Logo
Please visit our Sponsors

FAQs about Yellow Tang Trauma 

FAQs on Yellow Tang Disease: Disease 1, Disease 2, Disease 3, Disease 4, Disease 5, Disease 6, Disease 7, Disease 8, Yellow Tang Disease 9, Yellow Tang Disease 10, Yellow Tang Disease 11, Yellow Tang Disease 12, Yellow Tang Disease 13, Yellow Tang Disease 14, & Paravortex/Black Spot Disease,
FAQs on Yellow Tang Disease by Category: Diagnosis, Environmental, Nutritional, Pathogenic (infectious, parasitic), Social, Genetic, Treatments

Related Articles: Yellow Tangs

Related FAQs: Best Yellow Tang FAQs, Yellow Tangs 1, Yellow Tangs 2, Yellow Tangs 3, Yellow Tangs 4, & Yellow Tang FAQs: Identification, Behavior, Compatibility, Selection, Systems, Feeding, Reproduction, & Purple Tangs, Striped Sailfin Tangs, Zebrasoma Tangs, Zebrasoma Identification, Zebrasoma Behavior, Zebrasoma Compatibility, Zebrasoma Selection, Zebrasoma Systems, Zebrasoma Feeding, Zebrasoma Disease, Zebrasoma Reproduction, Surgeons In General, Tang Behavior, Compatibility, Systems, Feeding, Disease,

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

yellow tang large white clump on fin     11/26/15
my yellow tang has a large white clump on his fin its kinda hanging off but still attached can you please help me identify and how to treat it
thanks
April
<Mmm; can't quite make this out; but appears to be a "wound site"... rather than something pathogenic. I would not move this fish, add medicines; but do your best to bolster health through good nutrition (soaking foods per WWM) and optimized environment (water quality). Bob Fenner>

Algae in tang barb      6/6/2015
Good day! I was cleaning the office tank of algae(was ill for a few weeks and am the only tank tender) and a few days later I noticed something caught on the yellow tangs' barb.
<Actually... appears to be some sort of post caudal peduncle spine injury.
Try blowing up the image as I have... is there another fish there that it "spars with" at times?>
It looks to be a piece of algae and I am not sure of the best way to remove it without undue stress to "Bubbles".
<I would NOT try to remove this... instead simply do your best to provide "good conditions" (nutrition and water quality mostly), and this injury will heal in time>
The tang does not appear to be bothered by it and has not been flashing.
Your input would be greatly appreciated. I have attached photos and hope they are helpful.
Thank you
Kellie Kyser
<Thank you for sharing. Bob Fenner>

Re: Algae in tang barb       5/8/15
Good day again! I have not observed any sparring with the tank mates.
<Mmm; now I see the tang/barb itself appears to be broken (happens, and some folks/collectors purposely snip off... with nail-clippers... to prevent the catch from slashing each other)... will grow back>
There are 2 mated clowns, 2 Pajama Cardinals and 1 Flame Angel. However, what goes on behind closed waters is another story. I have noticed that what is in /on barb appears to be growing and it sways with motion. I have blown up the pictures but the quality isn't very good. I will attempt better close up pictures if needed. My boss purchased PraziPro but I am reluctant to use it.
<... for worms? Not to use>
Thank you for time and input.
Kellie Kyser
<Again, I urge (simple) patience here. Bob Fenner>

Re: Algae in tang barb      6/9/15
Hello again! I will watch the tang and wait to see what happens. Your site is a wealth of information and when I cannot find an answer, I am glad to be able to email you. Thank you for all of your help. I will update you if anything changes, for better or worse. Have a wonderful day and thank you again.
Kellie Kyser
<Glad that we, our site is doing what we intend: to serve as a resource of useful, readily-available information and inspiration... along w/ being a platform for responding, adding new content. Bob Fenner>

Yellow Tang missing its eyes 11/12/12
Hello WWM,
<Hi Danny>
I added a five inch Stars and Stripes puffer and a four inch Yellow Tang to my 180 gallon aquarium yesterday. This morning either the new puffer or a large Lunare Wrasse attacked the Yellow Tang and ate both of its eyes.
<Yikes!>
Needless to say it was very disturbing.
The tang did not suffer any other damage, but is now completely blind, laying on its side, and breathing rapidly. I can move the tang to my QT system where it would live by itself (meaning it would not have to compete for food). Can the tang find food and survive in this condition or should I euthanize it?
<Will have a problem locating food and eating it.  Best to euthanize this fish ASAP, would not let it suffer.>
Thanks,
<You're welcome.  James (Salty Dog)>
Danny

