Help with Tang!!!

ste6168 · #1 07/09/2006, 03:48 PM

Alright, I really do not want this to turn into a, "wow you shouldnt have a tang in a 75g" thread because i really need help... Some may think the tank is too small but i plan to upgrade in about 2 years. I just bought a smal (2-2.5") sailfin tang about a week ago, and i cannot get him to eat off the clip. I have tried the garlic stuff from kent, rubberbanding to a rock, and putting it in the clip. The tang will not eat the seaweed at all. Whenever i feed the rest of the tank, the tang will eat but it is not enough because i can see that he is getting very skinny and rarely is coming out anymore. How can i get him back to healthy and swimming around in the tank. I was thinking of maybe pulling some cheato out of the sump and placing it in the display to try and get him to eat? PLEASE HELP!!!

Thanks, Mike

TrojanScott · #2 07/09/2006, 03:51 PM

When I first got my Naso, I had the same issue. I took a chance, spent the money on "Tang Heaven" the reddish seaweed from Hawaii.
Do a google search on it. Any time I've fed any tang with it, I've yet to find one that didn't just destroy it. (my LFS will occasionally get some in, and I'll buy a little.)

After I got my Naso eating that, it was just a matter of days before he ate anything I put in the tank.

Good luck.

McCrary · #3 07/09/2006, 04:00 PM

Try soaking your food in Selcon and adding liquid Vitamin C (from Kent), when I first got my Regal angel he would eat very little so every bite counted. Also go and get some garlic cloves and pulp them and add that to your food. Sometimes fresh garlic can make the difference.

ste6168 · #4 07/09/2006, 04:13 PM

alright, ill give that tang heaven a try... maybe somewhere around here has some. Ill also try out some garlic, maybe it will entice him...

Keep em' coming, everything counts.

ste6168 · #5 07/09/2006, 04:22 PM

I also just noticed that it sort of looks as if he is losing some of his fins one the top... does that mean anything? like he is not eating enough?

Mike

ste6168 · #6 07/09/2006, 05:45 PM

ttt

Asuran · #7 07/09/2006, 05:55 PM

losing part of his fin? what are the other tank mates? it could be that there is another tankmate harassing it? same happened to my naso before i upgraded... but they will grow back

ste6168 · #8 07/09/2006, 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Asuran
losing part of his fin? what are the other tank mates? it could be that there is another tankmate harassing it? same happened to my naso before i upgraded... but they will grow back

there are 2 O. Clowns, 1 Tiger Goby, and 1 Royal Gramma... I havent really seen anything harrasing it, but i guess that could be a possiblity. Also i wanted to note, the past few nights i have turned the room lights on that the tank is in and i have seen the sailfin sort of hanging out in the corners, not hiding in the rockwork like the other fish... maybe he is being bullied and doesnt have a place to sleep at night?

ahh... this is killing me, i dont want to see the fish die

Mike

sparks56 · #9 07/09/2006, 07:41 PM

sounds to me LLE is trying to set in

ste6168 · #10 07/09/2006, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by sparks56
sounds to me LLE is trying to set in

What is LLE? Any way to solve the problem/disease? Wait after typing this, Lateral Line Disease, Right? What exactly is it, my tang is developing some lines on his body, i thought it was just him getting skinny, please dont say he is doomed!!!

Mike

poppin_fresh · #11 07/09/2006, 08:22 PM

LLE stands for Lateral Line Erosion. It is usually caused by vitamin deficiency. It is reported that fish will recover from it with a proper diet. I would check out the fish disease forum for more help on LLE and pictures.

If its only been a week, and he's he's at least eating something, he should be fine. It might be a matter of time before he adjusts to eating. I have read that tangs dont eat chaeto, so that might not work (cant speak from experience). I would try placing the clip near where you have seen him sleeping. He might pick at it if its near "home base".

ste6168 · #12 07/09/2006, 09:07 PM

yeah, i threw some cheato in the tank just in case... (you never know) also i increased skimming because i read better water quality can help. Also i think i am trying to get some selcon to soak the nori in. He isnt eating very much if anything at all at this point, he was eating but as time goes one he is eating less and less. I will check out the fish disease forum or some more info.

Thanks, Mike

Duchess · #13 07/09/2006, 11:44 PM

If he's getting MHLLE, here's an article about it:

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-06/sp/index.php

HLLE, according to the article, is curable and its effects reversable.

On the other hand, if your fish was wild-caught using cyanide, that is a problem from which there is no cure.

I hope your fish starts eating soon.

Best of luck!

Ritten · #14 07/10/2006, 12:00 AM

I have a friend who got his naso eating with fresh brocolli on the clip. Worth a try?

nathan_unsane · #15 07/10/2006, 01:42 AM

yea i would say, try feeding him somthing else... i feed mine lifeline, with algea in it... he loves it... well all the fish love it...

by the way those fish get 15 inches. (sorry, i only know cause i love that fish)

BONDQ · #16 07/10/2006, 02:13 AM

Mike,

I had the same issue with my Yellow Tang not eating when I first placed him in QT.

He was very stressed for about 5 days and would not eat. He was also extremely skiddish and visablly uncomfortable with his surroundings despite good water conditions. The fish had no sign of disease or any other ailment and was perfectly healthy at time of purchase.

A friend recommended that I provide more hiding spaces for the tang to get more comfortable, and that this would help to it to ultimately eat. He suggested that I use plastic electrical boxes and PVC pipes that were clean as hiding places.

This really did the trick. Within a day or two the tang had mellowed out and began to eat very well.

I recommend Formula Two. Tangs really like it and it already has Garlic in it, so that's one less thing for you to worry about.

You can always soak it in Selcon, and I'm sure over time the Tang's vitamin intake will be correct and you'll be dealing with a happier fish.

cristhiam · #17 07/10/2006, 08:27 AM

Have you tried brine and mysis shrimp? that's what I used to get my sailfin started when in QT, and it loves the the red marine algae (Ocean nutrition) for some reason didn't like the green type but now it's starting to eat it. I do socked the food in selcon. Also frozen formula 2 is good, it's got galic in it.

Serioussnaps · #18 07/10/2006, 04:11 PM

Formula 2...flake and frozen......piscene energetics mysis...enough said

ste6168 · #19 07/10/2006, 08:51 PM

ahhh.... i am sad to say that i woke up this morning to the fish stuck to my powerhead.

I read about HLLE and i sort of dont think that is what he had, i think maybe he just wasnt provided with enough hiding places or something. I dont know really. Anyway, in the future i will get another small one and hopefully not have the same problem, but if i do i am subrscribing to this thread.

Thanks for all the help...

Mike

RBU1 · #20 07/10/2006, 09:00 PM

Mike for what it is worth. You might want to get a quarentine tank before you purchase your next fish. Not only does it prevent you from adding any disease to your main tank it helps the fish to relax by itself before going in with other fish. THis helps them to get strong before adding them with all the other fish in your tank.

ste6168 · #21 07/10/2006, 09:53 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by RBU1
Mike for what it is worth. You might want to get a quarentine tank before you purchase your next fish. Not only does it prevent you from adding any disease to your main tank it helps the fish to relax by itself before going in with other fish. THis helps them to get strong before adding them with all the other fish in your tank.

You know, its funny that you mention it because i actually have a 20g tank sitting in my room, on a stand, with lighting above it that i bought as a q-tank setup, but never got any PVC fittings or a sponge filter for it. I guess im just lazy, but i should definetely set it up.

Thanks, Mike