tang killin tank
 

i bought my tank set it up and had if for about 9mts now and since than ive went throught 4!!! tangs and 1 angel all the other fish ive had since i started the tank it seems that i just have bad luck with those kinda fish my alk is usally around 2meq calcium 440 ph 8.4 temp 76 F he last died yeasterday i notice he had red gill and was breathing slowy so i put him into and quartine tank with new fresh batch of saltwater premixed and from the lfs add a stress coat and mediflix(??) the water was cold so i stuck a heater and got the water up to 80 F and he look like he was doing better he was swimming slowly but i thought that it was to hot (all the book ive read said that the water need to be around 75) so i backed off the heat the temp went down to 76 and he was dead what did i do wrong?

40 gal is a bit small for virtually all tangs. they need lots of swimming room - kind of like getting a lab puppy and keeping it in a 5'x5' townhouse backyard. not enough exercise, induces stress, makes them suseptible to disease. i dont see a skimmer on your system description - tangs produce a lot of waste, you must have a skimmer. how are your corals doing? This is a good indication of water quality. what kind of tangs? what kind of angel? in a 40 a pygmy angel such as a flame is the largest you can keep. for a tang, your tank needs to be over 4' long.

Your temp is too low [should be consistent 80] and your ph is .1 high, but more importantly, and worse news, I know, for you: tangs and angels do not live in a 40 gallon tank. You need twice that for these fish, which have an incredibly high oxygen requirement and need room to run to oxygenate their bodies.

In a 40 gallon, look at a place like liveaquaria.com marine fish and look for nanofish. Those will do much better.

Likewise read the two * threads at the top of this forum: they are long, but they will give you help to get your tank in order.

I don't know what books recommend reef temps as 75. Most species commonly kept in reefs prefer it around 80.

Well, I am reading this article and wondering if a 65 (obviously only 36" long) is a big enough tank for a tang? I am setting up my 65 right now and was really hoping to be able to put a couple of tangs in there.

A 65 could work for a small single Ctenochaetus (Bristle tooth),a Tomini,or Kole Tang and even then 65 is smaller than the reccomended size. Possibly a smaller Zebrasoma (Yellow Tang).

i had a colt tan first then bi colored angle then salfin tang and the last one is powder brown (the one i like the most) i do have a protien skimmer and i think i feed the dried cyopleze not spelled right and frozen brime i do have a 180 that i am setting up my coral look good worse then before i can see growth

Test your water. There is no way to understand what is happening to your fish without more information other than the size issue. Tangs do not respond well to stress from water quality issues. In my experience they are sensitive to temperature swings and salinity changes in particular. What symptoms did this fish exhibit before dying? You may have an infestation in your tank to wich the Tangs are sensitive.

Exactly what sk84 said.

but also..

You need to have a constant temp not one that is fluctuating. Always make sure your temp is stable before adding anything. Don't put the fish in the tank and then add a heater. Put the heater in the tank then stablize the environment before adding the fish.

I'm new to this hobby but from what I have gathered from experience so far is to make sure that your Temp, Salinity and pH do not change. If they change it should be very gradual. Changing any of those parameters too fast and you will risk shocking the creatures.

Here is a good reference point as to what tangs are appropriate for what tank sizes.

[url]http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=739380[/url]

There are some great fish that you can keep in a 65 gallon tank. You could get a pair of clowns, a dwarf angel (some nip at certain corals), a goby, a blenny, a hawkfish(will eat ornamental shrimp). There is alot to choose from. If you want to keep tangs I would do alot of research on them, and then set up a tank that is appropriate for their size, and that can handle the bio load they add to a tank.

While your setting up your new tank make a list of fish you would like to have then research them, and make sure they are compatible with your set up.

sonic1634, you mentioned that you feed dried cyclopeez and frozen brine. Tangs need lots of veggies in their diet to do well. Dried seaweed, dried nori, sea veggies, etc... on an algae clip. Preferably every day.

Basically: larger tank, more control of water quality and temperature, nori or equivalent food.

dose anyone know why the gill turned red?? i check my water today nothing was wrong

possibly oxygen starvation.
That will not show on ordinary tests.

well how do you know if you need more o2 in you tank is there a way??

What do you have that will improve oxygenation? I have my skimmer, a powerhead that disrupts the surface of the tank, and an air stone running. O2 is managed by paying attention more than anything; if your fish look like they're breathing heavy, you need to lend a hand and improve the amount of water you're exposing to o2.

ur tank is too small for tangs research animals before you buy and be a little more responsible as you have taken the lives of 4 tangs because of you re carelessness.

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11579619#post11579619 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by george81 [/i]
[B]ur tank is too small for tangs research animals before you buy and be a little more responsible as you have taken the lives of 4 tangs because of you re carelessness. [/B][/QUOTE]

Play nice, he's looking for help now. Agreed on the tank being too small. I'd start with checking all my levels, pH, alk, ammonia, pretty much everything.

I seem to recall reading somewhere that red gills and heavy breathing can be a sign of ammonia poisoning. Anybody confirm this?

In my opinion, the best thing for you to do is STOP. Take a second. Stop killing fish. Do some research on your tank and intended livestock.

Powder Brown's (japonicus) are extremely sensitive fish (not to mention wholly inappropriate for a 40gal tank). The combination of putting him in a new tank with freshly mixed saltwater, and then bouncing the temp on him is no doubt what did him in.

You said you checked your water today and nothing was wrong. What did you check for? What were the values? Did you check ammonia and nitrates? What about salinity? Was the salinity of the water in the display the same as the salinity in the QT? What are you using to measure the salinity? If you aren't using a refractometer, your measurements could be way off due to the different water temps.

How long did you have the Powder Brown before it died? How long did you QT him for?