Red Feathery Growth on Tang's Gills    7/2/12
Dear WetWebMedia,
<Mich>
   I have a 5 year old mixed reef tank.  The inhabitants include 2 Ocellaris Clownfish, 3 Firefish, 1 Yellow Tang, and 1 Blood Shrimp.  The corals include Frogspawn, Torch, Yellow Leather Toadstool, Star Polyps, Mushrooms, and Xenia.  All inhabitants appear healthy and happy.  The tank parameters have been stable with 8.2pH, 2.5meq/L alkalinity, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and 5 nitrate.  I feed New Life Spectrum pellets daily, and Mysis and Cyclops soaked in Selcon a couple times a week.  The tang has dried seaweed available at all times.  I have had the Clownfish for 5 years, the Tang for 3, and the Firefish for 1 year.   No new fish have been added since the Firefish over a year ago.  The Xenia was the most recent coral addition over 6 months ago.  I have followed WetWebMedia religiously from the planning stages of the tank.  Because of you, I have had a well maintained, disease free display tank.  I quarantined ALL inhabitants for a minimum of 30 days prior to adding to the display tank.  I have never lost coral or fish to any type of disease.  Hopefully that’s enough background information.
<Let's see>
   This week my yellow tang developed a “growth” on his gill.  I am puzzled as to what it is.
<Actually; looks to be part of a gill itself>
 It has remained unchanged the past 3 days.  In my best description, it looks like a little red feather duster protruding from the top of his gills.  His behavior continues be normal.  He is active, greedily eating the New Life Spectrum pellets, and continuously grazing off the Liverock.  He routinely utilizes the services of the cleaner shrimp, but the “growth” is still there.  I have attached the best pictures I could get.  His constant moving, and my lack of good photography skills, made the picture taking difficult.  Do you have any guesses as to what the red, feathery growth is?  Is it something I should be concerned about?
<Mmm, no; not really. Naught one can do re>
 Is it something that requires treatment or should I continue with careful observation?
<The latter>
 What do you recommend?
<Not to worry... these sort of "breaks"... in branchiostegals... occur occasionally. Need not be fatal>
  I have searched the FAQ’s and apologize if the answer is there and I missed it.  On a side note, the tang had NO signs of HLLE until 6 months ago.  I do not use carbon in my tank.  I decided to add some before adding some new coral.  The tang had signs of HLLE within the week.  I removed the carbon and his symptoms have not gotten better or worse.  Could be a coincidence, but I think the carbon caused it.
<There is scientific evidence of this involvement; though carbon alone is not the only cause>

   Thank you in advance for any recommendations for my tang that you can give me.  Your website has been a tremendous help to me.  Thank you for your service.
Michele
<Thank you for writing; sending this along. Bob Fenner> 

Re: Red Feathery Growth on Tang's Gills     7/6/12
Thank you for the response.  I have a follow up question.  Will the "broken" gill eventually heal itself or will it always be visible?
<Can go either way... not a problem as exposed as long as it's not picked at>
Thanks again for your help,
Michele
<Welcome. BobF>

sick tang with brown spot and Dinoflagellate bloom, Misty's turn 9/30/10
<Hi Roger, Misty here>
I have a few problems going on. My phosphates are through the roof, and I have Dinoflagellates cropping up everywhere. I'm working on getting the phosphates out...2 reactors running Phosguard. <Yuck! I've had some fun with Dinoflagellates in the past...I'd recommend a couple of 25% water changes in the next 2-3 days (both water changes in that time frame), and then maybe 10-20% every day until the problem clears up - the water changes will cut the phosphate/other nutrients as well as give you the chance to syphon out a lot of that goo. Cut your pumps/powerheads when doing the changes to make it easier to suck that stuff out. If you haven't already, increase the photoperiod of light on that sump/refugium 24/7 to help keep the pH stable/8.2-8.4.>
My yellow tang is sick. He's breathing heavy and wont eat or come out of the rocks. <I'm not a sick fish expert, so hopefully one of those on crew will chime in. But, if it were me, I'd set up a QT to have ready when someone does reply. Have you tried target feeding him in the rocks some garlic-soaked Mysis or Nori? If he still won't eat, I think I'd try getting him out into a QT where you can get a better look at that spot and maybe coax him to eat in solitude...that's just my opinion. I responded to your query more for the dino information, and because I didn't want you to think your email had not been received.>
He has a large brown spot with a white dot in the middle. Do you know what this is? He hasn't eaten in many days and is looking very sickly/skinny.
The other fish seem fine. ( 1 powder blue, lawnmower blenny, a green mandarin, yellow watchman in the sump, and 2 Ocellaris). The powder and the yellow were purchased together out of the same tank. They have not had any issues with fighting. They actually sleep in the same area which I think is a little strange. I did get a some emerald crabs, one of which has set up camp in their bed. I wondered if he might have injured the fish <not likely, in my experience...unless they are some BIG emerald crabs.>. I was worried that this might be velvet Oodinium. It wont be easy to catch the fish, but I wondered if I should set up a hospital tank and run copper <I'd wait on the copper until you hear from another crew member...copper is very difficult for tangs to handle, kind of a sad irony. Someone might have a better treatment than copper.>.
The tang was eating well, and this seemed to happen out of nowhere. The brown spot showed up, and he stopped eating completely about 5 days ago. The spot has grown some, and now that white spot appeared on it.
Can you offer suggestions on what to do to get him well, and also to get him to eat?
140 gallon tank, 25 gallon fuge, 20 gallon sump
ammonia:0
nitrites:0
nitrates:0

