Hippo Tang Nicked Tail - Diet or Bully?

[nanoposeiden]

Hey guys/gals,

I have a small juvenile hippo tang that has been in the DT for just over a month. He has been a very active and has no problems gobbling up food twice as fast as any other fish in my tank. He has a hiding spot between some of the live rock and he sleeps there at night or whenever he gets surprised he will dart into this spot.

My question is related to a nick that started on his tail and has grown very slowly over the past several weeks. It started as a small nick, and has rounded out to about the size of a pencil. The shape has rounded out and now there is a second very small nick on the top of his tail. There are no other signs of fin erosion or HLLE, HITH, or ICH spots that I can see.

I watch the tank all the time as I work from home two days a week, and I have never witnessed any of the fish picking on him. In fact, the little hippo pretty much wears the pants in this tank. (so to speak) I have some hermit crabs (blue leg) and a single emerald crab who lives in the same rock the fish sleeps. There is also a large 5-6" skunk cleaner shrimp in the tank. Two false percula clowns (2") and a diamond watchmen goby. (4")

Could they be the culprits? Strange that the nicks in the tail have rounded out and they don't look jagged.

As far as his diet, the fish get fed two or three times a day. I feed them a pinch of slow sinking pellets when I get home, which is gobbled up within 30 seconds. I may also feed them a pinch of spirulina algae flake. For their main feeding they get a small (1/4 to 1/2 cube) of mysis/squid/brine (variety pack) and spirulina flake mixed with garlic. I turn off the skimmer and power filter and they gobble this up within 1-2 minutes.

Sorry I don't have a good digital camera yet so the only reference picture I can give you is this video taken from my phone earlier this week.

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iADgE7FeZm0[/YOUTUBE]

Thanks guys!

nanoposeiden

 

[nanoposeiden]

UPDATE:

After closer examination tonight, it does appear that there are a few pits in the fishes head between his eyes and mouth. Also, I can just barely make out the lateral line under the actinics as a slight bump in the skin that follows the palate down his side.

I spoke with the LFS on the way home from work and he suggested the dried seaweed. I told him I already have some at home and I have been trying to feed him nori soaked in garlic. But he seems afraid of the food when I place it in the tank, he won't get near it. He suggested just dropping the clip on the bottom rather than letting it blow around on the glass. I did that tonight and he did in fact take a few very cautious bites. Still, he barely ate any of the nori.

It's not that he's not hungry, if I put a few of the pellets or spirulina flake in the tank he goes nuts and eats like crazy.

Tomorrow I'll be going back to the LFS and picking up some Zoe and water for my once every two weeks 25% water change. I think I'll pick up a grounding probe also just to be sure.

If he doesn't start eating the Zoe soaked nori I'm going to try one of the algae pills that stick to the glass or some of the mysis soaked in Zoe. (I didn't see any Selcon at the store, but I'll ask about that too)

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

nanoposeiden

 

[prow]

i think your tang is trying to take over the tank. showing he is dominate and trying to keep the clowns in one corner of the tank. the clowns are just not submitting, right now anyway...

 

[nanoposeiden]

i think your tang is trying to take over the tank. showing he is dominate and trying to keep the clowns in one corner of the tank. the clowns are just not submitting, right now anyway...

Funny I didn't notice that when I was taking the video, but I see what you're talking about. That behavior is not common, the fish usually disregard each other for the most part. The clowns were definitely intimidated by the tang when he was first introduced to the tank. But over time they seem to have become comfortable with his presence.

nanoposeiden

 

[prow]

its likely that behavior will only get worse. one day you will notice all the fish stay on one side of the tank. hippo's, IME, dont seem to be belligerent with their aggression, but its still there. in a 55gal soon he will not allow others to swim around much at all.

 

[nanoposeiden]

its likely that behavior will only get worse. one day you will notice all the fish stay on one side of the tank. hippo's, IME, dont seem to be belligerent with their aggression, but its still there. in a 55gal soon he will not allow others to swim around much at all.

I hope to be able to get the Clownfish an anemone within the next month or so, after I add some more base rock to the tank. That way if the hippo does decide to become a bully they will have some refuge. That was most of the reason for purchasing the new lights.

Getting back to his problem however, am I on the right track going after his diet? Do you think this aggression you noticed is resulting in his injuries?

Thanks,

nanoposeiden

 

[prow]

Getting back to his problem however, am I on the right track going after his diet? Do you think this aggression you noticed is resulting in his injuries?

Thanks,

nanoposeiden

i dont think its his diet. though a good diet will help him heal and prevent opportunistic infections.


the tear in the tail is no dout from the clowns. battle scars,. getting an anemone will save the clowns if they go in it..

 

[cheeks69]

there are a few pits in the fishes head between his eyes and mouth

This could be HLLE or hole in head disease and could be atributed to poor diet, what are you feeding him ?

 

[nanoposeiden]

Up until yesterday, I have been feeding the fish flakes and pellets during the day, and mysis soaked in garlic at night. I never had much luck with nori as the fish seemed to be afraid of the clip and wouldn't go near it.

Friday and Saturday, I have started placing the nori in the clip and dropping it onto the sand bed. The tang was apprehensive at first, but finally started grazing at the nori last night.

I have also picked up some Kent Zoe and I'm soaking all of the food in this before feedings.

 

[cheeks69]

Since most Tangs are herbivores Nori should be their staple diet. I've never been a big fan of flake food it's so high in phosphate and I don't believe it's as nutritious as frozen food or dried macro algae.

 

[nanoposeiden]

Thanks Cheeks and Prow. The fish has been grazing at the nori for the past few days and his symptoms haven't gotten any worse. I did notice him "herding" the little clowns around the tank some more tonight.

Hopefully the change in diet will start to make a difference in a few days. Apparently the clownfish are getting the nutrients they need since they haven't displayed any battle wounds from the tang. I'll give it a few days and post an update.

Thanks,

nanoposeiden

 

[nanoposeiden]

Here is an update:

The Tang is eating the nori now without hesitation. His tail is still taking it's time healing, but the pits in front of his eyes have mostly disappeared. I'm also soaking the flakes and mysis in Zoe now before feeding. I have always used a tea strainer to rinse off my food before feeding, to help eliminate some of the phosphate associated with that type of food.

I'm guessing it's just going to take more time for him to heal. I still haven't seen any other fish act aggressive towards him. But I suppose that could also be the underlying cause.

nanoposeiden

 

[nanoposeiden]

Looks like the Zoe and Nori are starting to help. His tail seems to be growing back, finally.

 

[prow]

good deal and good job