FAQs about Environmental Disease of Tangs
FAQs on:
Tang Disease 1,
Tang Disease 2,
Tang Disease 3,
Tang Disease 4, Tang Disease 5, Tang Disease 6, Tang Disease 7,
Tang Disease
8,
Tang Health 9,
Tang Disease 10,
Tang Disease 11,
Tang Disease 12,
Tang Disease 13, &
FAQs on Tang Disease by Category:
Diagnosis,
Nutritional,
Social,
Trauma,
Pathogenic (plus see below),
Genetic,
Treatments
FAQs by Tang Disease by Pathogen: Tangs/Rabbitfishes & Crypt, Tangs/Rabbits Crypt 2, Tangs/Rabbits Crypt 3, Tangs/Rabbits Crypt 4, & Paravortex/Black Spot Disease,
Related Articles:
The Surgeonfish family, Acanthurus, Ctenochaetus, Naso,
Paracanthurus,
Zebrasoma , Prionurus, Surgeonfishes of Hawai'i, Surgeonfishes for Reef Systems,
Infectious Disease,
Related FAQs:
Tangs in General, Tang ID, Selection, Tang Behavior, Compatibility, Systems, Feeding, Treating Marine Disease, Marine Diseases 2,
|
Acanthurids live on and over reefs... Need reef
conditions to do well
|
Surgeonfishes: Tangs for Marine Aquariums
Diversity, Selection & Care
New eBook on Amazon: Available here
New Print Book on Create Space: Available
here
by Robert (Bob) Fenner |
|
Vampire tang - sudden illness - potentially due to high
temperature 11/22/19
Good Afternoon team,
<Hi Millezanne>
hope you are well.
<Mostly yes, thanks>
Last time around you were of the greatest help so thought you might have
some valuable advice with my sick tang.
Tank set up and parameters: Red sea reefer 350, skimmer Bubble Magus
Curve 5, 2 x250 watt heaters, wave maker. FOWLR system with live rock
(25kg), 2 x da Vinci clownfish (1 inch) and a vampire tang (3 inches), 1
hermit crab, 1 cleaner shrimp, few snail, free critters on live rock,
temp usually around 27-29 degrees Celsius (summer in south Africa, so a
bit hotter than normal this time of year) ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate
15.
Tank has been running for about 2 years. Last fish added in January
2018.
We just moved, moved the tank as is within about 2 hours, this was about
3 weeks ago.
I think my one heater failed. I looked at my tank and only saw the
clownfish, the tang (2 years in my tank) usually all over the tank was
missing. I found her at the back of the tank, she turned herself black
and had spots here and there. Breathing really fast and badly. I felt
the water temp with my hand and it was hot! Checked thermometer and its
35-36 degrees
Celsius.
<Yikes!>
Clowns did not react at all, no change in appearance or behaviour. Not
seeing my crustaceans, hope they ok.
18 hours ago everyone was happy and there were no signs of stress in the
tank.
I immediately grabbed all the wine and other liquid in the fridge and
floated in the tank.
<Hope you drank part of it !>
I got it down to 34, then 33 eventually stabilized around 29 degrees. As
the sun set its now at 26-27 degrees
Also increased water flow, did a water change with colder water and added
a fan to the sump.
<Good moves>
Tang is looking better but far from healthy, see video, she is back to
normal colour and not hiding anymore. More active than earlier. She is
not eating not sure what to do next.
<Be patient, the tang is very stressed to eat, give it time>
Thought temp was the only issue now I think she might have white spot as
well, not sure. Fish was 100% healthy half a day ago. There is a pattern
on her forehead with white spots, skin affected, also fin damage. Not
sure what caused it.
<Apparently it got hit with something>
I dosed the tank with seachem Metroplex, what I had around.
<You shouldn’t have medicated the tank, this will only add stress to the
livestock and you don't know yet if any is sick.>
Fish already stressed so did not want to attempt a fw bath etc.
What would you suggest as to treatment? Any idea what to do to save my
tang?
<I suggest dimming the lights until everything settles down, also do
keep an eye on the temperature and avoid drastic changes.>
Kind regards,
Millezanne
<Cheers. Wil.>
Re: Vampire tang - sudden illness - potentially due to high temperature
11/22/19
Thank you,
<Welcome>
She looks a little better this morning (its 5am in South Africa) still
breathing heavily. Water temp at 25 degrees. I dimmed lights as you
suggested.
<Good>
Can you maybe elaborate on what the discoloration on her forehead is?
Not sure this is a physical injury, attached another video of last
night, no visibility now without lights, it is still discolored and skin
seems to peel at ends of this. It recovered slightly overnight, last 6
hours.
<Could be just its protective slime coat peeling off, or could be
something else>
Also definitely seeing spots around this area on the fish and on mouth.
<Mmm... I suggest to dip/bath this fish for 5 minutes in freshwater
w/Methylene blue, same ph and temperature as in the main tank, and
provide an air stone to oxygenate while dipping; this should help to get
rid of any dead tissue and possible parasites.>
She is swimming better this morning doing her usual route in the tank.
<That’s a good sign>
Hi, got a better pic of this. Video of discoloration on tang, is this an
illness or could it subside by itself? Not sure if she is getting
better.
Temp still at 25 degrees.
<Dip/bath as I mentioned and if symptoms persist you may have to treat
it in a separate tank.>
Apologies, better quality visual attached.
<Please send us just the link to the video, which could be placed in the
cloud or YouTube; our server has limited space and crashes when we
receive very large files. Cheers. Wil.>
Re: Vampire tang - sudden illness - potentially due to high
temperature
12/5/19
Hi,
<Hi>
Thanks for the previous advice, much appreciated.
<You’re welcome>
My Tang pulled through, been quite a long sickbed though. The wound on its
forehead became rawer. At times she was looking quite bad. See progress
pictures. 21 Nov, 22 Nov,24 Nov, 30 Nov (Saturday) and Today.
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=18I4_jZ2ag_LXjsRfxvTnGMmnfUqxw2Eg
<I see it is getting better>
Apart from the massive wound on her forehead she also developed pop eye over
this period.
I did 2 x 25% water changes in this period and after not being able to do catch
her for a dip suggested, she recovered.
<Does look like a significant improvement over the course of these days>
I also removed activated carbon, a faulty heater that caused the temp spike in
this time and I widened her rock caves when she got the pop eye as I could see
her squeezing herself into tiny spaces.
<Good>
(We moved this tank about a month ago to our new house) fish movers did a great
job but did not redo the tang’s cave similar to what it was, new caves were
tiny, and she did not fit.
Nowy <Nosy?> question - illness cleared up, pop eye cleared up and wound healed
very well except for a harry potter like scar left. Problem is the tang still
seems very traumatized and has only eaten on 4 occasions in the last 2 weeks.
She has had 4 meals of which 2 was on the same day That was about
a week ago. At the moment she nips at glass and green algae in tank, refuses all
food I feed. Hides if I add food or don’t hide and ignores the food she loved
before (formulae 1 pellets and flakes) she still eats algae from the glass.
Mysis and frozen foods - I tried feeding that she never really looked at this
always spitted this out previously but now nips at it when feeding but spits out
every piece. She has eaten a little bit of algae from the glass and maybe 1
flake. She does not show interest in food at all. she previously hated garlic in
food, I haven’t tried this yet.
She can still see well. She nips with precision at the frozen food.
She swims around in tank but mainly stays close to her new large cave that I
built now when she was sick.
Her color also concerns me, the last photo the almost black Color is her angry
“make up” or pajamas
- she turns this color when I added her to display for the first time. And
subsequently only rare occasions and would turn back to normal color in minutes.
She has been this color for 5 days now.
<The dark coloration is common on stressed fish, mostly on recently imported,
and yours has been through similar stress with the tank moving and the extreme
temperature variation.>
Also seems to be some aggression between her and the one clown. She keeps
flexing her top fin at clown.
I removed clown for a day, and she reacted the same.
Can you please share any tips on how to get her happier and to get her to eat?
Nothing seems to work. I try switching off the pump to feed her to get food
closer to when she was sick, it did work a few times but now it doesn’t.
I’m not cleaning algae off the glass, so she has more to eat/nip at. Tank looks
terrible but its fine if she eats it.
Also been trying different foods suspect I’m over feeding due to this, but the
25% water changes cancelled it out as readings ammonia, nitrite, nitrate still
zero.