ph: 8.2
Alk: 11
phosphates .7 ppm ( I know!)
calcium: 450
temp: 81
<Sorry I couldn't offer more advice about your tang. I hope you're able to treat him and that he makes it.
Cheers, Misty>
Roger
<PS...I deleted your personal contact information since this post will go on the internet...didn't want you to get spammed to death :)>
sick tang, RMF's go 9/30/10
I have a few problems going on. My phosphates are through the roof, and I have Dinoflagellates cropping up everywhere. I'm working on getting the phosphates out...2 reactors running Phosguard.
<I would not do/use this product... What is/are the source/s of your HPO4? Read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/phosphatemar.htm
and the linked files above>
My yellow tang is sick. He's breathing heavy and wont eat or come out of the rocks.
He has a large brown spot with a white dot in the middle. Do you know what this is?
<Appears to be a physical trauma... a mechanical injury>
He hasn't eaten in many days and is looking very sickly/skinny.
<Summat environmental...>
The other fish seem fine. ( 1 powder blue,
<Could be harassment from this fish>
lawnmower blenny,
<Or this>
a green mandarin, yellow watchman in the sump, and 2 Ocellaris). The powder and the yellow were purchased together out of the same tank. They have not had any issues with fighting. They actually sleep in the same area which I think is a little strange. I did get a some emerald crabs, one of which has set up camp in their bed. I wondered if he might have injured the fish. I was worried that this might be velvet Oodinium.
<Mmm, no... Or the Acanthurus leucosternon would be dust/ed>
It wont be easy to catch the fish, but I wondered if I should set up a hospital tank and run copper.
<I would not>
The tang was eating well, and this seemed to happen out of nowhere. The brown spot showed up, and he stopped eating completely about 5 days ago. The spot has grown some, and now that white spot appeared on it.
Can you offer suggestions on what to do to get him well, and also to get him to eat?
<Mmm, I'd offer other foods... Dried algae on a feeding clip near the surface, Spectrum pelleted food...>
140 gallon tank, 25 gallon fuge, 20 gallon sump
ammonia:0
nitrites:0
nitrates:0
ph: 8.2
Alk: 11
phosphates .7 ppm ( I know!)
calcium: 450
temp: 81
Roger
<Please read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/YtangDisF10.htm
and the linked files above, for background, input as to your situation here. I would not do "anything overt". Bob Fenner

Hey Bob - thanks for chiming in on that one. Poor guy had been waiting for over a day, so I thought it would be good to get back to him with at least something. I had no idea on the fish though, as expressed. Thought it would get someone's attention better if I responded and then cc'd the crew...looks like it worked :)
Cheers,
Misty

Sick Tang 09/15/09
Hi guys,
need help, a fellow reefer passed away last week and some of my reef club members got together to help the widow out.
<Ah, good>
She wanted all livestock to go to good homes and remove the entire tank.
The tank was a 325 glass tank which may have been neglected due to the owner's illness. Anyway, I took a 4" yellow tang and a royal gramma along with some Tonga rock and some coral. Unfortunately it took about 7 hours to move the fish from an Instant Ocean pail to a 20 gal tank I had setup at home. This was due to us emptying and moving the main display tank. I have had the fish since Saturday and the Tang does not look good. It is not eating and has a white film over both eyes and front of head, see pics attached. Any suggestions to help the tang would be appreciated. The gramma also had a few similar spots on it but looked better today, also not eating.
thanks,
Frank
<Mmm, a toss up between causing further stress from manipulating this animal (for what good it might do...) and just leaving be and hoping. IF you are wanting to "do" something, I would net this fish out and gingerly
daub a dilute solution of either an iodide or mercuric based (e.g. Mercurochrome) liquid prep. (with a cotton swab) on the afflicted area... yes, including the eyes... This may arrest the further decomposition to an extent. Otherwise, "just time going by" in your good care will prove whether these fishes will improve/survive. Bob Fenner>

re: Sick Tang 09/15/09
Bob,
Thank you for your prompt reply. I am assuming you took a look at the pics provided, this condition is a result of stress/neglect? I was concerned that it may be some type of fungus or other illness.
<To extent Frank... perhaps a physical injury was the origin>
If not, then I believe I will take your advise and hope that it will recover. I'll keep water conditions pristine and hope for the best. I don't think that netting it again will be advantageous.
thanks again,
Frank
<I agree. Thank you, BobF>

