Kole Tang with Growth

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KevinM83

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Jan 15, 2013
Messages
3
Location
New York
This is my first tank, and my first fish so I'm worried. I have a 29 gallon Biocube, stock setup with no alterations.

I woke up this morning to find he had discoloration and what almost looks like lesions on his right side near his front fin under his gill (pics below, but they are not that good). He did not have this last night before I went to bed, when he had been in the tank for about 4 hours at that point. He also has a small nick in his bottom back fin also which I am not sure was there or not.

I acclimated him using standard drip procedure, and kept the lights low through the whole process. I try to do everything by the book as I am new to the aquarium world. I just got the fish yesterday from a local reputable store. He was wild caught two days ago, and has been in my tank about 12 hours now, and is the first and only fish. I have live rock, snails and crabs. Tank has had rock in it for about a month now, crabs and snails added about two weeks ago along with one small coral frag.

He is swimming around pretty normally (at least in my 12 hour experience). He is hiding within the rocks and coming out here and there, but he is also adjusting to his new home. He is eating algae off the glass mostly, and there is a seaweed strip in there which he hasn't touched, but might be because he has not noticed it. His behavior looks the same as it did last night.

Water was tested at the store yesterday before getting the fish, and everything looked good. Temp is at 79, and salinity is 1.025. I can't identify what is going on, but obviously want to help him ASAP. Any help is greatly appreciated. I am a rookie and need a veteran here!
 

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Did this reputable store know the fish was going in a 29g tank? If so, it not a reputable store. If not, you need to return it and tell them the reason for the return is your tank size. If they are reputable, they will take it back. You tank is no where near big enough for that fish.
 
+1 to both responses so far.

It is good to check out sites like liveaquaria.com or bluezoo.com. They give all sorts of information about fish, suggested tank sizes, compatabilty, etc. I think it's a good idea to start there, get an idea of what you want and then ask here. You should get solid advice, not advice from a place that exists to profit from you.
 
Thanks for the advice. That is unfortunate to hear and I will be sure to do my research beforehand form now on. With all the research I have done on setup and maintenance, I thought the fish would be the "easier" part. In less than 2 days, I see that is definitely not the case! Thanks again!
 
Good news, he is looking better so perhaps it was the stress of his multiple habitat changes. I will return him to the store, but want to give him a day or two to calm down and make sure he is well fed.
 
Fish are really not that difficult. Stick to suggested tank sizes and you eliminate a lot of potential problems. I tend to go with the larger suggestions from places like liveaquaria (they tend to suggest larger than places like bluezoo).

List your stocking ideas here and you will get good feedback. This site has a lot of experienced people and should help a lot.
 
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