Blue Tang is suddenly fat

[ledford1]

I have a small Blue Tang with a Dogface Puffer and Painted Fairy Wrasse in a 90g QT. They have been there for about 4 weeks. I've been running the tank in hyposalinity at 1.009.

My Blue Tang (2-2.5") is acting strangely though. She is hiding more often. Plus, she seems to be getting very fat. Today, I noticed there may be a slight bulging to her eyes.

As for the fatness, I am not overfeeding her. For the past week and a half, I've noticed her thickening up. I thought it was a sign of good health. But now she is to the point where she is just getting fat.:eek1: Her belly is quite fat now. There is some red slime growing in the tank, but I haven't seen her pick at it or eat it. I'm worried that it might be some sort of parasite in her. Could that be the cause?

The other two fish appear normal and are acting normal.

What am I to do?

[ledford1]

Going from the disease identification chart that comes along with a bottle of Maracyn II, the symptoms lead us to diagnose it as Dropsy or a bacterial infection - both treatable with Maracyn II.

Thoughts/advice?

[Anthony Calfo]

Maracyn II is a synthetic tetracycline... and an old drug at that. It would NOT be my first choice for effective treatment.

Instead I'd suggest a nitrofurazone-furazolidone mix (numerous "furan" named drugs have these ingredients).

But first, you may try adding Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate). This is very helpful for regulating body fluids in animals (and people). Do a keyword search on wetwebmedia.com and you will see many FAQs/testimonials in the archives... perhaps some too here on RC (toggle your RC search back to one year and older). You add the Epsom salt to QT at a dose of 1 TBN per five gallons and then repeat with a half dose 3 days later. This can reduce "pop-eye" and bloat in fishes before it becomes a full-blown bacterial infection.

The antibiotics mentioned above can be used at the same time.

Maintain very high aeration in the aquarium.