Yellow Tang eye problem - Question 12/28/08 Dear Wet Web Media, <Mark> I haven't posted here before, but I use your site a lot for advice and suggestions. You have produced an excellent resource here, so keep up the good work. <Trying> Now, naturally, I would like to ask you some advice if you have time: <Sure> I have a yellow tang that has developed a cloudy lens in one eye, with what appears to be a small white raised "mountain" in the centre of the lens. <I see this in your pix> I do not detect that the white "tick" on the eye is a living parasite, but it could be. <Mmm, no, not here> And that is my question really: Is this likely to be a parasite I should be treating, or is this likely to be just an injury that requires no treatment? <The latter> He (or she) appears to have gone off food a bit. He is usually picking on the rocks all the time, but now he appears listless and does not pick on the rocks. Although he did just come for some flake food. The yellow tang first developed this condition a few days ago, and then he appeared fine for a few days. Yesterday I had to rearrange the tank to extract a failed powerhead from behind the reef and add 5 Anthias and some corals I had quarantined (for 5 weeks), and today his eye condition has returned, worse if anything. Could this be related to the stress of rearranging the tank he lives in? <Yes... and the other livestock addition, though it likely originated with a physical trauma> Could he have bumped something in the unfamiliar environment? In the exophthalmia and pop-eye FAQs on WWM, I see that much of the time similar problems appear to be an injury, <Yes> but the fact that this problem has reappeared again, makes me wonder if this could be something other than an injury? <Could be a recurrence> Or is he just silly enough to keep bumping the same eye? <Unfortunately, yes> More details: The yellow tang shares an approx 625 litre (165 US gallon) tank with: 5 Lyretail Anthias 2 common clowns 2 cardinals 2 yellow neon gobies 1 orchid Dottyback 1 psychedelic mandarin 1 cleaner wrasse <Not easily kept> 1 yellow watchman goby 1 yellow pistol shrimp (paired with the goby) 1 fire/blood shrimp 5 blue leg hermit crabs about 15 snails various soft and hard corals about 80KG of live rock and about 35KG of live sand. Water parameters are: Ph 8.0 Ammonia 0 NO2 0.01 (if you look hard and you want to see some color) NO3 2 PO4 0 KH/Alk 8.48/3.03 Mg 1200 Ca 390 O2 8 Tank has a sump which incorporates: Mechanical filtration Deep sand bed Refugium Skimmer Fluidised Rowaphos in a reactor Fluidised aragonite sand in another reactor The usual heaters and a chiller Tank is lit by 3 400w metal halides and 2 80w T5 actinic tubes. Tank has been running for 9 months. I attach the best two pictures I could get. I cropped them. I hope they are not too big. Thank you, Mark <Sounds/reads as a very nice system. I do think this Zebrasoma "ran into something"... and will likely cure in time of its own accord. Bob Fenner>

Re: Yellow Tang eye problem - Question 1/5/09 > I do think this Zebrasoma "ran into something"... > and will likely cure in time of its own accord. Bob Fenner Thanks Bob. It seems you were right. He must have run into something. We now call him Bang Tang. <Heeee!> I took your advice and did not treat the problem. I thought I would send a follow up note for the benefit of others who might experience this problem in the future, to say that a week later the tang's eye seems to have returned to normal of its own accord, as you predicted. Thank you for your advice, Mark <Thank you for this follow-up... Know that you have saved many folks consternation, and preserved the health of their livestock. Bob Fenner>

Yellow tang...color looks erased 9/13/07 I noticed this morning that my Yellow Tang looks like the color has been erased from one side one the stress line. <I see this...> The other side is perfect. The tank is a 55G with 30G sump, SPS dominant, with about 100lbs of LR. Water quality is excellent due to SPS, so I don't think the water is the cause. As you can see from the pictures she is very healthy and fat! behavior hasn't changed at all and she still eats like crazy. Could it be from a scratch on the rocks? <Maybe.... but more likely a sting of some sort... perhaps the Zoanthid colony in the background> I have Selcon that I can add to the food and I can add garlic guard as well if it will help. The area doesn't have any tears or scratches...it really looks like an eraser was taken to the skin and the yellow removed. Any ideas on what it could be or how to help her? Kat <I would use the Selcon... likely will recover and recolorize to some extent with time. Bob Fenner>