<I wouldn’t worry about the tang not eating (for now), fit fish like yours may
go for a few weeks without food, your tang doesn’t look emaciated. I suggest
focusing more on environmental conditions and reducing stress, if water changes
helped to improve it’s health, go that route, maybe not large water changes but
10-15% twice a week, add vitamin supplements directly to the tank water and
avoid putting your hands in the tank as much as possible, after all it has been
through, the tang is very stressed and your presence is not well taken now,
these are very shy fish.>
One other thing there is Aiptasia in the tank, could this be bothering the tang?
<Not necessarily, but it appears when there are excess nutrients in the water,
commonly caused by overcrowded or not large enough tanks in relation to the
livestock, insufficient skimming and infrequent water changes.>
Your advice so much appreciated thanks!
<Glad to help, but next time please help us to check/fix your spelling/grammar
ahead of sending your query, I did it for you this time. Cheers. Wil.>
Black Spot disease after long power outage
7/16/18
<We ask that query attachments be kept to hundreds of Kbytes; yours are 14
megs...>
Good Afternoon team, hope you are well. Sorry for this very long message.
Your input is much appreciated. Tank set up and parameters: Red sea reefer 350,
skimmer Bubble Magus Curve 5, 2 x250 watt heaters, wave maker. FOWLR system with
live rock (25kg), flame angel (1.5 inch) 2 x da Vinci clownfish (1 inch) and a
vampire tang (3 inches), 3 hermit crabs, 2 cleaner shrimp, 1 fire shrimp, 1
snail, free critters on live rock, temp usually around 24 degrees Celsius,
ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 15. Salinity went up over outage as I forgot to
add RO for about 5 days, its 1.028 today and just
brought it down to 1.026 over the course of 4 hours. Tank has been running for
about a year. Last fish added in January 2018. We are in the middle of a week
long power outage (entire substation burnt down due to a fire. I live in South
Africa and its currently winter which makes it worse in terms of keeping the
temperature correct during an outage. After power went out last Tuesday my tank
temp dropped to 18 degrees Celsius and then to 17 on Wednesday. Lights, skimmer
and pump was off for 2 days. I ran 4 bubble makers on batteries during the
outage to create water movement. I managed to connect a generator to the tank on
Thursday (day 2 .5 of outage).
Skimmer, heater, pump and lights on generator. From Thursday the temp was
increased to 19 on the first day then 21 and 23 on the second and third days
trying not to shock my fish with large changes in temp. Fish were very stressed
during power out and also first day or two after lights came on.
Snail looks a bit weird not sticking to glass and falling over, but still alive.
Moved snail to the top of wave maker, looks happy and stick to wave maker. My
tang appeared to be dead when I first switched lights on after 2.5 days, but
apparently just hiding, turned herself black and almost didn't breathe, started
to peek out from her cave after 30 minutes. Because I can only run the generator
during the day the tank then loses about 1 degree Celsius over night. (Need to
watch the generator and it might get stolen over night)
<Yikes>
At night I connect battery operated bubble makers for oxygen and water movement.
Only fed the tank on day 2.5, 2-3 hours after generator was switched on and fish
seemed to be normal and not as stressed out anymore. Im feeding as normal now
and fishes are hungry, not sure exactly how much would constitute overfeeding?
<Beyond taking foods, too fat to move...>
Would live rock filtration be stressed as well?
<Yes; with change, rate of change>
My marine tank appeared to have survived the outage without any negative effects
until this morning that I noticed black spots on my tang. Please see pic
attached, I suspect my vampire (Lieutenant) tang
has black spot disease, dull black spots over the body, a few clear black ones
as well. Also a few Transparent spots on fins, she had some of this when I got
her from the LFS but this went away after quarantine. I would appreciate if you
could share your thoughts. All other fish difficult to tell if they have it,
flame has 2 black spots on fins but this does not look like the same disease as
tang and he/she is not scratching. One of the clowns might have one spot on his
forehead. After a stress event like the power outage, I think my tang (and other
fish ) will be more stressed if I try to catch it to treat it in qt?
<Yes>
Tang swims like normal, looks very happy in display and eats a lot as usual.
Appears healthy breathing normally etc. all other fish are acting normal, my
clowns are eating a bit less than usual but their appetite is picking up over
last 2 days since I've upped the temp. I have seachem Metroplex which I added to
their food today in two feedings. Tang ate the first feeding with Metroplex but
started to spit out the second. Other fishes ate 1 - 2 flakes of this each. Not
sure if I should continue with medication or rather add this to the water, it
says it is reef safe.
<I'd hold off on further treatments for now>
I am working to correct my water parameters after realizing its not correct
today. I have performed a water change 10% and reduced salinity to 1.026. I also
read that hyposalinity could help with black spot so I am planning to keep
reducing salinity slowly to 1.020 over the next 3 days and then keep it there
for the next 6 weeks. Not sure if I should continue to raise temp? If yes to how
much would be ideal. Im concerned about amount of oxygen in high temps, perhaps
some guidance how this affects the fish and the disease/parasites? My LFS
suggested a temp of 28 degrees Celsius, but I read contrary info that this would
speed up the disease progression in the fish’s system as well. Trying to keep
the temp constant on 23 degrees Celsius now. I am currently feeding ocean
nutrition formula 2 and brine flakes, my fish loves the brine shrimp plus
flakes. I usually feed frozen food as well but all went bad with power outage.
My
cleaner shrimps are all over my tang to clean him, not sure if this helps.
He is parked in the cleaning station every 30 minutes. Only weird behaviour was
that tang started scratching himself in a different way than usual yesterday(my
tang usually scratches his side once or twice a week that I see on the gravel,
never had any spots that I could see) as from yesterday the tang flips more than
180 degrees to scratch, this afternoon scratching seems less, more cleaning
activity. I would really appreciate your input on how to Treat the potential
black spot for the tang and others if applicable. I am hoping that our
electricity is restored today at midnight as I will then have permanent heating,
skimming, pump on in the fish tank.
Kind regards,
Millezanne
<The spots may be "nothing"; simply environmental stress; could be Paravortex
(see WWM Re); but in any, all cases, doubtful this is a dangerous parasitic
situation. Do your best to maintain optimized conditions for now. Bob Fenner>
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Black Spot disease after long power outage
7/16/18
Hi Rob,
<Mille>
Thank you for getting back to me so quickly!
<Welcome>
Black spots are fading fast, this morning barely visible, so your thinking it
being stress related was spot on.
<Ahh>
This morning noticed that my tang also have 3 distinct salt grain look alike
spots on fins that wasn't there last night. Looks like white spot disease.
<Again; doubtful this is pathogenic; a disease due to a biological agent>
Tang is still looking healthy and eating. Breathing is normal. Other fishes not
affected
Salinity now on 1.025 and nitrate 10. Still battling the power outage, water
temps now on 23 during the day (with generator) and drops to 21 overnight.
<No fun for all>
Would you recommend any treatment? What would you suggest at this moment?
Lowering salinity a bit? Temperature higher?
<None of the above>
Or nothing and just monitoring
the situation.
<The latter only>
Thank you & Kind Regards,
Millezanne
<Cheers, Bob Fenner>
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8 year old Shoulder Tang
1/27/17
Aloha,
<Howsit? Darrel, you owe me some part of twenty US... your too large file
wouldn't load here in Fiji. Had to sign up for the advanced svc. Hundreds of
Kbytes mate, NOT megs>
I really appreciate the service wet web media provides. Mahalo. To Bob
Fenner and the crew.
<Follow our guidelines then!>
I operate a Marine aquarium maintenance service and recently some thing
happened to an 8 year old shoulder Tang that I haven't seen before.
The Tang resides in a 650 gallon Fish only aquarium 8.2pH 40ppmNitr 1.021SG.
<A bit low>
About 3 weeks ago, a golden head goby I added died fairly quickly.. 2 weeks
or so after 15 days QT time. A little while after the Tang developed brown
splotches and started to hide.
<Mmm; likely not related>
With parameters in line, I immediately suspected parasites of some kind.
Close inspection of some of the other larger fish, 2 yellows, 3 Blue Hippos,
and a 10 year old Stars and Stripes puffer, revealed little.
Nothing evident on the fins, clear active eyes, no scratching, etc.
However the fish mostly clustered in one area of the reef insert for about a
week.
