Yellow Tang not eating, color change

BLAKEJOHN

Active Member
As for romane, I feel that if it is not part of thier natural diet they dont need it. and last time i check romane didnt grow to well in the ocean
 

Quantrill

Member
Thanks Blakejohn. I appreciate the suggestion on the Rod's. (finally a real suggestion besides "read the manual") Anything I can have the wife pickup at the grocery store? I've read feed Nori, like you get at the grocery store and yet I've read as many posts that say not to. I'll see what the LFS has as far the Rod's. The dried micro algae I've been using is the Ocean Nutrition stuff.
 

BLAKEJOHN

Active Member
I feed my tangs Sallys Seaweed Salad sheets, Rods roasted and unrosted seaweed sheets and frozen Rods food. That is all they get and they are very healthy. If you pick up the frozen rods food you should see them begin to eat. Once they start eating well and you dont see an increase in health then you will need to look into other options such as infections.

But the rods food will not be a waste of money for you and it is a step in the right direction.

As for food at the grocery store. pretty much if it is made for our cunsumption then it is not good for our fish.
 

Quantrill

Member
Thanks again Blakejohn! YOU ROCK! I'll see what other seaweed options the LFS has. I could ask them what to feed but, they're the ones that told me the dried micro algae and flake would be sufficient! LOL
 

Quantrill

Member
OK, the LFS didn't have the Rod's "Fish Only Blend" in stock so I got some of the Sally's mysis blend and seaweed delight and of course the usual Sally's dried green algae with garlic. The LFS did order the Rod's fish only stuff for me, should be in next week.
 

Quantrill

Member
well dang, he's still not eating, at least not that I've seen. I just gave him a real close look and his fins look a tiny bit ragged around the edges. Nothing terrible as I had to look REALLY close. I've got a 20T that I set up a couple months ago that I was going to use as a QT tank. I haven't had a need to use it yet. when I set it up, I used 50% old water from my DT to set it up so, hopefully there's still some beneficial bacteria in there. Should I move him over and get some antibiotics? I'm not seeing any other signs of illness. I use to use melafix when I was raising freshwater angels. Would that maybe help? Getting more concerned. All the other fish look great.
 

leebca

Well-Known Member
At this point, I don't see a reason for moving the fish to a quarantine tank.

Sometimes a 'shock' will bring them out of his condition. I'd like you to perform a very large (over 75% if you can manage it) water change. Since this is such a large water change, please follow these guidelines: http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums...7-how-make-safe-water-change-marine-fish.html

Before you mix the salt and get ready to make the change, do investigate and verify that your source water is pure. If you use RO/DI, take a TDS reading, for instance. Is there carbon on the RO/DI product? Also check the water for any ammonia and/or nitrites. Be suspicious of the source water.

I can't see any grounds for an antibiotic treatment at this time. Your experience with Melafix (and their other, Pimafix) is very good for freshwater. I've know it to do well with FW. But the results aren't the same with SW. Please read this: http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums...-melafix-pimafix-why-they-work-dont-work.html

If the fish is going to respond to the water change the response should be within 36 hours.

Sometimes these fish are collected poorly and they are not acclimated well. If this fish is in this category, then life in captivity rarely lasts beyond a year.

:)

 

Quantrill

Member
Thanks Lee! I did a WC yesterday, although it was only about a 30%. He is swimming around more now at least. I'm still seeing some redness around the mouth.
 

leebca

Well-Known Member
I wish the change was larger.

Then at this point I would follow through with moving the fish to a quarantine tank (you can use DT water to start if you want, but then after just new water for water changes).

Treat in the hospital tank with antibiotic. I would choose Maracyn Two for Saltwater fish (which BTW has an appetite stimulant in it). If you can't get this, then Maracyn Two for freshwater fishes will be okay to use.

With this particular antibiotic I recommend doubling the dosage that is recommended on the package. I would not recommend doubling up on any other antibiotic.