Tang in a Sticky'¦.err'¦Rocky Situation 07/04/06 Hello Fellow Aquatic Gods, <Where'¦.I don't see any!> You guys have bailed me out so many times, I can't thank y'all enough.  I don't expect to get a reply being a U.S. holiday and all, but I'll try anyway. <I worked on Christmas why not the 4th?> I had a yellow tang emergency earlier tonight and need some advice. <Okay.> I have a 100 gal <Cool.> FOWLR that's about 10 months old that is progressing very, very nicely. <Awesome'¦> I have a beautiful 5" yellow tang that I added to the main tank about 3 weeks ago (yes - AFTER a 30 day quarantine). <Kudos to you.> She eats well and is a very friendly fish and not at all skittish. <Very nice.> I'll save you the long story and get to business.   <Music to my ears.> Earlier tonight she got herself wedged into a deep crater-like crevice in my live rock. <An uncommon occurrence'¦Ouch!> I'm not a rocket scientist, but I know when a fish is stuck, and she was stuck hard. <Sorry to hear that.> I had to dismantle 40 lbs of rock to get to her.  She was struggling with all her might to get free, but couldn't do it.   I tried as gracefully as I could to free her, but I ultimately had to just grab her and pull.   <I understand'¦> I pulled from the caudal fin, and it required a good bit of force to get her out of there.  I felt  horrible having to do it, but  it was the last resort as everything else seemed futile. I put the rock back together (tomato clown has to find a new rock to live in) and have been watching the tang for the last hour or two (say hello to murky, cloudy water!). <Do a very large water change and run some fresh carbon.>   She appears to be swimming okay  and seems active.  When I pulled her out, I swore she scraped the rock pretty hard, but she doesn't show  any visible signs of trauma or distress.       <Surprising indeed but nice to hear.> Now to my question:  do you have any recommendations? <Maintain pristine water quality, observe with detail and provide a nutritious 'varied diet'¦.business as usual unless something shows up'¦.> Is there any preventive treatment I should take or am I just being overly paranoid? <After instances of such stress and trauma, I usually recommend QT for at least 2 weeks, to allow the specimen to be isolated and recover without intrusion of other fish but it seems unwarranted from your description of the animals behavior and state.> I could stick her back in quarantine, but I don't really want to stress the poor thing out anymore. <Agreed 'for the time being.> Any feedback would be appreciated, especially since this is the first time this has happened to me. <Sounds like you are on the right track.> Thanks for your ongoing support!!! <Anytime.> drew <Adam J.>

Eye Popped Out (5/13/05) Hello Crew,<Steve Allen with you tonight.> This is an update/question about my yellow tang with pop eye. Well I think the pop eye is cured because the eye fell out. <In the same way that amputation cures gangrene I guess.> He now has no eye in the socket. He seems to be doing fine, eating acting normally, do you think he can do well with one eye? <Yes, a one-eyed fish can survive and thrive. Zero eyes is harder. Just like people with only one kidney are strongly advised to not risk it by playing football and such, I would recommend you avoid aggressive tankmates that could go after the other one.> I took him out of quarantine after 14 days and he adjusted to the main tank fine? Anything else I could do for him? <Just take good care of him.> Thank you, Concerned Yellow Tank Dad <Sounds like he's on the mend and should be OK.>

- What to Watch for in Yellow Tang with Cloudy Eye - Hello!  I searched your FAQs but didn't find a post that completely answered what I want to know.  Yesterday morning I overslept and didn't turn on any of the house lights prior to the aquarium light coming on at 6:00 a.m.  When I got up (right after the aquarium light came on), I noticed that my 3" yellow tang ("Tang") had his fright pattern displayed and was hiding behind one of the tank decorations.  Then, last night when I got home from work, I noticed that his right eye was cloudy.  Upon observation, Tang appears to have trouble seeing out of the cloudy eye, as when he swims with that eye to the back glass, he keeps running into it. It doesn't appear that the cloudiness is fuzzy (like bread mold would be), although it's hard to tell because when he's swimming he tries to keep his good eye facing the front of the tank at all times.  Unless you suggest it, I don't want to net him for a closer look as I don't want to cause him any more stress. <Understandable.> The tank is only 20 gallons (we'll be upgrading to a bigger tank for him very soon - not sure how many gallons, but at least 4 feet long) but I tested the water last night again (I test it every weekend) and there was 0 Nitrite, 5-20 ppm Nitrate (depending on which test kit I use), pH was 8.2-8.4, 1.022 specific gravity, ammonia is fine, temperature is 76, and I have been doing 10% water changes every weekend.  I'm pretty sure that Tang ran into something and injured his eye, as the lights coming on from total darkness likely freaked him out, and it was only the second day of having the aquarium light on a timer. <Possible.> I did a 25% water change last night just in case my test kits were missing anything.  The only other fish in the tank with him is a 1.25" Ocellaris clown (I'm sure you can guess what it's name is!  Nemo!).  Given that the eye cloudiness is probably an injury, I don't want to use any medication unless I absolutely have to. Now for my questions:  Assuming I am correct and Tang's eye cloudiness is an injury, is there anything that I should be doing other than keeping him as stress-free as possible? <That's about it.> What should I be watching for that would indicate this is something OTHER than an injury, and what action should I take if that is the case? <Watch for the other eye to cloud up - usually eye injuries lead to pop-eye, which is counter to your diagnosis. If both eyes cloud up, you likely have a different problem. I'd be leaning towards that 'other' problem, which is probably water quality - unfortunately, there can be many problems that a test kit won't show. Due to the size of your tank, parameters can change quickly enough to cause some real stress issues. Do be very careful in the next couple of weeks to make sure any changes you make to the tank happen very slowly. That and please get that new tank very soon - a 20 gallon tank is just to small for any tang.> He is eating fine (Sally's Seaweed Salad), but again, I can tell he's having a little trouble with depth perception as he sometimes misses the food now. <Makes sense.> Tang goes after his seaweed salad with gusto whenever I refresh his veggie clip, and there is also brown algae growing on the substrate, tank back, and tank sides, but he doesn't seem too interested in that. Should I be supplementing his diet with other things? <Well... I'd try some Mysis shrimp from time to time, perhaps soak the seaweed in fishy vitamins like Selcon or VitaChem.> (Oh, and he also occasionally steals some of the flake food and frozen brine shrimp meant for Nemo). <I'd feed a bit extra so they both get some.> I appreciate any help you can give.  Thanks so much!! Melissa <Cheers, J -- >
- What to Watch for in Yellow Tang with Cloudy Eye, Follow-up -
I took your advice of soaking Tang's Nori in Selcon, adding some occasional Mysis shrimp (which he really seems to enjoy), and continuing to monitor the other eye for any cloudiness.  I am happy to report that after 3 weeks, Tang's injured eye is completely back to normal and the other eye never showed any signs of being affected.  Thanks for the help! <Am glad things are headed in the right direction.> Two follow-up questions - as tangs are so susceptible to HLLE, how many times a week should I enrich any offered Nori with Selcon to prevent HLLE? <Every day, every meal... is what I would do.> Can you direct me to any materials (printed or on-line) that lay out a nutritionally balanced (ideal) feeding regimen for yellow tangs? <Also think you are on the right track here... mostly herbivore with a little meaty foods on the side.> I've gone through the FAQ's on Tangs and also done several search engine queries, but have come up empty. Thanks again! Melissa <Cheers, J -- >

