Tang not quite right

[scoobymib3]

Hi,

Ive got a yellow tang thats been acting strange since yesterday. I heard a thump and turned to see my yellow tang swimming hell for leather across the tank. I didnt think much of i but hes definately not right today. He just keeps wedging himself into the rocks. I dont mean just to hide, hes wedging himself in dead ends aswell. Ive moved some rock to make sure he was ok and he swam off to wedge himself somewhere else.

He looks fine so I cant seem to figure it out.

ph- 8.0
no2 - 0
no3 - 10
nh3 - 0
s - 1.024
t - 77

Any advice would be great, I feel kind of helpless at the moment....

Cheers
Martin

[D659600]

Has he ate yet?

[ronjeremy]

how long have you had the tang??? also, if the tang seems stressed, turn the lights off...i would leave them off and only turn them on to observe the fish..watch for any signs of disease or parasites

[scoobymib3]

Hes been here about a year now.

He seems to have got worse. He doesnt seem to want to swim, but when he does he swims as fast as possible into another crevice or gap. He has got himself stuck more than once. His head has lots of little marks on it. I more not sure I could even catch him if I wanted to at the moment.

He hasnt eaten today at all and its a dark as I can get it now. I really am worried.

[ronjeremy]

can you describe the marks on its head???

[scoobymib3]

They are like lines, Im pretty sure its where hes been swimming into things, and wedging himself into so much too small places. He disappeared behind my rock at the moment so Im pretty stumped as to what to do

[ronjeremy]

so he is swimming erratically???just to eliminate some easy stuff, i would check the ammonia and ph one more time..also, check for stray voltage.....more than likely, it's not those, but it will help to eliminate some things...what other inhabitants are in the tank with the tang?? fish,inverts, corals??

[scoobymib3]

Very erratically, Ive just uncovered him from some rocks and he swam hell for leather round the tank like he couldnt control himself. I dont think he can control his swimming for some reason.

Theres nothing major in the tank, some mushroom coral, couple of clowns and a couple of chromis.

All the levels are normal.

[scoobymib3]

Im starting to think his swim bladder may have a problem :( If thats the case Im not sure there anything I can do. He wouldnt survive like this for very long...

[ronjeremy]

well, if nothing else, i would do a very large water change with well mixed water..alot of times, erratic swimming can be caused by an ammonia spike..water changes can only help whatever problem it is....are there any signs of parasite or wound anywhere else besides the head??

[scoobymib3]

I changed 10g yesterday and ill do the same again tomorrow.

Besides his head there is not a lot else that would suggest a parasite.

[ronjeremy]

what size tank is it in??

[scoobymib3]

300litres

Theres still no improvement. His fins seem to have been nipped at or hes been flapping against the rocks as the are ragged at the ends. Im not sure what else I can do. I cant help thinking that hes probably in more of a state than he can recover from :(

Im gutted at the moment and at the same time I feel helpless...

[ronjeremy]

i hate to tell you, but i would remove the fish and put it in qt..i know this will require alot of work and tearing up the rockwork...i just had to do the same thing about 2 weeks ago to catch my Powder brown..it really sucks, but it might be the only option to save the fish..

[scoobymib3]

Unfortunately I didnt get the chance. I woke this morning and where hes been getting himself wedged in the rock he has torn his fins to pieces. He cant even attempt to swim :(

I decided that enough was enough, he wasnt getting any better and he couldnt keep himself off the bottom of the tank. I put him to sleep around lunchtime.

Im gutted, he was my favourite fish and made my tank what it was but Im not sure I can just replace him with another tang. :(

Thanks for taking the time to make some input

[ronjeremy]

sorry to hear that!!! it really sucks to lose a fish