<Mmm; environmental. Something/s you don't measure are off>
There is also an 8 year old Heniochus that is mostly hiding but has no
visible discolorations.
Any advice?
<When, where in doubt, punt! Massive water change (like half), with gravel
vacuuming, addition of a few units of ChemiPure and PolyFilter in the flow
path. Bob Fenner>
Thanks in advance.
|
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Re: 8 year old Shoulder Tang
1/27/17
Oh, the system also is running a 120 watt Emperor Aquatics Smart UV (40wx3)
6 months of service for the current bulbs.
<I'd be checking the Fe +2 and 3 coming off the igneous. B>
Darrel
Re: shoulder tang 1/27/17
Mahalo. I will send you a check or money order. U.S. funds?
<Heeeee! Thank you for the offer Darrel>
I already did everything you suggested prior to contacting you.. the
markings improved and then came back albeit in a different pattern. I will
repeat process.
Thanks again.
<This Acanthurus (does) suffer/s from many types of environmental (over)
stress. IF it's still eating, moving about... I give you good odds of it
recovering. A hu'i hou! Bob Fenner>
|
Sick Tang question; env., likely Cu++ poisoning
12/14/15
Good day crew Brian here with a question... At our shop we have been
plagued with certain tang species coming down with this sickness. It
affects Tomini, Kole and Blue eye tangs only... All other fish present
normal with no symptoms.
<Acanthurids are far more susceptible; on some sort of sliding scale, than most
other fish families.... to environmental troubles, common pathogenic diseases>
It appears to only take place in one of our systems however that system
is regularly treated with formalin and occasional copper as it is our
new arrival quarantine system which is 325 gallons.
<.... environment then likely>
We have been attempting to identify the disease utilizing various books however
we have been unable to.
<.... need to sample, use a 'scope. See WWM Re>
The tangs color fades, they being to shake, dart around, stop eating, develop
dark circles, they do not scratch, no increase in respiratory rate.
<Env.>
What are your thoughts as we have tried copper,
<...? READ here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/crypttangsf2.htm
and the linked files above... till you become aware>
Flagyl, formalin, fresh water dips, medicated foods. Again this only happens to
these three species of tang. All others are unaffected and healthy. The other
species includes over a dozen other tangs, Angels, wrasses, butterflies,
snapper, grouper, lions ( sorry for the non specific species list but it would
massive).
Thanks again
Brian
<When in doubt, search on WWM and read. Bob Fenner>
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Poisoned |
Blotchy Skin on Tangs... and comm. QT sys. design
1/23/15
Hi crew,
I've got a fish setup around 1200 gallons with 35 to 75 gallon holding
tanks. I have something that I think is spreading around on my tangs but
doesn't look like a communicable disease I only suspect it is because
its affecting 4 or 5 different specimens. I attached a picture and so
far its affected Kole tangs, chevron tangs, powder blue tangs, and a
sohal. Some of these like the chevron tangs I've had in the shop maybe 6
months.
Others like the powder blue only a few weeks. Behaviorally they seem
normal for the most part, maybe a little jittery but it's hard to say.
I've scoured the web and haven't found much so I was hoping you might
have an idea.
<Yes; this sort of manifestation is almost always "environmentally
driven"... Tangs are sensitive; and these you've had for too long a
while for this to be infectious or parasitic in nature>
I have done a couple bursts of lanthanum chloride
<Ahh; yes; this might do it. You're trying to limit soluble phosphate...
are there Cnidarians in this recirculated system?>
in the system which I've heard rumors may affect tangs but that's just a
possible theory and I don't see any real timing correlation between the
two. They get fed primarily NLS pellet, frozen mysis, and OmegaSea Nori
sheets. Nothing notable wrong with water quality.
<... that you can test for>
The system gets a 50g water change once a week. Everything is bare
bottom so ph tends to be low but we keep it buffered and it runs
generally 7.9. I've tried 1 hour formalin baths with no
noticeable improvements.
<You won't. As stated, the trouble here is not pathogenic>
One other question. I'm planning a quarantine setup and I've got like a
2'x12' space against a wall to accomplish this.
<Mmm; not for treating these fishes I take it. I would improve the
environment, leave all in place>
Do you have any references for designs I could use as a foundation?
<Ah yes; archived on WWM>
It seems in designing this there are a lot of things I could really
regret and hoping to draw on the experiences of others to have a good
system that will work for acclimation, new arrival holding, and specimen
treatment, while of course being incredibly easy to maintain =)
<Ah yes>
I've browsed around the web and found a few things but nothing that
looked very thoroughly explained or thought out. Thanks as always for
the time and advice,
Matt Johnson
<I'd skip the Lanthanum use; apply a few units of Chemi-Pure, possibly a
couple pads of PolyFilter in your filter flow path and call it a day.
Bob Fenner>
Re: Blotchy Skin on Tangs 1/23/15
Thanks for quick reply and the plan sounds easy which is always nice.
Re: QT schematics not finding any, searched "multitank quarantine",
"Quarantine plumbing", "Quarantine System Design" "Holding systems" all
not getting me where I'm looking to go. Maybe I'll just ask a couple
questions:
First, intentions for this is more of a holding system for new arrivals
vs. a hospital treatment tank. Here's my basic vision tell me if you see
any immediate flaws. Rows of 10g tanks on a shelf all with a valved line
in and gravity feed line out to a common sump with maybe some good old
fashioned bio balls. Lit by the room.
<Install an alternate "red lamp" fluorescent system... Fine for you to
see, and MUCH more calming for incoming livestock>
I could run a line from my main fish system to make water changes happen
at the same time using the main system water as the new water for the
QT.
<Good>
Buffer the water with SeaChem powders. Keep fish in here for a couple
weeks and rotate them out when new orders arrive. Any quick
recommendations on that abbreviated plan?
Matt
<What for recirculation for this system? I'd incorporate serious UV and
as small a particulate mechanical filtration as maintenance will allow.
Bob Fenner> |
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Weird Skin Disease? Env. likely 9/21/13
Good day everyone,
<Hey Lyndon>
Appreciate it if someone could advise what this could be and possible
treatment?
<Sure>
Weird discolouration that I haven't come across on a tang so far.
Thanks for the assistance.
Lyndon
<Have seen such "markings" on Surgeonfishes many times. This is highly
likely not anything pathogenic (i.e. caused by a biological agent), but
a reaction to something "too much" (or possibly too little) in the water
here. If it were my fish, and I had another established system, I'd move
it there. If I didn't, I'd look into water quality such as we have tests
for, and add a few to several pounds of healthy live rock to the
existing system... To modify the water, offer other foods.
Bob Fenner>
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Mystery of lost Surgeonfishes
9/1/10
Hi M. Fenner,
<Noel>
I have again a question for you...
I have one customer who lose every surgeonfish he put in his aquarium
and I can't find why he has a 125g tank
no ammonia, nitrites, nitrates are at 10
about 30x the volume of his tank in water flow
no problem with temperature,
tank mate : one Centropyge angel, 2 Australian clown, 3 chalk Basslet,
2 orange line cardinal fish and 2 watchman goby
he had marine velvet last year, but he wait to put other fish and now
all the fishes name above live very well (even reproduce : goby and
cardinal)
he add one Naso tang (die 4-5 days after)
<Mmm>
about 3 weeks after he add one convict tang (die 4-5 days after) the
tangs show no sign of illness, the first couple of days they eat and
move normally, but on the 4 days stop eating and start breathing more
rapidly... by the end of the day stay at the bottom... and die the next
day I asked if he add done something (like a water change) before the
sign appear, but he told me no
I know these tangs are not the easiest... but these 2 fishes came from
QM, and I had them for more than 2 weeks each and they were eating very
well at the store
I ask the customer if maybe the acclimation was done to rapidly, but he
told me that the temperature and the salinity (1.025) was the same as
his tank when he introduce the fishes and that he took about 1h to make
the acclimation
<All sounds, reads as fine...>
he didn't saw any real aggression between the fishes the only thing
he told me about the convict tang was that his dorsal was
more yellow tang white he doesn't have a sump...
<This is a clue...>
so the add of freshwater is done in the tank, but with the help of an
Osmolater, and with ro/di water (0 ppm)
do you think of a raison why small fishes wouldn't have any problem
in his tank but bigger like tangs would?
<I can. The most likely cause of death here is low dissolved
oxygen.