Yellow Tang >Hi Crew, >>Greetings, Marina this morning. >Have a Yellow Tang about 5 inches long.  It is fine except for a "habit" it has developed.  (I think)  There is one certain live rock it seems to keep hitting with the tail and tang portion of his body.  When he is facing you straight on you can see the scales are rough but no other marks etc.  Because of this repeated hitting of his tail on this rock, little light red spots have appeared. Are these bruises, or is there something else going here?   >>Well, while Yellow tangs are known to sometimes be aggressive, it's not normal for them to be so with inanimate objects.  It sounds to me as though you have the beginning of a possible parasitic infection.  His scratching (and the openings in the skin) will leave him open to secondary infection. >He eats very well seafood gourmet, seaweed, Spirulina, general pellet food and parboiled broccoli.   >>GREAT!  We love to hear of well fed fishies!   >I have put malachite green in the tank for the last three days (darting and scratching).  Our local dealer said he had no idea except to use Melafix treatment.  I thought I would ask the experts. >>Ex-who?  LOL!  Hardly an expert here, but I've had a bit of experience.  It would be helpful to know (if you have this information logged) your water quality parameters, include residents as well, timing of additions, anything and everything is helpful.   >>Anyway, this is my recommendation: set up a quarantine/hospital tank for the fish.  IF you have Ich, then you'll do best to remove all fish to hospital and allow the tank to lie fallow for 6-8 weeks (especially if you have invertebrates in the tank).  When you pull the tang, perform a freshwater dip, matching the freshwater to the salt for pH and temperature.  Then place him in quarantine, where you can treat him (assuming he's otherwise fat and healthy) using hyposalinity (very low specific gravity), on the order of <1.011-1.010 is what works for killing Cryptocaryon and Amyloodinium.  While he's in q/t, (bare bottom tank, with pieces of PVC for hiding spots and "structure") be sure to siphon off the bottom of the tank every day, this helps to remove cysts that have fallen off the fish and prevents reinfection.   >>At this time you can also treat with a good broad spectrum antibiotic to avoid/treat secondary infection (since he's rubbing himself raw this is likely).  Many folks like Melafix, I happen to like the results I've seen with Spectrogram, other folks like Maracyn (also Maracyn II).  He'll need to be treated like this until you see clearing of the bloody bits, (I know you haven't mentioned seeing any spots, but I know of no bacterial infections in fish that cause itching), then leave him in normal conditions until the display has run fallow at least 6 weeks (you can also raise the temperature to 80F-83F to speed up the life cycle of the parasite).  Assuming that the infection is low-grade, and that the fish doesn't experience a relapse, you should be able to utilize these treatments and be done with it. >Thanks in advance for your time and help. >>You're quite welcome, we want folks to keep their animals thriving and with them a long time.  SUCCESS!  That's the goal.  If you have any other questions, please feel free.  Best of luck, Ceil!  Marina

Fuzzy Lips Hello, <cheers> My yellow tang has fuzzy lips. I understand that this is likely a fungus.  <a common misdiagnosis: it is much more likely to be a bacterial infection (true fungal infections are quite rare). It is still to be treated with the same antibiotics in a bare-bottomed isolation tank. Use a Furazolidone and Nitrofurazone mixed med, double dose daily for 5 days> I have read about references to medicated foods but I can't find anyone who sells them.  <hmm... mildly effective here. A swab of the lips with Merthiolate or iodine would be even better. Do avoid staining the eyes or gills>> Are you aware if any are more efficient than others and where I can find them?  <they are weak but helpful if fed for 11-14 days without other foods> Also, are there negative ramifications to the other fish who are not sick?  <no harm here> I have also read about garlic oil.  <dubious if it even works at all. More of a preventative or placebo than primary treatment> Any experience with that as a medication or preventative? <I wouldn't trust my fishes life to it> Thanks! Ana M. Saavedra <best regards, Anthony>

