short of a week when he became slimy and white. I put him in a QT tank with Formalin but I could not save him. The tank has been running since June. Things have been fine except for the Clarkii. Do any of you trust or use online fish stores??? We only have one store here and I am not happy with them.
Sharon