Tangs/Surgeons/Doctorfishes absolutely require high DO... 7-8 ppm... In
fact, I would encourage this person to lower their specific gravity...
this will help with oxygen/gas solubility>
is it's possible that he as electricity in his tank... ground his
tank may be good?
<Mmm, no... the other fishes would be mal-affected as well>
I know he put a lot of corals food in his tank, but the other fishes
don't mind and the tank as only 10 of nitrates...
he as a really good skimmer (Deltec)
I just don't know where to look to find what's wrong, I never
had this kind of problem before with any other customers :(
thank you
<Welcome my friend. There are oxygen testers... and adding a sump
(with its increased volume and air-water mixing) would help as well.
Bob Fenner>
Thank you!!
<Welcome>
I had think about oxygen but with the skimmer and water flow didn't
think it was what was causing the death
<Is only a guess... but my best first shot>
thank you very much for your input :)
I'm going to the MACNA, maybe I'll see you there ;)
<Oh! Yes. Please do look for me, introduce yourself. Will be there
tomorrow night till Sunday's end>
have a nice day
Marie
<And you Marie. BobF>
Sick tang, social, env., Acanthurus...
08/28/08 Hello Crew, Thank you for all your help in the
past, it has been invaluable. I noticed about a week ago my Orange
Shoulder Tang was getting a few "discolored spots" on his
body. <I see this> It seemed to be getting worse by the day
until today it seems as if it has covered most of his body with the
exception of fins and head. It doesn't appear to have a texture
or any depressions/lesions. Each spot just seems to have a lighter
coloration than what is normal. I looked in The Conscientious
Aquarist and on this site, but am still uncertain. I have included
a pic taken this am. None of my other fish are affected (as of
yet). Any thoughts? <Something environmental... psychological
perhaps...> 125 g reef tank sg-10.25 calcium- 450 KH- 9 nitrate-
0 nitrite- 0 ammonia- 0 phosphate- 0 1 Blue Chromis - Chromis
viridis 1 Green Clown Goby - Gobiodon histrio 2 Pajama Cardinals -
Sphaeramia nematoptera 4 Blue Streak Cardinals - Apogon
leptacanthus 2 Firefish Gobies - Nemateleotris magnifica 2
Saddleback Clownfish - Amphiprion Polymnus 1 Sixline Wrasse -
Pseudocheilinus hexataenia 1 Lawnmower Blenny - Salarias fasciatus
1 Dusky Jawfish - Opistognathus whitehurstii <These three above
may be harassing this fish> 1Royal Gramma- Gramma loreto 1
Dejardin's Tang - Zebrasoma desjardinii 1 Orange Shoulder Tang
- Acanthurus olivaceus 1 Chocolate Mimic Tang - Acanthurus
pyroferus 1 Yellow Tang - Zebrasoma flavescens <Or these other
Acanthurids> ---------- 20 fish total <Too much, mix for this
volume...> thanks in advance, Alan <I would definitely be
moving this fish elsewhere... Someone/s' bugging it too much.
Bob Fenner> |
Unknown disease on Naso and Unicorn Tangs
10/25/07 Hello, <Hi there> I have had multiple Unicorn
and Naso tangs, both Hawaiian and Blonde, in my 500 gallon
aquarium which are dying of an unknown disease. No one in my area
can identify the problem. Water quality is excellent. First, they
get a white cotton-like grain around the face area. After about a
week, the grain opens and flesh is seen. The open wound can grow
to be 3" on a 10" Tang. More cotton-like material
develops in the open flesh area and the fish stops eating and
dies. I know it is not a parasite because copper (Cupramine) is
not effective. <Mmm... not really> Is it a fungus? If so,
what medication should I use? Please help...I would like to have
more of these tangs in the future. Thanks, Jeff <I would take
a scraping, look w/o staining under a low-power microscope. I
suspect this/these are flukes (monogenetic Trematodes), but could
possibly be copepods... treatment is either with a vermifuge
(e.g. Praziquantel) or an organophosphate... in the meanwhile, in
addition, I would bolster their immune systems with HUFA and
vitamin soaking on their algal diets. Bob Fenner>
Re: Unknown disease on Naso and Unicorn Tangs
10/25/07 Hello Bob, <Jeff> Thanks for your quick reply.
<Welcome> Which of the 2 remedies are more effective and
where can I get either Praziquantel or Organophosphate?
<Posted on WWM. BobF> Jeff
Re: Unknown disease on Naso and Unicorn Tangs --
10/30/2007 Hello Mr. Bob Fenner, <Jeff> I have been
using PraziPro for 3 days and it seems to be not working.
Attached is a picture of the fish and disease. Let me know if I
am using the right medication. If I'm not, please guide me in
the right direction. Again, thanks for all of your help. Jeff
<Mmm, this eruptive condition looks like HLLE... neuromast
destruction. Do you have these fishes under constant copper
exposure? Is it possible that there is a vitamin deficiency
syndrome here? Please read: http://wetwebmedia.com/hllefaqs3.htm
and the linked files above. Bob Fenner, who would still like to
see a micrograph... to exclude Hexamita here...>
Re: Unknown disease on Naso and Unicorn Tangs
10/30/07 Hello Rob, <Jeff> thanks for your reply. I
know for sure it is not HLLE. I have had the fish for about 2
months and eats a lot of Spirulina. Water quality is good.
<Mmm... well, the pattern of involvement closely matches the
arrangement of the lateralis system. Again, have these
Acanthurids been exposed to copper?> I will treat for Hexamita
and hope this is the problem. Thanks, Jeff <Okay. BobF>
Re Unknown disease on Naso and Unicorn Tangs...
still not reading, Cu poisoning 10/31/07 Yes, I had
Cupramine in the water at .05 ppm. <... Please see WWM re
Acanthuroids and copper exposure... This is very likely the root
cause of the neuromast destruction here> Possibly a fungus or
Bacterial infection? Furan 2 or Fungus Cure as a medication?
<... no, no, and no> Jeff
<Please... read. Bob Fenner>
|
|
|
Tang Help sys.-env.-dis. 7/10/07 Hi I have a 3-4 inch
Bluelined tang I bought a week ago along with a 37 gallon tank that was
up and running. <Way too small of a tank for a tang, needs lots more
swimming room.> He looked great when I went to pick him up and
looked great when I brought him home. Now he has lost his dark color
and swims in the current coming back into the tank all night long and a
good part of the day. <Probably feeling a bit cramped.> He still
eats krill great and I put some seaweed in there today and he curious
about it but wont really go after it? <Ok?> Also he has a slight
bump on both sides of his body? Not huge but noticeable. He has very
small 2 inch maroon clown as a tank mate. Has 40 lbs of live rock also.
He still grazes a lot during the day on the live rock? <?> Any
help would be much appreciated. I love your site and I wish the guys
around here in the Tampa FL store would read your site more. Oh One
last question if I can? Can I use ocean water for a water change to
bring down nitrates? I checked the ocean last time I was there and I
wish I could keep my tank as good as nature. 0 parts nitrates. <Some
concerns here, see http://www.wetwebmedia.com/seawater.htm for
more.> Thanks for any help. Rick In Clearwater FL
<Chris>
Bubble in Tang's Eye...GBD? -
08/27/06 Hi, <<Hello Deb>> I have a tang who had tiny
air bubbles in her eye, then the next day the tiny bubbles became two
larger one then the next day they merged into one big bubble.
<<Can't say I've ever seen this before...still, is
possibly the result of an injury or environmental condition>> Is
this the same as POPEYE, or is this something different?
<<Something different, as stated. Popeye infections
generally affect BOTH eyes>> Also I see that Epsom salt is
recommended for Popeye, <<Mmm, not really...a true Popeye
infection would require an antibiotic treatment, but the Epsom Salt may
prove beneficial in this case>> if this is what she has can the
Epsom salt be added to my tank with the other fish or should she be put
into a smaller tank. <<Separation/quarantine would likely make it
easier to observe/treat this fish, but the Epsom Salt can be added to
the display tank if you so wish (a level teaspoon per ten gallons
actual water volume is recommended)>> Also how long can you use
the Epsom salt? <<As long as perceived necessary...will not need
to be re-dosed until you perform a water change>> She is eating
but her balance seems off and she looks like sometimes she bumps into
things. <<Indeed...peripheral sight/field-of-view is affected,
though the loss of "balance" may indicate another
problem...emphysematosis, Gas Bubble Disease>> Can tiny
micro-bubbles in tank cause this or is this just something that fish
just get? <<Ahh, yes...is this an issue in your
system? If so, definitely remove the tang for
treatment...and see here about rectifying the bubble situation in your
display: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/bubtroubfaqs.htm
>> I thank you in advance for your help. <<I'm happy to
assist>> I Love this fish and will try anything I can to help
her. Deb <<Remove the tang and treat as described...and fix your
bubble problem. Regards, EricR>>
Re: Bubble in Tang's Eye...GBD?