 

Quantrill

Member
Thanks Lee! He's looking a little better today. Not near as pinched around the belly. There was almost a full sheet of algae in tank when I went to bed (left over from the evening feeding), it was gone his morning. I'm starting to wonder if he's eating at night. I'm starting to wonder if the Blue Tang is messing with him. They usually get along but I've seen them both chase each other if one is in the others spot. The Blue tang attacked the turkey baster today while I was feeding. Probably unlikely but, I can't think of anything else that could be stressing him out. BTW I wish I could have done a bigger WC too. Definitely upgrading my WC gear after Christmas!
 
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leebca

Well-Known Member
You may have hit upon the cause of the stress. When one fish's 'dander is up' life for both fishes is a little bit of hell. Humans only see a small part of what seems like very little stress. But to both fishes, it is very stressful. Fish react differently to stress.
 

Quantrill

Member
Could be! Picked up some Entice today and soaked all the food in it. The yellow tang will swim right up next to the micro algae that is soaked in Entice but won't touch it. The LFS dude suggested I could even QT the YT in the Sump. The Blue tang was real timid when I got him but, I think he may be finally getting comfortable, as in TOO comfortable and is starting to be a butthead! Right now the only interaction I'm seeing between the two is, the BT occasionally swimming up to the YT. The Rods Fish Only Blend I ordered didn't not come in and probably won't until January because apparently, it's not available through the LFS normal wholesaler. He's still swimming around a good bit, I hate to stress him any further by trying to catch him and QT him. BTW the BT damaged one of his scalpulae when he attacked the turkey baster.
 

Quantrill

Member
Well crap, ammonia levels are up today. .5ppm. Looks like I'll be upgrading the WC rig sooner than I thought, as in TODAY. Gonna do a 50% WC and see what happens. Geez I just did a 30 gallon WC Sunday, before that, the ammonia was at .25. WTH? Anyway, wanna make sure I do everything I can before we head to the inlaws for two days. Is it possible the Prime has the ammonia neutralized but it's still showing up when I do a test?
 

leebca

Well-Known Member
It's just that those chemicals are unreliable. If your system isn't able to process ammonia and nitrites on its own, there will always be the possibility of poisoning the fishes.
 

Quantrill

Member
Cool, I never was using the Prime to try and control the ammonia, just to remove Chlorine. We'll see what happens. It ended up being a little better than 50%. Someone told me to use prime back when I was raising fresh water angels. I didn't like it back then either and quit using it, but let the LFS talk me into using it as a dechlorinator when I switched to salt water.
 

Quantrill

Member
Yeah, go ahead a beat me over the head, been using tap since last February when I set it up. I know y'all are gonna bust my chops for not using RO/DI,so let the floggings begin.
 

BLAKEJOHN

Active Member
Noones gonna bust your chops. you abviously know it not reccomended. In staead of using a dechlorinator just let the water sit out airerated and opened for 24 hrs and any clorine in the water will dissipate into the air.
 

leebca

Well-Known Member
That's the way it used to be. Now in tap water there are:
pesticides
fertilizers
prescription drugs
recreational drugs
plant poisons
human and animal wastes
land contamination
manufacturing pollutants
etc.

The water is marginally safe for human consumption, but not to keep marine lifeforms in.

More info here:
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/jan2004/chem.htm

Anyone who uses tap water in marine husbandry, even treated to remove chlorine, shouldn't be surprised that their marine life is having problems. After spending a fair amount of money and inviting the lives of creatures into one's life, then to proceed to use cheap, polluted water isn't obviously the sharpest knife in the drawer.

That's why, BLAKEJOHN I didn't post any response to Quantrill's post. But I hope BLAKEJOHN you will understand that tap water is way far from good quality water beyond just chlorine content. Also note that many municipalities have changed the form of chlorine they use such that an open container of tap water will no longer loose any appreciable amount of chlorine content. That was a big deal some 20+ years ago when chlorinate compounds replaced chlorine -- aquarium hobbyists protested. :)

That article (linked above) written by Dr. Randy Holmes-Farley is technical but very informative on the subject. Hang in there BLAKEJOHN! :thumbup:

 

Quantrill

Member
The yellow tang didn't make it. I thought he was getting better while we were out of town because my friend that was taking care of the feedings said he was eating. Not a good start to my Monday morning............
 
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