Rescue A Purple Tang with HLLE?

[koijoy]

My local LFS has a 5" purple tang with a bad case of HLLE (Head and Lateral Line Errosion) the whole top of his upper fin is gone,
his face area is white and the entire length of the lateral line from the head to his tail is affected.

The tang has been in a 40 gallon tank at the lfs for about 3 years. The tank is dimmly lit and has very little live rock. The tang has only been fed flake and pellete food. They have never tried to cure the fish.

What are my chances of getting this fish back to good health?

I have a 180 gallon reef tank with good lighting and plenty of algae. I also plan on using Nori soaked with selcon and zoe vitamins to help his recovery.
My tank now has a healthy 4" Naso and I have a small Hippo tang in QT. Will they all get along?

The price for the Purple tang is FREE. Owner is tired of having an ugly duckling in his tank. About a month ago he still wanted $45.00 fo him.

Any help would be appreciated asap so I can make my decision.

Thanks Koijoy

[Chris L]

If you water is in good condition and you feed a varied diet he will recover. Sometimes I buy fish with ICH and throw them in my tank. I get them really cheap and they seem to grow back stronger then ever. Just make sure that they only have ich, not any internal parasites. When their stomach is red and the swim funny it is hard to recover. If they are emaciated it is also hard to get them to start feeding again. Sometimes HLLE is permanent, so be aware that the fish may always have some scarring.
Chris

[K9]

KoiJoy, I have wondered myself if it would be worth rescuing sick fish from my LFS. All of the LFSs near me are Mom and Pops type stores that are individually owned and operated. I'm also on a first name basis with many of the workers. I'm sure that I could get a sick fish from them for little to no cost at all. It's just such a crapshoot to see if the fish is too far gone to make it in your care. My hat's off to you for your efforts to give every fish a chance.

[dank11]

Hey! I've got a hippo tang with hole in the head
got him/her about a year ago
He's doing fine just still has hole in the head

[koijoy]

bump

[atcone]

I rescued a purple tang from lfs. very young. my first fish too he has a case of hlle. I am running an ecosystem and thats suppose to help. I can't beleive my eyes within 3 weeks the hlle is slowly disappearing. And he thinks he owns all 100 gal!

[bzzbee2]

so what can be done, or what is the proper treatment for hole in the head? im changing the water as i should, using RO. everything else in the tank is good. only one of my fish has it right now. or at least looks like it. its a koran angel. he has what look like 2 holes. just between his eyes, closer to his mouth. and they seem to be getting bigger. all of the fish are eating very well, and dont seem to be showing any strange behaviors.

[Gary Majchrzak]

Check out this thread:
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=113013&highlight=lateral+line

[XxDutchxX]

If you can get it cheap I would think about it. But my LFS has one that has been in the back room for months and it hasent recovered from the fin erosion. It eats and swims like normal, just doesnt look like a prize PT. I would prob pass on it.

[Gary Majchrzak]

Three of my Tangs were rescued from HILLE that was caused by poor diet and inappropriate {read:too small} aquarium situations.
I think that there are a lot of Tangs out there worth rescuing if you can provide a good home for them. Here's a pic of my Sailfin after HILLE recovery:
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=6134&papass=&sort=1&thecat=500

[JimL77]

I got a purple tang 3 years ago from a guy who had it in a 50 gallon poorly maintained tank for 3 years. It had hlle really bad. I put it in my 100 gallon and added a ground probe and within 6 months it healed all but a small spot about 1/6" long on one side. The fish is doing great.

[bzzbee2]

so with the broccli do you just drop the whole clump in the tank or do you break it up into tiny pieces?

[bzzbee2]

well after reading more broccli and carrots both have tons of vitamons that are needed. I have been feeding broccoli and all the fish seem to like. it. but none will eat the frozen stuff. it has to thaw first. anyway. i pulled out the food processor and made a batch of broccoli/carrot paste.. im gonna freeze it in ziplocks pressed out flat. hopefully they will eat this.

as far as grounding the tank... how should this be done?

[JimL77]

They sell grounding probes. It is a wire with a three prong plug on one end that only has a contact on the ground prong, the other two are plastic and the other end has a titanium rod on a suction cup. Plug one end into the wall and the stick the probe in the tank.

[NTidd]

I say go for it, and post pics of your progress!

[bzzbee2]

humm.. well i have a grounding unit on order. hopefully i will get it within a week or two.

as for the food. the fish love it. i basically put the broccli and some carrots in the juicer, which sepparates the juice from the pulp. then i mixed them all back together and frose in a zippy. i just break of little pieces and drop them in.. the fish eat them immediately. i am also feading Spirulina Flakes.

i have noticed that my damsel is starting to pick on my koran. could this because he is stressed from the whole lateral disease. I know that damsels are aggressive. but they have always got along together.