8/27/06 Hi Eric, <<Deb>> Thanks for your
advice. <<My pleasure>> I tried to get into the web site
you posted but could not for some reason any other you may
suggest? <<How strange...try going to the WWM home page (
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/index.html)...scroll to the
bottom of the page...click the 'dot' for WetWebMedia...enter
"bubble trouble" in the box and click
'Search'...select the first WWM link at the top of the
page. This will take you to the page I sent in our first
correspondence>> Thanks Deb
<<Cheers, EricR>>
Powder Brown Low-Down (Tang Quarantine)
7/14/05 I have a 75gal FOWLR, and I am thinking of adding a Powder
Brown (White Faced) Tang. <Just keep thinking, but please don't
add this fish to your tank, unless a much larger tank is in the very
near future. Your tank really is too small to support this fish for
anything close to a natural life span, IMO. You need a tank that is at
least 6 feet long, to provide "physical space" for the fish,
as well as large water capacity to help dilute metabolic waste...> I
have a 20gal hospital tank setup and I know how to perform a
freshwater dip. <A good practice> Should I run copper in the
hospital for the whole 21 days or just wait and see if anything pops
up. <I would not use copper, or any other medicine, on a
prophylactic basis.> I'm pretty sure with a Powder Brown it is
going to have Ich (even if I don't see it) and I don't want to
kill it the copper treatment but I also don't want the Ich in my
main. What to do? Thanks Daryl <Well, Daryl- if you were going to
get this fish, you'd be well advised to do a full 30 day
quarantine, without copper or other medication. Only medicate if the
fish shows signs of illness. Just make sure that you run the full 30
day quarantine. Regards, Scott F.>
Tang in Trouble (3/31/05) Hi. <Hello, Steve Allen
here. Please capitalize the proper noun "I" and the first
letter of sentences so we can post queries on our website without
having to do this for you.> We have a 30 gallon tank with a
fairly new yellow tang. maybe a couple of weeks (also in this tank is a
maroon clown, coral beauty, royal Gramma, cleaner shrimp. <The
tang, Clown and Angel do not belong in such a small tank. Each of these
needs to be in a tank of at least 75 gallons.> This last week
the tang has stopped eating everything. <A bad sign in this
normally voracious fish.> I've given it flakes, seaweed
and various frozen foods. It won't take anything. It has also
started to show some red markings on its fins and near the beginning of
its tail. I am almost run dry of ideas to help him and would like to
keep him happy and healthy. Can you please help me? <Three
possibilities come to mind right away with the symptoms you describe.
One is nitrite poisoning. Is it breathing more rapidly than normal? Get
a good test kit and check ammonia and nitrite. Another is oxygen
deprivation. Tangs need more oxygen in the water than other species. If
your circulation/aeration is inadequate, this could be the problem. The
redness strongly suggests bacterial septicemia. If this is the case,
you need to remove the tang to a hospital tank and treat with
broad-spectrum antibiotics. Details can be found by searching on WWM
for "bacterial infection." In the long-run, you need a much
bigger tank or more suitable fish for your small tank. This tang needs
at an absolute minimum 75 gallons. The Clown will get too big and,
importantly, way to aggressive for this small tank. The angel also
needs a bigger tank to survive and be healthy.>
Breathless Tang? Hi Crew, <Scott F. your Crew member
today!> I hope all is well with you. I am experiencing an
issue with my 55 gallon QT. Many of the fish in this tank
appear to be gilling rapidly. I have noticed this with a
6" Powder Blue Tang, a 2.5" Purple Tang and possibly with a
small porcupine puffer. None of these fish are breathing at
the top of the water (in fact, they nearly all stay toward the
bottom). I am most concerned about the Powder Blue Tang,
which is gilling at approximately 3 cycles / second. Is this
normal behavior? <Seems a bit fast to me, but probably acceptable if
the fish is behaving normally otherwise. High oxygenation (i.e.;
aggressive aeration of the water) will help meet the fish's
needs> Possibly I am just imagining a problem, but this seems very
fast to me. The Purple Tang's gill rate is approximately
4-5 per second but it just seems to be generally excitable and I am
unsure that this rate is consistent, whereas the Powder Blue's gill
rate never decreases. <Hmm...> I assume this is an indication of
low oxygen level in the water (or possibly gill / parasite issues) but
I have a skimmer and a dual BioWheel Penguin filter in the tank, which
significantly ripples the water surface as the water falls
approximately ?" from the filter outlet. After noticing
this rapid gilling, I performed a 25% water change, lowered the
temperature by 2 degrees and I have also added a sponge filter, a
venturi powerhead and 100 drops of Methylene blue. This did
not appear to reduce the rapid gilling. <Is the fish displaying any
other difficulties, such as swimming; any signs of mucus or other
discoloration? Is the fish feeding?> Water parameters: Salinity =
1.0235 S.G., Temp = 80 degrees F, Ammonia = 0, Nitrite = 0, Nitrate =
20 PPM. Cu++ = 2.0 PPM (Chelated - CopperSafe). What do you
think is causing this rapid gilling? What do you recommend
for correcting this problem? Greg <I like copper sulphate to cure
specific problems, such as Cryptocaryon or Amyloodinium, but I
don't think it's a good idea to use it as a prophylactic. It
can create some physiological challenges for some fishes, particularly
tangs, which may have difficulties digesting food, etc. with continued
exposure. Unless you are experiencing some diseases with these fishes,
I'd discontinue the copper use for a while. Utilize water changes
and Poly Filter to help remove some of the copper. Keep a close eye on
things, and be prepared to take action if it becomes necessary. Good
luck! Regards, Scott F>
Breathless Tang (Pt. 2) Thanks for the reply
Scott. Yes, the fish do appear to be acting otherwise normal
aside from the rapid gilling. <That's good news!> Once
possibly exception is the Powder Blue, which "twirls" slowly
on its pectoral fins while sitting on the bottom of the
tank. It is not swimming around rapidly but just slowly
rotating around. <Hmm...could be worth keeping him under closer
scrutiny> Regarding the Copper; I did not originally have CopperSafe
in my QT but, after about one week in the QT I had a minor Cryptocaryon
outbreak so I added copper. The good news is that today all
fish appear to be doing much better. <Gotcha...good move. I was
concerned that there was a "baseline" copper concentration in
the water. Glad to see you treating in the QT!> Maybe I just did not
wait long enough for the added oxygenation attempts to take affect, the
methyl blue helped ease a gill parasite problem, the
previously-elevated temperature was stressing-out the fish or... who
knows. All fish do appear to be looking much happier today
though (although the Powder Blue is still gilling a little fast - maybe
twice per second) but at least I think we are headed in a better
direction now. <Good to hear. I think that the corrective steps you
took made sense...> As always, thank you for the terrific service
you provide all of us!-- Greg <You're quite welcome! Thanks for
the kind words! I think that with a little close observation and TLC,
the fish should recover and thrive just fine! Regards, Scott F.
