Blue tang

[Riley]

Bought my blue tang.. Six line wrasse and 6 red leg crabs today..drip acclimated them all together..4 hrs later my tang has white spots on it.. Thinking its ich i turned my heater up to 82 to kill the bacteria.. Am i wrong to do so? I spent 20+ minuiets looking at the fish at the lfs a hour / half total time there..wrasse is fine nothing on it

 

[scottayy]

well moving them is very stressful for them
are they quarantined?
allow them some time with no stress and allow their immune system to come back full strength and see if they can kick it!

nothing wrong with heater at 82
when mine had ich i had it on 84, and the guy at the lfs told me they go as high as 86 (though I don't know if this guy knew what he was talking about or not)

 

[slitherbomb]

Tangs get ick easily. Ick is a sign of a stressed fish. How big is the tank? What are the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate readings?

 

[carey]

How long has the tank been set up for? Are there any other fish in the tank?

 

[Riley]

The tanks 75 gl.. Nitrates at 0-5 , ph i dont rember off the top of my head.. Irs eating fine and everything.. My lfs wouldnt do me wrong i bought my 100 gl my 28 gl and my 75 gl from there we have a loooong standing relationship so i think it might be its stress level.. I dont wanna add too much to fast but im near tempted to pick up some cleaner shrimp tommarow and hppefully theyl do work on it.. 60 bucks on a tang for it to die and f+*k up my tank is a big price to pay

 

[Riley]

Iv had it set up for a month.. 45 lbs on lr in it the 2nd week into it.. I had some fake *** jelly fish to keep me amused while it cycles.. I have a fluval 405 filter and a large gph hydor wave maker

 

[carey]

For a store that you trust he shouldnt have sold you a blue tang to put in a 75g tank.

My caribbean blue tang came to me in a very stressful condition and ended up dying about a week later. Not from ick though. tangs are SOOO susceptible to ick it isnt even funny. The stress could bring it on or make him able to catch it more easily.

Good luck.

 

[Riley]

Well thats not comforting!!! This would be the first fish to get ich i bought from her :/ ima keep a close eye on things.. Is 75gl not big enough?

 

[scottayy]

You can successfully keep a blue tang in a 75 gallon. A few years ago, it was common for them to be kept in minimum size 40 gallon tanks. It's just not preferable as they'd prefer 6 feet or more of lateral swimming room and be more stress free.

Just do your best to keep the stress level down for it. And if you can quarantine it if it doesn't get any better you can give it some meds.

 

[Riley]

I heard copper is the way to go? Can you confirm?

 

[carey]

If its a regular blue tang it requires a 180g tank, six foot long. A caribbean blue can go into a 125g 6 footer.

All the fish I buy come from one store, except for some ORA clowns I had. Is it possible to isolate the tang in another tank just in case?

I'm sure the seller didnt' purposely sell you a bad fish, but even the nicest shops can have issues. Like I said, almost every fish I;ve bought came from the same place and the caribbean blue tang that caused all my fish to die came from a reputable store. Identifying if anything is wrong is the first step. isolation would be a good idea as I said.

You don't wanna treat your display tank with anything by the way, it could affect inverts forever in your tank as the live rock absorbs those chemicals.

if it were me and I couldnt isolate it I would keep the lights off and let it try to settle in to it's new home. Tangs are really tough in certain ways.

How long did you acclimate for btw? A quick one might have stressed it out a bit.

 

[carey]

You can successfully keep a blue tang in a 75 gallon. A few years ago, it was common for them to be kept in minimum size 40 gallon tanks. It's just not preferable as they'd prefer 6 feet or more of lateral swimming room and be more stress free.

Just do your best to keep the stress level down for it. And if you can quarantine it if it doesn't get any better you can give it some meds.

I've also seen a blue tang and 2 yellows being kept in a 29g biocube. Tangs need ALOT of swim space. This I can attest to. Mine does nothing but race back and forth all day long. Even the Kole tang i had that people say could go in a 75g was way too active for a 4 ft tank.

 

[scottayy]

blue tang and 2 yellows in a 29 cube is just torturous
lately i've been mad at "minimum tank ratings" because I get to looking at my fish and think how they have had this big ol ocean (well that's where they came from somewhere down the line).. and no matter how big of a tank we provide for it, it's still a droplet in comparison.

(yeah, i'm a softy)

 

[Riley]

Good god thata alota tank!!! Haha i drip acclimTed it for almost 2 hrs since i had to help my dad with something.. I kinda rushed scooping it out with the net so that i regret.. I will indeed keep the lights off for awhile.. Seems like hes loves the tank.. Didnt know it need so much! Every other site i read about sw fish it had differjt peramiters on how to keep it :/ but if this one passes.. Im getting coral/fish tat on the 30th so i know the powder blue tang will live on haha

 

[carey]

LOL, thats why they have minimum tank sizes. To try to give the fish the best possible situation next to being free in the ocean.

You know the torture I went through so that I could have a tang or a few.
every tank wasnt big enough til I got the 125g. And to be honest, now that i;ve seen the tangs in action, I'm glad I waited. A four footer just wouldnt have cut it.

 

[slitherbomb]

You should start getting all your fish online. Most sites have a 15 day guarantee.

 

[Riley]

I hear ya scott!! Give them everything you got! Just like my JEEP..Just Empty Every Pocket

 

[carey]

Here's a link for the powder blue tang

Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Reef Aquariums: Powder Blue Tang

I stand corrected though. the powder blue just requires 125g and the dory blue tang is the 180g tank.

 

[Riley]

I have bought alotttttttttaaaaa stuff from dr.foster n smith.. Didnt know abiut the whole online fish buying experience.. Those **** truck drivers drive like *** holes

 

[scottayy]

LOL i like this guy

but yeah @ carey, I understand that. I just think, "you ripped them off from their ocean, now you want me to provide them with a few extra gallons... arrogant basta....."

Maybe I'm weird.

Foster and smith is a good place. Shipping is a little lengthy. Usually they have good prices. It's a good place to shop if you need everything from one store.