Lip damage to yellow tang Dear Bob, <Anthony Calfo in your service while Bob is said to be in Australia despite 8 claims, at last count, that he was sighted at an Elvis impersonator's convention in Las Vegas> I got a yellow tang from a friend with a damaged mouth. The mouth was damaged by fighting with another tang in that tank. I have had the tang for the last 6 weeks and the mouth is not bleeding anymore and the fish has gained some weight but still looks thin.  <soak its green foods in a fatty supplement like Selcon (very helpful...do keep refrigerated though)> The lips however have not grown back. It is swimming around, eating Nori and hair algae in the tank and seems okay except for the missing lips. Will the lips eventually grow back? <hard to say without seeing it but sounds unlikely. Soft tissue and muscle will regenerate to an extent... but a large chunk that included cartilaginous matter will not. As long as it is feeding well, it sounds like you've done a gracious and merciful deed. Keep up the good work. Kindly, Anthony> Karun

Missing Lips on Yellow Tang. (& quarantine questions) Good morning crew member of the day. <<Good day to you, crew-member JasonC here...>> I have a Yellow Tang that I have had for six-seven problematic months. I always have a fresh piece of Seaweed Selects hanging in my 55 gallon FO tank and feed it frozen krill and/or Formula Two daily. The Tang has not grown at all, turns pale on occasion, developed a few mm long scars on each side just above his lateral lines, and his latest trick is the disappearance of his top lip!  <<Ouch.>>  It was just gone and he now has a row of I guess gums/teeth hanging out of his mouth. I also add VitaChem to the water weekly as per the instruction on the bottle hoping his scarring is not HLLE.  <<If it is, VitaChem alone will not remedy this problem.>>  Other than this he seems happy and continues to eat.  <<That's good.>>  He is always swimming around picking at the seaweed and plucking at the sand. The other three inhabitants of the tank are healthy in appearance and behavior as well.  <<What are these other inhabitants?>>  The lip disappeared around a month ago and I have been observing him closely. No new developments surfaced until yesterday when I saw there were black dots on this row of gums hanging out of his mouth. There are no black dots anywhere else on the Tang or any of the other fish. I have a protein skimmer and a Fluval 304 canister filter and my water parameters seems fine; 8.2 pH, 0 NH3, NO2, NO3, salinity 1.023, temperature 78-79 degrees. Any suggestions what is happening to my Tang and how I can correct it.  <<Well, that type of injury seems to happen in one of two ways: either they damage the lip in transit by smashing into something, or someone else bites it off. If you were asking about a fish in a store in this condition, I would recommend against it; it's just not a good sign. Your tang however, may be able to mend this wound, but I would consider isolating it in a quarantine tank to give it some peace and quiet. Certainly the continued eating is a good sign. As for avoiding HLLE... you need to try and balance out the meals - don't feed just one type of Nori, try to mix it up as well as provide live rock for picking at - it is what these fish do constantly in the wild. HLLE is most often associated with nutritional deficiencies.>> I also have a question about quarantining fish. I get varying ideas of the best way to use this isolation technique. It seems to me I could isolate a new fish for three weeks in the quarantine tank by itself and observe to make sure it is free from parasites.  <<There are other benefits...>>  If after three weeks and no parasites show themselves, I could transfer the fish to the new tank.  <<I would wait four weeks.>>  Yet when I read books such as CMA, it appears I should still do fresh water dips and then add supplements to the quarantine tank as preventative medicine. <<Absolutely - is akin to looking both ways before you cross the street - you just can't be careful enough.>>  If I wanted to add a Coral Beauty to my tank, should I just place it in the quarantine tank with no dip or medication or should I try my first freshwater dip and then add it to the tank that contains a supplement or copper.  <<I would do the dip and skip the copper. Don't use any medications unless absolutely necessary.>> If I quarantine snails or a shrimp to make sure the water in their shells contain no free swimming stages of Ick, I guess I do no freshwater dips or definitely no additives to the quarantine tank. Is this correct?  <<No, you don't want to freshwater dip snails or shrimp as this will most certainly kill them. Likewise, you really have nothing to worry about as these will not introduce fish-borne parasites into your main system.>> Thanks again for all your advice. Ray <<Cheers, J -- >>