Powder Brown Problem? Hi, <Hi there- Scott F. here
today> I'm hoping you can help me diagnose what is affecting a
new fish of mine. I've begun the process of carefully
adding livestock now using your advice. I added a powder
brown tang to my main tank about a week ago after quarantining him for
two weeks. Very good, but I recommend a full 30 day quarantine
procedure> He appeared very healthy up until a day or two
ago. The symptoms he's showing are pale coloration on
top of the head and towards the dorsal area and a more slight paleness
overall. He darts about and thrashes around a
bit. There are no visible spots of any kind on his exterior
and I haven't really seen him scratch, so I don't think
it's ich or velvet. I've tried to see if there is
rapid gilling, but it's hard to tell with him. <That's
somewhat encouraging. If he's eating well, that's a good sign,
too.> I have a Picasso trigger in there too and he seems fine right
now, but then again that fish is seemingly bullet-proof. Do
you know what this might be or what else I should look for? < Well,
hard to say without a picture, but it could be anything from
acclimation/collection trauma, water quality or dietary issue to a
disease. In the absence of poor water quality parameters (i.e.;
detectible ammonia, nitrite, etc.), I'd suspect that this may be
the beginnings of a more serious parasitic illness...I still would not
rule out Cryptocaryon or Amyloodinium here.> And what treatment
should I use? I have the QT ready to go. Is there
anything I should do immediately, like a freshwater
dip? Thanks so much for any help. Tim <Well, Tim- I'm
inclined to recommend removing the fish to the treatment tank (I
commend you on the preparation of the "hospital facility")
for further observation. Yes, I do like the idea of a freshwater dip
here as an initial start. If other symptoms indicative of a parasitic
illness manifest, I'd begin a treatment regimen utilizing a
formalin-based product. I'm a big copper sulphate fan for many
fishes, but you do need to be careful with tangs and copper, as this
medication can damage the fish's digestive system and cause other
difficulties for the fish. If this does prove to be one of the
aforementioned parasitic illnesses, I'd consider removing all of
the fishes for observation and/or treatment. Meanwhile, you may want
the main tank to go "fallow", without fishes for about a
month, to allow the parasitic population time to "crash" for
lack of hosts. Quick action is vital here...Regards, Scott F>
Powder Brown Problem? (Pt.2) Follow up on previous email: My
tang has gotten seemingly a little worse. He is now
twitching almost constantly with erratic movement and sometimes
swimming with his body at an angle. It looks like something
is irritating him for sure. But no spots or anything I can
see on the exterior. His paleness isn't like it was
yesterday, but coloration is still off a little. This is
puzzling because I don't what to do for treatment. His
is definitely being by bothered by something and it is getting
worse. Thanks for any info/help you can give. Tim <Well,
Tim- I'm inclined to think that this is either a result of
collection trauma of some sort, or maybe, just maybe some sort of
parasitic problem (assuming that you mean "itching" when you
describe this as "irritating"- signs of parasitic problems).
I'd consider executing some freshwater dips to see if any
improvement comes from this. Do monitor basic water chemistry
parameters in the display, just to rule out ammonia, nitrite, or other
problems. Sometimes, a good water change can get a fish back on the
right track. However, don't rule out the parasitic angle, here
either...Good luck, and keep me posted! Regards, Scott F>
A Cure For The Powder Brown Blues? Scott, thanks for the
reply. Well I took him out and placed him in the QT and he
was just fine, no signs of irritation or anything. <Excellent! Glad
to hear that!> I left him there for a few days, and in the mean time
I thought maybe an old power head that I had in there that quit working
might have something to do with it since it was still plugged in but
had quit running properly. So I unplugged it and put him in
a few days later. <I wonder if "stray voltage" or some
other unusual phenomenon caused this problem? Hard to say what it
was...> He seemed ok but I noticed he gets real frisky and
aggressive along the glass. I think he's seeing his reflection and
it's driving him nuts. <Definitely a possibility> Or maybe
I'm nuts, but I don't know what else it might be. <Well,
that's an entirely different matter, LOL!> He started this when
I first put him in there initially, but now I he just acts kinda
crazy. He zooms around and gets all twitchy and stuff.
<Not a totally unusual behavior for a tang...> I tested it by
turning out the overhead lights so there is no reflection on the glass
and he calms down. It probably sounds strange, but I think
he's just a little too high strung. <Again, not out of character
for tangs..> Anyway, he seems totally healthy other than
that. His coloration is beautiful as it was when I got him
and he's definitely full of energy. Having so many
problems with parasites in the past, I thought for sure he had
something. It's good that he doesn't, because
I'd be ready to pull my hair out. The tank sat fallow
for 6 weeks and I'm taking a lot of precaution now. All
seems to be well for now, thanks for your help. Tim <Well, Tim, even
though your procedures were conservative, I think that they were the
way to go...The potential risk of skipping this process is not worth
it, IMO. I hope that things continue to go well for you and the fish!
It was a little "touch and go" there for a while, but I'm
glad to see things are looking up! Regards, Scott F.>
Tang Lost His "Mojo"! I have a 45 gal salt with wet
dry pump ph is slightly off- 7.4 but added ph guard salt is a little
low at 1.019-1.020 due to adding water. <That's a really low pH!
Do your best to get that up there to the "normal" marine
range (8.0 plus). Look into your husbandry techniques. Are you doing
regular water changes? Possibly overfeeding? Check the quality of your
source water as well.> All fish are in excellent shape, but my
yellow tang has lost most of his color. and is getting
slightly lethargic. I have lost other fish this way need to know what
I'm doing wrong and how can i save this fish. Thanks, Ron <Well,
Ron- hard to say from here. Could be the stress brought about by the
low pH, and possibly other water quality lapses. Do a complete suite of
tests on your water to see what levels need to be corrected. This fish
may require removal to a separate tank for observation and/or treatment
should disease symptoms manifest themselves. Do a review on the Disease
section of the wetwebmedia.com site for more information on diseases to
see if you are dealing with one. In all likelihood, this lethargy may
be due to the low pH and possibly other water quality anomalies. With
decisive moves to correct these levels, your tang should get his
"Mojo" back soon! Good Luck! Regards, Scott F>
Yellow Tang with Red top fin Hello and thanks for your
valuable time. <And you for yours> I have a 75 gallon fish only
tank, with only two small live rocks. Fish wise I have a
velvet blue damsel, three yellow tail damsels, a saddle puffer, a clown
and five turbo snails. All seem to get along
dandy. I had two Condys that were added a week ago, but died
the last two days because of lack of light (my fault and working on
getting better lighting and will try an anemone again some day in the
future). I don't yet have a protein skimmer and no QT as
of yet. The Yellow Tang has a dark reddish/orange area at the base of
his top fin, closest to his head. It's come on in the
last three days. He eats romaine, and frozen
food. He doesn't seem to like the dried
algae. He seems happy, but does do a little rubbing on
occasion on the back of tank glass and some rocks (but not necessarily
on the reddish/orange-ish area). What do you think this is? <A
reaction to less than ideal environmental conditions. You should
definitely acquire and place a skimmer (you'll be amazed at the
gunk this tool removes)... All your livestock will benefit from this
and the use of a QT system. Please do read through here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/mardisease.htm
Bob Fenner> Thanks! Steve
Yellow Tang with Red top fin Bob, Thanks. I
didn't realize that the skimmer would be that
critical. I had one in my last tank and it worked
great. Guess I just didn't think it was an absolute.
<You will soon see the difference> Do you think that's the
main thing that's causing the sot on the Tang? <Yes. Amongst all
the factors you mention, probable causes, it stands out as number
one> I read through the recommended html page. I think I
have all the other items covered in large degree. Since I
don't have anything but fish in the tank, I think the increased
lighting can wait until I have the $$. <Yes, much less important
than improved overall water quality. Get, use the skimmer first. Bob
Fenner> Thanks, Steve HJ
Help! Purple Tang has turned brown-green and won't eat
Hi, Thanks for your excellent web-site. I've kept marine aquariums
for almost 5 years now, and have a problem I've never encountered,
and can't find a reference on the web. My purple tang,
who for 3 or 4 months has been very fat and healthy (along with all the
other residents of the tank) has over the past 10 days: 1) stopped
eating, and 2) changed color over most of his body (looks like he's
been covered with grey/green dust). (He's still purple on his sides
where his fins fold back against his body) 3) I don't observe any
ulcerations, holes, or fin damage. I've tried enticing him with
different foods (Ocean Nutrition's "Formula 1",
"Formula 2", and "Brine Shrimp Plus", Frozen brine
shrimp, frozen bloodworms, Waltham's "Aquarian",
Aquatrol's "Spirulina 20", "Nutrafin Max",
freeze-dried krill... but he still has no appetite. He
won't even eat lettuce, which he used to devour. He has become more
shy, and will hide when I walk up to the tank (he used to do this on
occasion, but now does it every time). When he doesn't know
he's being observed I can see that he is still pretty active, but
has started to look really gaunt in the back half of his body. Specs:
100 Gallon Uniquarium, fish only, habitually understocked (other
inhabitants are 6" blonde Naso, 5" Foxface, 3" flame
angel, 3" long-nosed Hawkfish, 3 small damsels) Uniquarium has: -
venturi protein skimmer - foam-block pre-filters - carbon bag chemical
filters - wet/dry bio-balls biological - I don't know the gpm on
the power head, but it's the one that came with the Uniquarium
Feeding - I usually feed mostly flake (variety of Formula 1, Formula 2,
and Brine Shrimp Plus), and usually a full leaf of Romaine lettuce
daily. <Ahh, much here. I would look to environmental/nutritional
causes from the above. The bio-filtration produces nitrates which
should come down to less than 40. The lower the better, but difficult
with the type of filtration you have. Now, for primary cause in my
opinion...diet, which is contributing to parasites, bacterial, or
fungal condition. This fish eats vegetative matter in the wild and
needs it in captivity. Land based foods like lettuce are inadequate.
