Reef Central Online Community

Home Forum Here you can view your subscribed threads, work with private messages and edit your profile and preferences View New Posts View Today's Posts

Find other members Frequently Asked Questions Search Reefkeeping ...an online magazine for marine aquarists Support our sponsors and mention Reef Central

Go Back   Reef Central Online Community Archives > General Interest Forums > New to the Hobby

 
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
  #1  
Old 01/11/2008, 07:26 PM
jjakes24 jjakes24 is offline
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Philly, PA
Posts: 254
Can a GBTA eat a yellow tang?

I came home and was doing some maintenance on my tank. All inhabitants have been in there for about three years with no problems. I found my yellow tang head first stuck in the anenome. I tried to get him out with a net but it didn't work. I had to take the rock out and pull him out by hand. He now doesn't look too good swimming around and is lying around on rocks. Could he just be severly stung and he will recover in time or is he probably done for? I don't know what to do here. I could set up a quick 10 gallon tank if needed be but I don't have any sponges or anything in the tank to seed the hospital with bacteria.
  #2  
Old 01/11/2008, 07:34 PM
NYIntensity NYIntensity is offline
Premium Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Baltimore, MD
Posts: 213
I just had a flame angel eaten completely by my BTA. Things are probably grim; it might have served better as a meal for the GBTA than it would have as a WIA fish you've got to worry about now. I know; we all want our fish to be healthy and safe; I've taken a "nature will run its course" with inhabitants. What are you feeding the GBTA and how often?
__________________
-Jeremy
"Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur"
  #3  
Old 01/11/2008, 07:41 PM
bertoni bertoni is offline
RC Mod
 
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Foster City, CA, USA
Posts: 35,743
Anemones will eat fish if they can catch them. The tang might recover, might not. Hard to say at this point.
__________________
Jonathan Bertoni
  #4  
Old 01/11/2008, 07:42 PM
ReefWreak ReefWreak is offline
#1 Acro Crab Killah
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Boca Raton or Tallahassee - Florida State University
Posts: 2,628
Most anemones can and will eat a fish if it strolls too close. I spoke with a local reefer about his carpet anemone, and he said he had to set it up in a seperate tank, because it ate a few of his prized fish in his tank, but he didn't want to get rid of it. He flat out told me that a carpet anemone (and presumably any anemone) will eat any and all fish that ever get close enough, until there are no fish left.

Sad but true fact. Even if it doesn't eat them, it can still sting and wound/kill them unfortunatly. I'm sorry to hear about your fish I hope it gets better
  #5  
Old 01/11/2008, 07:58 PM
jjakes24 jjakes24 is offline
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Philly, PA
Posts: 254
Well, it never made it. As it struggled around and in the midst of setting up a hospital tank, the GBTA got a hold of it again so I just let it be. Here are three pictures. One of the anenome with his clown, they host together. One of the healthy tang 2 days ago. and the one of him being eaten.




This is a sad loss for me. It was my first fish for this tank three years ago. I had a cardinal mysteriously go about two weeks ago too, I am starting to think he was another victim.
  #6  
Old 01/11/2008, 08:00 PM
ReefWreak ReefWreak is offline
#1 Acro Crab Killah
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Boca Raton or Tallahassee - Florida State University
Posts: 2,628
I'm sorry to hear about that. These things do happen, as we try to mimic the natural environments of these animals. If it makes you feel better, he lived a much better life, and had much higher odds of surviving this long by your dedication and devotion versus staying in the wild.

Take care.
  #7  
Old 01/11/2008, 08:01 PM
McTeague McTeague is offline
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: a cubicle in Indiana
Posts: 247
That Tang looks like it actually starved to death.
  #8  
Old 01/11/2008, 08:05 PM
DOTZ DOTZ is offline
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Somewhere nice, yet crapy
Posts: 137
It dose look a might thin.
__________________
You know, DOTZ, like the candy you put in your mouth.
  #9  
Old 01/11/2008, 08:12 PM
JokerGirl JokerGirl is offline
Where the future begins!
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Indy
Posts: 874
I would have to agree that the fish looks really quite thin. It's possible that it wasn't getting proper nutrition, but I've also noticed that older fish will generally die off that way. I've got a freshy right now (I've had it for 10 years) that looks emaciated evne though it eats. It's slowly been getting worse. It's also a geriatric fish, though.
__________________
"I and the public know
What all schoolchildren learn,
Those to whom evil is done
Do evil in return."

“Those things that nature denied to human sight, she revealed to the eyes of the soul.”
  #10  
Old 01/11/2008, 08:24 PM
jjakes24 jjakes24 is offline
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Philly, PA
Posts: 254
I wonder if it was weakened to the point that it was easy to catch. I have cut down feeding to try and battle a green hair algae problem in the past couple months to only every other day with frozen mysis. I didn't see any ill effects with my other fish and he seemed fine so I didn't think it was doing any harm. Maybe this was a mistake on my part and I got too focused on the algae problem overlooking the fish. I guess that is how we learn lessons though.
  #11  
Old 01/11/2008, 08:28 PM
boxerzz boxerzz is offline
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 187
please do not get rid of hair algae by under feeding your tank inhabitants. Try not switching on the lights for a couple or days or three, it works much better for all.
  #12  
Old 01/11/2008, 09:22 PM
NYIntensity NYIntensity is offline
Premium Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Baltimore, MD
Posts: 213
Quote:
Originally posted by boxerzz
please do not get rid of hair algae by under feeding your tank inhabitants. Try not switching on the lights for a couple or days or three, it works much better for all.
+1. This can be avoided by watching your inhabitants eat, and feeding accordingly. It may be a bit more time consuming than the usual feeding, but will pay dividends in the end.
__________________
-Jeremy
"Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur"
  #13  
Old 01/11/2008, 09:37 PM
m2434 m2434 is offline
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Boston, Ma
Posts: 1,119
Sorry to hear about your tang. I agree it was probably weak due to to starvation.

The key is to avoid having foods sitting and decaying on the bottom of the tank. Tangs, can be difficult because they require a lot of feeding. In nature they are grazers and feed all day. You hardley ever see fat Tangs in captivity, but it is fairly common in the wild. One way to accomplish this is to use nori, algae sheets, even romaine lettuce, on a lettuce clip (you can buy one at an LFS). What I do with my tank is put a sheet on in the morning and remove it at night. This way my fish can pick at it all day, but I remove it and replace it with a fresh piece before it starts to break down.

Unfortunately, there is a lot to learn in this hobby, and we often do so by our errors. I feel that I personally know next to nothing in the big scheme of things.
__________________
Some people say, "How can you live without knowing?" I do not know what they mean. I always live without knowing. That is easy. How you get to know is what I want to know. - Richard Feynman
 

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 01:14 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Use of this web site is subject to the terms and conditions described in the user agreement.
Reef Central™ Reef Central, LLC. Copyright ©1999-2009