RESCUE a clown tang?

[dellrio]

i went to the evil lfs in my city today on lunch break.. b/c i was bored.... i dont go there b/c i do not support their treatment of fish and corals there... its a sick sick place...scary.... anyhow... in one 20 gallon tank i saw a 3-4 inch clown tang... this thing is as thin as paper.. its cheaks are sucked all of the way in... just a sad starving little thing... this owner does not feed his fish.. or coral... its been there a while i think.. and its nearly dead.. i want SO BADLY to save it... or to help it... but should i? i only have a 125 gallon tank.. however i hope to upgrade to at least a 240... but that may not be for months... also i have a medium powder brown tang and a small scopas tang... thats already 2 tangs .. but i dont know if its a good idea to help.. will i do more harm than good.??.. my heart says i can save it... but my brain says it will only do well in my tank for a while...
what should i do?
help... please...

[Triggeraddict]

Generally once they get skinny and starving, they are nearly impossible to recover. If the fish dies at the store they won't order another one since the one didn't sell and died there. So I know it is sad but it is best to leave it there and sadly let it die. Plus they are complete terrors to any other tang, so if you have any the Clown would risk the lives of your tangs. I know it is very sad to see, but it is best to let him stay there. Anyway, just my opinion, hope this helps.

[dellrio]

well see... thats jsut it.. he WILL order more.. he had a 4 foot nurse shark and he sold it to a guy with a 55 gallon tank.. he doesnt care!!! also.. abolut 80% of his false clowns die and he always buys more and more... but this particular tang just really erks me.. he looks so helpless... yes so beautiful ... i do have a 30 gallon with no tangs... but putting him in there would be cruel too huh?

[Aneille]

I am a totally newb but if you want to try to save it why not put it in your 30 gallon until he's healthy then if you don't have a bigger space for thim then, give him away to someone you know will take care of it.

Maybe try to get someone now(before you purchase it) to say they will take the tang later if/when it gets healthy.

[dendronepthya]

Let it die.

[BrianD]

Let it die.

[mr294]

I have to agree, let it die. Any money you spend there is supporting that store and its treatment of animals.

[dellrio]

wow... i wasnt expecting so many people to say let it die.. .. but i will take your advice...

[BrianD]

I wouldn't be able to count the hundreds of posts from people "rescuing" moorish idols, mandarins, various tangs, etc etc etc. Usually they are taken to aquariums ill suited for their care, and regrettably the inevitable happens and they die. Unless you can provide the optimum conditions for a fish to survive, removing it from the LFS is not a "rescue", it is just prolonging the fish's death struggle.

Brian

[bob124578]

These stores only want to make money. Eventually they will stop buying fish that do not sell.

Save dozens of fish by letting this one die.

[The Aquarist]

With Clown Tangs, there is always a strong chance that they were collected through the use of Cyanide, which means it's doomed, so save your money. I doubt the LFS you described would go to the trouble to get their Clown Tangs from a net collected source. If they did go that far, they would be the type of place that gives excellent care to the fish while they have them. It's out of your hands. This one sounds like it's time is very short and there's no turning back, so it's better that it's the LFSs buck than yours.

[dellrio]

all very good points...... now your reasonings really make sense....
thank you.