weird yellow eyed tang

[bapski]

my yellow eyed tang is in my qt along with my asfur angel. it was fine for the last 7 days not until last night when i saw it swim fast halfway towards the surface and made a KAMIKAZE dive towards the bottom of the tank! what the heck!

so i checked him out and noticed his mouth was open all the time! it was breathing hard and with his mouth gaped open. is this characteristic of them? later i just saw the fish laying on its side, breathing hard and did not expect him to live any longer.

today, i see the fish now swimming right. he is upright but it still has its mouth open. what gives?

 

[melosu58]

Are you seeing any salt grain like bumps on him. If so this is ick. Have to treat with hypo. If not more observation is needed

 

[bapski]

nope no ich spots.

 

[Brenden]

A angel and a tang in QT together? Have you checked the NH3 and NO2 levels?

 

[bapski]

i do pwc everyday.

 

[Brenden]

i do pwc everyday.

Does not matter. You need to check the water. Everything you describe sounds like NH3 and NO2 in the water.

 

[bapski]

uhmmm.. ok assuming NH3 and NO2 are high. i would still need to do pwc right?

also, i guess with your initial reaction with having both fish on my qt is not a good idea?

 

[Brenden]

i would still need to do pwc right?

Yes. larger than normal. Poly filters or prime etc will also help.

also, i guess with your initial reaction with having both fish on my qt is not a good idea?

With just one fish NH3 and NO2 can get bad quick. It is possible with both but it will take 2-3 WC a day and lots of monitoring. The NH3 alert badges are a good idea. also by having both in QT together both will have to be treated. Not the best plan but depending on your situation you may not have other options.

 

[bapski]

checked on the yellow eyed tang today and seems to me its doing well. its swimming a lot now and saw it eat today!

my asfur angel is ok too save for the popeye that he has right now on one of his eyes. guess ill have to keep the asfur (and the tang too?) for awhile on qt? was planning to move them both to the main tank this weekend. what do you guys think? they have been on the qt for two weeks now. they were just placed on the qt because they were sick from the high nitrate on the main tank. no disease i think save for the popeye for the asfur which i think is mechanical in nature (only one eye affected)

main tank btw. has stabilized (?) at 20-40 and i do plan to do another 50% pwc this weekend.

 

[steve-s]

Water quality or injury will usually be the cause of eye problems if only affecting one eye. Before you transfer the fish back, be sure you get the nitrate in the main under control and the water quality in the QT is as good as you can get. Plenty of large water changes (daily if needed) are the key here. The eye will clear up quite quickly if water parameters are top notch.

What do you feed the fish regularly?

Cheers
Steve

 

[bapski]

variety of frozen food soaked in garlic. brine, mysis, krill, and pellets.

 

[steve-s]

Both of these fish need veggie matter on a daily basis, especially the tang. One thing I prefer especially while in a QT is frozen broccoli fluorets. They remain intact much longer and are far less polluting than nori sheets. Don not use fresh veggies though, they must either be blanched or prefrozen to soften the fibers. Fish cannot digest raw veggies. You can simpley use an algae clip and let it stay in all day. It will take the fish a little while to get accustom to it but they will eventually. Just be sure you start with a small amount and change it daily, eaten or not.

Once the fish are back in the main display you can continue this or choose something else but they should not be on a mainly meat diet. Both of these fish will be much healthier with a stronger veggie diet. Any other fish you have will benefit from veggies as well.

Cheers
Steve

 

[bapski]

holy camote! been feeding veggies but raw! where can i get your suggested frozen broccoli fluorets?

 

[steve-s]

In the freezer section at the grocers

Cheers
Steve