Feed Nori, algae, perhaps Caulerpa, etc. The Formula 2 *frozen* food
would be a good addition as well as soaking foods in Selcon. Brine
shrimp is like Ho-Ho's or Twinkies. Brine shrimp plus is like those
frosted donuts.> Maintenance - I do 15-20 gallon changes every 2
weeks; ammonia & nitrite always at 0, nitrate sometimes as high as
80ppm but usually 20 or 40. Copper is 0. Temp stays at 79, salinity at
1.023. Everybody else in the tank is very fat, healthy, active,
peaceful, and happy. Help! Thanks - Joel Sweat <I would
work on optimizing water and diet. QT if needed to control disease and
treat as needed. Start with a FW dip. Raise temp to 83 in QT. Most
likely ick/velvet or bacterial from overall stress, diet,
nitrates. Please write if you need further assistance,
Craig>
Powder Blue Blues! I have had my Powder Blue Tang home for a
week now. I don't have a quarantine tank. <Gotta get one of
those!> He has been fine up until now but today he seems weird. He
is going back and forth from one end of the tank to the other really
fast. Hasn't done this before constantly. He seems to be rubbing on
the rock a lot more than he used to. My levels are PH 8.2, Ammonia 0.5
which has been like this for about 3 weeks, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 20. My
Lionfish's behavior hasn't changed at all. <Detectible
ammonia is not normal-please re-check and verify the reading. Take
appropriate action to see that you don't see any ammonia reading in
the future.> I am starting to get real concerned and am going to get
a quarantine tank tomorrow and set it up. <A good long-term move.
Keep a sharp eye on the lionfish, as well. Be sure to quarantine all
future purchases for 3 weeks before placing them in your main
system> I know this fish is hard to keep in captivity, what should I
do? <The first thing is to take a good hard look at your tang. Are
there any apparent spots, sores, parasites? At this point, removing him
to a hospital tank may be a prudent move. You should perform a
freshwater dip before placing him in the hospital tank (see
www.wetwebmedia.com/dips_baths.htm for more information). Keep a close
eye on the tang during its stay in the hospital tank, and be prepared
to take appropriate action should symptoms continue. These fish require
careful feeding (lots of algae in their diet) and above average water
quality for optimal long-term health.> I don't want to lose it.
What is the fastest way to get the quarantine tank running with
sufficient biological filtration? <Generally, you should keep a
sponge filter or media in your sump at all times for such emergencies.
At this point, you may need to rely on one of commercial nitrifying
bacterial cultures to "jump start" your filter. Keep
observing your fish carefully, use the resources on wetwebmedia.com,
and always, always quarantine! I'm sure that your tang will do okay
if you act promptly. Good luck! Scott F.> Thanks, Ian Roff
Powder Blue Blues II The tang seems to have a few very small
spots on his side and his face has kind of turned white instead of
black. The blue areas are starting to go pale as well. He has seemed to
settle down a lot bit but is still rubbing on the rock. What should I
do? <Well- sounds like Ich, but difficult to be certain from here.
If it were me, once I verified that it was Ich, I'd perform a 3 to
5 minute freshwater dip, followed by a stay in you hospital tank. I
would administer a commercial copper sulphate treatment and follow the
manufacturer's instructions for use. Always test for copper if you
elect to go this route. You need to make sure that you are maintaining
a proper therapeutic concentration. Keep a close eye on your fish
during the treatment period, maintain high water quality in the
hospital tank, and good feeding. Copper is very effective, but is tough
on tangs if administered for long period of time; do be certain that
Ich is indeed the condition that you're dealing with. Check out
this FAQ: wwwmarparasitcurfaqs.htm to make sure. Good luck, Scott
F.>
Fin Problem Bob, <Craig> I've had a saltwater
aquarium for about a year. During the early time, I had water quality
problems (since resolved) which affected my yellow tang. His fins have
eroded; are uneven, and have holes in the upper fin (I don't know
if this is fin rot or HLLE). He appears healthy otherwise. I don't
have a hospital tank set up. Are there any vitamins I can try; do I
need to quarantine him? Will it gradually heal on it's own?
<Hmmm, could be water r elated, could be physical damage re: holes.
If this were water quality you would expect to see improvement over a
week or two or... If lateral line it could be dietary. Tangs like a lot
of vegetative matter in their diet, Caulerpa, Nori, etc. Keep an
eye out, it could physical damage from crabs, shrimp, maybe fish tank
mates. Otherwise, if you have resolved your water problems he should
show improvement. Fins on fish are fast healing in the proper
conditions.> For more info try:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/tangfeedingfaqs.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/Tangdisease.htm Hope this helps,
Craig>
Please help big problems Hi, I have a 90 gallon tank with 90
lbs of live rock and 90 lbs of live sand. About 3 weeks ago, I added a
blue regal tang. In the tank at the time was a yellow tang, 1 blue
damsel, and a tank raised clown. There are about a dozen snails, a
serpent star and sand sifting star also. About 2 weeks ago, the regal
tang broke out with ick. <Very common for this species. That is why
quarantine is so necessary.> I immediately moved him to a quarantine
tank I setup. About a week after that the yellow tang and clown broke
out with it. I moved these 2 fish to the quarantine tank also. I
treated the quarantine with Rid-Ich+. I have been doing daily water
changes of 50% in the quarantine tank. Despite this, the ammonia is
really high, <Please read over our coverage of setting up a proper
QT tank on www.WetWebMedia.com. A good, cycled sponge filter hidden in
your main system and ready for use would have eliminated the ammonia
problem you (and particularly your fish) are now experiencing.> like
0.5 (not sure what units). <Parts Per Million, ppm> Both of the
tangs are very good size. I have only been feeding them like 3 flakes
each to try and keep the ammonia down. <Somewhat helpful> The
yellow tang wouldn't eat anything at all, though. The fish kept
looking worse and worse, not with Ich but just being stressed I guess.
<Likely a combination> The fish were not moving much and looked
on the verge of death, but the ick wasn't reappearing. <Ich has
a tricky, deceiving lifecycle. It appears to have run its course only
to pop back up.> In a panic, I freshwater dipped them and put them
back in the main tank this morning. They are all looking much better
now but I'm sure they are going to break out with the ick again
since the tank only went fallow for about a week. <Agreed> There
is only one fish store in the area and they don't have the
facilities to quarantine other peoples fish. <Few stores do.> I
know this is long. My question is I know if I add copper to the main
tank the live rock and invertebrates will suffer. <The will do more
than that.> If I was to add the Rid-Ich+ to the main tank what would
be the consequences. <Yep> (its formaldehyde and malachite green
or so it says on the bottle). Would this kill the live rock? <Yes,
the animals and plant on it.> the snails? <Yes> the star fish?
<And yes> I don't mind if I have to get rid of the
invertebrates and never put them back in keeping the tank fish only.
<Ok> I just want the fish to live and be happy. If I
shouldn't use the Rid-Ich+ what would be your suggestions. <You
are kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place. Your
quarantine/hospital tank was not setup properly. You do not have a lot
of options with the live rock and invertebrates in the system. I would
try a lowered salinity (1.018) and garlic foods and see if that makes a
difference. In the meantime, get that QT working properly so you can QT
all new fish for four weeks and treat these fish if these lesser
aggressive treatments do not work for you.> Thanks for the help.
Sincerely, Matt <Good luck! -Steven Pro>
White Spots on Tangs Hi Bob, <Steven Pro
in this morning answering a few questions, before Bob, Anthony, and I
head off to LA to visit saltwater fish wholesale facilities.>
Recently I added to my 60 gallon tank a blue tang and a Naso tang.