Yellow Tang in QT Hello Mr. Fenner, I have a problem with a yellow tang that I have had in my quarantine tank for  about a week. When I brought him home from the pet store I did not dip him  because I am unsure of the whole procedure. How do you do the dip.....do you  acclimate the fish to your system water, then put it in the freshwater dip  that has the same ph and temp as your system water, leave him in there for a  couple of minutes and then just put it directly in to your tank? About my problem, my yellow tang has developed a sort of brown patch (not  quite as big around as a dime) on his side. It is on the left side of his  body right behind his pectoral fin. The patch kind of looks like the sticky  gunk that is left behind when you peel a price tag off of something and it  looks like a light brown color. Yesterday he did not seem to be bothered by  the spot but today it looked like he was trying to rub it on decor in the  tank. What do you think this problem is and what should I do? Ammonia is  zero and Nitrite is zero, Nitrates were about 10 ppm. I changed 3 gallons of  water last night. He is in my 15 gallon quarantine tank which is filtered by  a hydro sponge filter. What kind of medications do you recommend and how  long should I do it. I am completely new to treating disease so any advice  you can give would be greatly appreciated! Thank you very much for helping those that need it with this service! Spas <Actually, what you describe is likely just a form of "stress coloration"...  and I wouldn't go overboard at this time in removing, treating the specimen. My standard route for acclimation, dips/baths and treatments can be found  in articles archived at the URL: www.wetwebmedia.com Good luck, Bob Fenner>

3 Yellow Tangs I have a 125 gallon reef tank with about 100-125 lbs of live rock. I have two Black Domino Damsels and 3 Yellow Tangs. The tank is about 3 months old. Last night I noticed that one of the tang's eyes seemed to have a "bubble" on it - it is cloudy looking and around the base of the bubble and eye has kind of a light blue tint when you see it at a angle. I asked the local fish shop and they thought that the tang must have bumped its eye on some of the rock, but they were unsure as to what to do to help this problem. All of the levels in the tank are within the correct levels and all of the other fish are doing fine, and they are all eating fine including the one with the "bubble eye". Will this go away by itself or is there something that I can do to help my fish? <Good powers of observation, and I agree with the sharpie at the shop... If it is only one eye, on one specimen, likely the pop-eye is due to a physical trauma... And I wouldn't try to "treat it" as in moving the fish or pouring chemicals in the tank... Likely it will heal, but might take a while (a few weeks to months)... Adding a Cleaner Shrimp would help... Maybe one or two Lysmata amboinensis... to clean away necrotic tissue and make the fish "feel more at ease".  Bob Fenner>

Recovering Tang Mr. Fenner, I would like to give you an update about my Yellow Tang. From the base of her gill to the base of her tail the gash looks to of scabbed over. It is quite dark in color. I think it is as normal as can be expected. <Yes> My Q.T. has conformed to my main tanks water qualities which are perfect. The only difference is the Q.T. has a lower SG. I have two question that I have not been able to find through my research the answer to. 1) Her right fin is immobile. When she was injured, the first two days after she was using it. Now there is nothing. This is causing the most twirling swimming that I have ever witnessed. She can get around, albeit not so well. She has scarcely eaten the past three days. Could this be a delayed pain reaction?  <Yes> Or based on my limited information could you guess and say that is sounds like permanent damage to the fin? <Likely and hopefully not permanent> I can give more detailed description if you would like. I want to keep this as short as I can for your sake. :) 2) The damage to the gill appears to become more red and irritated as time goes on. Could that be because of it's consistent movement? <Yes> I would think that it could not scab over, or could it? If so what would that do to her breathing? It is bright red with a darker red ring around it. I hope that makes sense. <Sense enough. No scar, scabbing necessary or likely> I hate to have to ask so much of your time like I have been doing but I can't seem to find any information about this kind of injury. My LFS will not give any advice unless they see the fish. I can understand that. I hope to hear from you soon and thank you in advance! Anna <Do keep thinking positively. Bob Fenner>

Yellow Tang Dear Mr. Fenner, I wanted to write to you and tell you the news about my injured yellow tang. I know you receive many e-mails in a day, but you encouraged and educated me when my Tang was scraped by some LR. She died last night. I doubt it was an water quality problem. My water as been outstanding. I think the stress and lack of feeding just did her in. <Yes my friend. Sorry to hear of your loss> I wanted to thank you again for all of your help. It was a comfort to know that in case of an emergency, when none of the books or web-sites could lend a hand, you were willing to guide me. It means a great deal to me and others as well I'm sure. <And a great to me as well> I would like to ask a question if I could. I read through you Q&A each day and found something interesting. Someone mailed you about an automatic top-off for there system. I went to the DIY link on your site and found a few but nothing like what you suggested in your reply. Could you elaborate or send me to a site that would give me that set-up? <Mmm, wish I knew how to make drawings on these devices... a very simple device can be made by simple inverting a pop-bottle (all plastic) upside down, filled with water, with the end down, underwater in the sump... if/when the water level gets low (from evaporation) the water will leave, being replaced by air...> It would be something for my main and QT tank that I would love to have. Warm regards <Do take a look again on "Oz's Reef": http://www.ozreef.org/  for other ideas on topping-off water/make-up plans. Be chatting, 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
Become a Sponsor Features:
Daily FAQs FW Daily FAQs SW Pix of the Day FW Pix of the Day New On WWM
Helpful Links Hobbyist Forum Calendars Admin Index Cover Images
Featured Sponsors: