billyboy2

Hey everyone, I have been having trouble with a blue tang , this morning when i woke up and turned on the lights i couldn't see him at first....no biggie . took a shower and ate..another hour goes by, look again hes on the floor laying on his side hiding in the live rock, i have no idea what to do. he didn't come out at feeding time.Physically he looks good, no signs of ICH, have been havig trouble feeding him lately but he sill eats just not as much as usual. What can i do?? He's just a young guy 2'' long pH 8.2, salinity 1.024, temp 82 N03/N04 0ppm, ammonia 0ppm. 35G Occupants : 2 Percula clowns hosting a BTA 2 skunk cleaners, 1 peppermint, 2 damsels

harpua2002

What size is this tank? Tangs often become stressed if kept in a tank that is too small. What are you feeding him? They like to graze, so try offering Nori on a veggie clip if you haven't already.

billyboy2

Right now its in a 35G tanks while my 75 tank is being converted from fresh to salt. I know he should be in a larger tank but figured since he is still quite small it would be fine for the next month or so. Have not been feeding on a veggie clip. have tried flake, pellets, and finely minced frozen prawns defrosted in tank water

harpua2002

Unfortunately, even a 75 gallon will not meet this fish's long-term needs, although it would be fine for a while.

I'd honestly be surprised if your tang ever accepts flake food and maybe not even pellet. Try the Nori and see if he likes it, hopefully you'll get him eating more.

billyboy2

There is an update on his status...he came out from the bottom was quite happy for a splitt second...he i now floating along the top almost lifeless..but still "breathing" keeping himself up right but getting blown around by the current of my powerhead. i have taken him out into a small hospital tank 10G and am going to do some water changes...hope he makes it.

travie

You need to know your Blue Tang is a herbivore. This is why it doesn't really eat a lot of the meaty food you feed it. You should be feeding it food like Dried Seaweed. You should do research before the purchase of all livestock to ensure you know all the needs of the fish.

Edit: Moving the tang to the 10g QT tank was probably a bad idea in this instance. Unless you planned to treat the tang for an illness that it definitely has, moving the qt tank probably caused more stress.

billyboy2

I have learned that my tang was injured when the ammonia levels in my tank rose overnight. Him comming to the top was his way of dealing with heavy breathing and having his gills burnt. I did research what i would need for the tang, i had tried feeding off a veggie clip but found it to be a problem because the cleaner shrimp and damsels i have also like it. Anytime the tang came close to it while the shrimp and damsels were around it would hide. I am also aware of the tank size issue, and because of the size of the tang (less than 2 inches) i saw no problem with it's current living situation as none of the fish fight with eachother over space. As the tang matured it was to be put in the 75G tank i am setting up. The QT tank was what saved his life....as all other inhabitants of my tank are much less sensitive to ammonia compared to the blue tang. apparently my waters ammonia level had spiked overnight it's reading was 0ppm and had rose to between 25 and 50ppm. I found it odd that the BTA i have showed no signs of poor water quality and is thriving...thought it would be the first to be affected by ammonia levels. thanks all the help guys

beachcomber

try adding some charcoal to yoru filtration system, it will help suck out the amonia

cerianthus

Inverts are the least affected by Ammonia(NH3), nitrite (NO2), nitrate (NO3) since dont have respiratoy system such as mammals.
I sure like to see video of tang's behavior if possible or at least pics.

Blue tang or hippo tang are known to lay on the side b/n the rock and/or under the rocks as defensive mechanism so cant say for sure if anything is wrong with your tang.

Unfortunately i have not seen Carbon doing tricks on the NH3 and wondering why NH3 increase overnight if tank is so called cycled?

If you are using liquid s/w test kit, would not really worry too much in case noticed slight increase. These test kits are very crude method of testing.
If worried, should perform small partail water changes. If it happens frequently, look into better quality test kit where ingredient are individually packed and sealed and has expiration date on it (more expensive of course) or try controlling amt of food in a way so that less leftover food are trapped under or b/n the deco/rocks which can throw off water quality from time to time as decays.

Wondering if this tank is FOWLR or FO?

As far as size of tank, would not worry at this point as I have raised many Quarter size hippo tangs in smaller tank but eventually moved to much larger tank.

I do understand the concern of everyone but I can argue that no matter how big or large the tank maybe, its not even a drop in a bucket when compared to their natural habitat, OCEAN. With this concept, no one should fish in captivity.
Use your judegement and it's your call.
Keep it as long as you can and you can always donate to AQUARIUM if and when possible or sell to another hobbyist who can accomodate your fish in a larger tank.

Hope nothing is wrong with your tang. Pics would be nice.