<Too small of a tank to house two tangs comfortably. There will be
too much aggression between the Surgeonfish. Also, a 60 is way too
small for a Naso, even if there were no other Tangs.> I already had
a yellow tang in there. <Ugh, even worse to have three.> It took
a few days for these new fish to get accustomed to my tank. After about
8 days, they started feeding properly (brine shrimp, lettuce etc...)
<Neither of these two foods mentioned is appropriate for your fish.
Do archive the site looking for recommendations, including Nori and
Formula II.> and few days ago I noticed white spots on my blue tang.
<Very typical with these fish. I strongly advise you to quarantine
all new livestock for one month prior to introduction to your main
tank.> I tried to look again few days later it was gone, then it
came back again. I saw the same thing on my yellow tang. When I turn on
the light in the morning, I would see white spots all over the yellow
tang and blue tang. When I come back at home in the afternoons, the
yellow tang is clean but the blue tang would have some on it, but not
as much. <Typical pattern due to the lifecycle of the parasite,
Cryptocaryon.> I do have a cleaner shrimp in my tank and I see it
cleaning them. Yesterday, I decided to give my blue tang a fresh water
bath, since the white spot had increased on the body. <I like
freshwater dips. I would use them and quarantine at this point.> I
also put some copper in the fresh water. I dipped it for about 8-10
minutes and since I have returned it in the tank, it's been
breathing heavy and I think I'm going to lose it. Anything I can do
to help it survive? <Many things can and could have been done.
Please educate yourself using the vast resources of WWM regarding
Marine Ich, Cryptocaryon, quarantine procedures, and even compatibility
issues.> I have successfully done this procedure (fresh water bath)
in the past many times. <And it should be continued with other
protocols.> I cannot treat my tank with copper because I have live
rock and some inverts in my tank. This morning I saw, again white spot
on the yellow tang and the Naso tang. Few hours later I stopped by at
home and again, I could not see the spots on both fish. Do the
parasites get on them in the dark? <They live, breed, and die in 24
hours. The fish are constantly reinfected with new parasites.>
I'm just confused again and I need your help to clean up this mess.
Thanks, Sam <You are welcome. -Steven Pro>
Sick Tangs (Hippo and Goldrim) Help, I am at
a loss and am unsure what to do. We have noticed some brown and white
Pimple like spots that are a little inflamed on our blue tangs. Our
baby blue tang has them all over with one BIG white bump near it's
tail. The bigger (fat) blue tang has some brown inflamed dots/little
bumps on her body and some spots look like they may be scars or places
where these bumps were removed by shrimps or Heniochus. We cannot
figure out what is going on. We have two true Perculas that are fine,
Heniochus have Ich like spots in the morning as well as the gold rim
tang. <This probably is Ich> All eat great and we feed a variety
of food with Vita-Chem and Zoecon. We also occasionally mix Garlic
elixir in with their frozen food. I check water a few times a week and
noticed that Ammonia is at 1.0ppm, <Yikes! This is way too high...
should be zero. I would not feed this system any foods at all at this
point... and prepare to do a water change...> nitrites are 0 and PH
is 8.4... Phosphates are also high. We will do a 10 gal water change
today, but still are unsure what to do about brown and white
bumps/spots... Could Freshwater dips help? <No to the
freshwater dip... the best "treatment" at this point is to
cure the causes of the high ammonia (et al.)... What do you think the
cause/s are here?> or will it stress fish more? We don't think
it is an infestation in tank as not everyone has it. <The tank
itself IS infested... Please read here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/mardisease.htm and beyond via the posted
links> Also, two of the fish we have had about 4 weeks, the others
for 13 months.. So how could they have gotten these Parasites (if that
is what they have?) <Latent organisms on the new fishes likely>
Please respond as soon as possible so I can work on getting them well.
Also, we are on a fixed budget and cannot get a hospital tank and have
inverts in our tank, so medication is limited.... <Perhaps no need.
Do study where I've sent you, and soon, thoroughly. Bob
Fenner>
Re: Sick Tangs (Hippo and Goldrim) THANKS
FOR SUCH FAST RESPONSE!!! My fishes will appreciate! High Ammonia, not
sure what it could be. We have been medicating tank with Melafix (Big
Hippo Bites baby Hippo and we were trying to help heal his bites, which
are gone now and have not noticed bigger hippo biting smaller in a
while) We also have been feeding Lots of medicated flakes trying to get
rid of white and brown spots/bumps. Could be too much food.
<Yes> We have a 50 gallon tank with two decent sized tangs, one
baby tang, two small Perculas and two small Heniochus (don't think
overcrowding is issue) I need to feed them or big tangs
"pick" at other inhabitants in tank, but honestly think
should maybe stop feeding medicated flakes and only feed Spirulina and
Mysis shrimp and Formula two. Also, we put a few pieces of Seaweed
selects in tank that got stuck on filter area and clogged up tank while
we were gone this weekend (also could be problem) <Yes... best to
use an all-plastic clip for strips of prepared algae foods> This is
first time ammonia has been high in over as year. Should I stop all
meds and just worry about ammonia at this point? <I would, yes>
Why are problems only on my tangs? <They are more susceptible to Ich, these sorts of insults/challenges> And what is the big white
bump on my baby hippo tang as well as inflamed black/brown dots?
<Likely environmental. Please read where you were sent. Bob
Fenner>
Re: Sick Tangs (Hippo and Goldrim) Mr.
Fenner Thank You so much. I printed out about 25 pages from your site,
will thoroughly read and take action. Will stop all meds, but can I
still put VitaChem and Zoecon in their food? <Ah, yes. Please do
so> Also, Phosphates are VERY high, should I add something to lower
that or just focus on Ammonia? <By doing what is advised to
reduce ammonia, you will concurrently lower the phosphate> And sorry
to seem redundant but will ammonia cause all these problems (according
to your site yes, but just want confirmation). <Yes> How
many times a day should we normally feed fish? Also (sorry) how can I
keep temp constant. We are in Southern California where it is pretty
warm during the day and the temp rises to about 83F, then at night dips
to about 80-81, we have heater, but hard to keep constant... Any
suggestions? THANK YOU AGAIN!!!! <Please peruse the WWM site, the
Google search feature there for general husbandry questions. Bob
Fenner>
Fish Dying Hello Bob, I have a
105 gallon
saltwater tank. I have lost a clown, powder blue tang and blue and
yellow-tail tang. At first I thought is was Ich but now it seems to be
something else. The gills of the fish are extremely red. We
have tried
copper and are now using (also killed our starfish, and three anemones)
using Organicure for the treatment of marine fish diseases. The rest of
the fish are breathing very heavily and I am concerned they are all
going to die. Please help if you can, I am sure you can appreciate the
urgency of the matter. Oh also added live rock over the last couple of
weeks. Denise <<Hmmm, something wrong here... and I don't
think it has to do with your system. I fully suspect that the source
supplying you with these surgeonfish's is guilty of poisoning the tangs
before you got them. Hear me out. The Powder Blue (Acanthurus
leucosternon) is not a very hardy fish species for aquarium use, and
the Clown (A. lineatus) can die easily, w/o apparent cause as well. The
Yellow Tail (Paracanthurus hepatus, aka Hippo, Palette et al. tang) is
typically tough... but all three dying? This isn't right. Please do
stop using copper, OrganiCure on these fishes... this is very likely
what really doomed them... that is, being kept under
"medication" (i.e. selective poisoning) by people ahead of
you for too long. Not to be mysterious,
Surgeonfishes/Tangs/Doctorfishes (family Acanthuridae) have an
assortment of beneficial microbes in their digestive tracts (sort of
like you and me and E. coli). These "bugs" help the Surgeon
to digest foodstuffs... and, unfortunately, if these fishes are kept in
coppered systems for too long (more than a couple of weeks), these
microbes are wiped out. If the animal can't get them re-established
(in the wild by eating the fecal pellets of conspecifics) they're
ultimately done for. Please don't be discouraged by any of this
supposition; but do relate this information back to your source and
look for a "fresher", kinder one. A bunch of support for this
possibility can be found in articles on the surgeons on my
wetwebmedia.com website. Bob Fenner>>
Surgeonfishes: Tangs for Marine Aquariums
Diversity, Selection & Care
New eBook on Amazon: Available here
New Print Book on Create Space: Available
here
by Robert (Bob) Fenner |
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