Paper thin convict tang

[boca rat]

I picked one up a month or so ago and he is doing an awesome job on the tanks algae but he is really thin despite eating continually all day.

The horizontal line (what is that called) along his side is clearly visible and raised above the surrounding flesh

I've tried adding algae sheets and pellet to his diet but he won't touch it.

Should I be worried? Or does he sound normal?

Any other suggestions to vary his diet?

Thx

[adambaron]

You need to get him eating. Is he just ignoring the food or is he being out competed for it. If he is just ignoring it try leaving the nori out for him for longer. Also you can try soaking it in garlic. What kind of pellets are you using? I use spectrum and am happy and have also heard that most fish do like them. Good Luck!

[indydog1]

the line you are refering to sounds most like hlle (head and lateral line erosion) tangs and angels are very suseptable to it. this can be cause by poor water quality as well as a poor diet. i would defineately do some looking on here for some additional information.

[prugs]

I feed mysis soaked in selcon & kent garlic extreme. My tangs go crazy nuts for it.

[46FiatYamaha]

the convict I had would eat mysis and frozen formula one and it kept him in great shape

[boca rat]

Pellets are spectrum and he just ignores it completely and no question of being out competed, only tank mate is a false percula.

I've left the Nori out for two days and no sign of him touching it which is in complete contrast to a big yellow tang I have in the other tank which rips it to shreds as soon as I put it in. The yellow also eats small pieces of shrimp and spectrum no problem and looks awesome.

Tank params are OK although I noticed the PH/KH has dropped off unexpectedly so bringing that back up, but most everything else in the tank is doing well except a mushroom coral which seems smaller than before, although could be down to the PH/KH I guess. But a purple tip anemone is doing wonderful which is a good sign.

I'll try the other suggestions. Thanks guys!

[techigirl78]

My convict is a pig and eats anything. Have you tried putting the nori on a rock? Sometimes they don't take to it attached to the glass or higher up in the tank right away. My yellow never touched it till I added a blue tang that did.

Does it go for frozen garlic soaked mysis?

Could try giving the fish caulerpa if the others aren't working? If you don't have any, I'm sure a nearby reefer may have some if you check around.

[John Dawe]

Try several types of flake food, some fish just don't like pellets

[boca rat]

Anyone have a good link to a photo of HLLE? I've poked around but nothing looks like this. I will try and post a photo later.

[boca rat]

OK, found some photos, this is not HLLE.

[Hattie B]

what about internal parasties. have you research about those?

If he is eating a lot but still getting thin that leads my suspicion to parasites.

HB

[chrisstie]

First off, unless a convict tang is extremely different from other tangs I am familiar with - if people's tangs are eating mysis, they're just wasting it right back out.

The health and nutrition of a tang depends very very greatly on its diet of varied veggie type foods. Formula 2 would be MUCH better for a tang, and soaking in garlic or selcon is always a plus (the garlic smell should get most any fish going)

I have also seen tangs accept live algae. If you can get ahold of that red grape caulerpa type stuff you may have success.

Also, what brand nori are you trying? You may also see if a friend has any hair algae you could try feeding just in the meantime.

If the fish really is eating and not bulking up you may want to see about treating for parasites.

Do you know if the fish was ever treated in copper? How did the fish look a month ago when you first bought?

[ssavader]

I agree with Chrisstie. You can't be sure but a fish that eats and is still emaciated should be treated for parasites- try PraziPro. HLLE should be apparent, at least in the mid- later stages, by the characteristic facial pitting. Simply be out competed for food should also be apparent if you monitor closely at feeding time. You may need to fatten him up in a QT tank before returning him to the display tank. If you do this, take this opportunity to treat for parasites.

[Jocephus]

my convicts are new, but are also skinny. I've noticed that the really seem to relish cyano. Mine will eat nori, but really like the red seaweed selects algae. I get it at Petsmart. Just my 2 cents

[prugs]

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/523/29791Fat_Purple_Tang.JPG
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/523/29791Fat_Chevron_and_Achilles.JPG
Trust me, garlic & selcon mysis, along with all the nori they can eat.

[sunfish11]

I have been hearing from stores and suppliers that convicts aren't doing well lately and many are thin and refuse to eat. It takes them a while to die but they will not eat. They are becoming a difficult fish as far as finding a healthy one to begin with. I don't think the prognosis is good for your fish. Sorry about that. Your only hope is to get it to eat something. Try all the suggestions here. I went through this myself when I special ordered a convict. I didn't wait to see it eat because I trusted the store owner. It was kinda skinny but I was obligated to take it because it was a special order. The fish never did eat ANYTHING no matter what I tried, although it did pick at the rocks a lot. It died slowly over the course of 1.5 months. It was only a skeleton with skin draped on it by the end. It was really depressing. I really wanted a convict so I kept my eye out. I soon found a very small fat one at an LFS and brought that one home. Within 5 minutes of introduction it was eating with the other fish. He is still with me and one of my favorite fish.

I agree with Gem Tang Rider about feeding. Fat tangs come from lots of different foods, including meaty foods. I read somewhere that Naso tangs in the wild had stomach contents over 50% meaty foods. Vary seaweed types and meaty food types. Mine get a huge sheet of nori/seaweed selects in the morning. I rotate green, red, or brown seaweed each day. Throughout the day they may or may not get some formula I or II flakes. At night they get a variety of frozen food including mysis, krill, ocean plankton, blood worms, Rods Food, etc. They need seawed in their diets, it is true, but I am convinced that they also need a variety of meaty foods to thrive.

Lisa

[boca rat]

Quick update. I have been using the Ocean Nutrition Green Marine Algae, and have now also tried the brown, both clipped and in the rocks but no luck, along with Mysis.

He's just not interested, and just grazes on the rocks and walls all day long.

I think he was fine when I got him, but not 100% sure as to how good as broke my ankle 3 days after I got him and so memories are a bit hazy...

I will try for 'live' algae and garlic from Petco as LFS (there is only one) was out of both last night.

I have no QT tank but do have my 100g FO, but need to research parasites first I guess.

[01saleen]

Some thing I would like to share.

A few years ago i read an interesting study (cant find the link) about a marine biologist who conducted an experiment on 6 tangs, he kept them in 2 groups of 3.

The first tank he kept them in was a fish only no live rock, just artificial rocks and substrate. the second 3 he kept in a tank with live rocks and live sand. The differences in the fish within a month were clear.

He had pictures on his webpage which gave a visual of the different effects. the tangs kept in the tank with live rock and live sand were healthy, robust, and in great shape, while the tangs with out the reef environment, which were put in artificial substrate with no live rocks developed HLLE.

He tried this for a month then switched the fish in to opposite tanks to document the differences in different environments. within a month the fish in the artificial environment, which were previously robust, healthy fish began to develop lateral line disease, and the opposite began to happen to the fish which already had HLLE and were put in to a tank with LR and LS. the fish that were in the reef type system began to heal and the disease began to slowly vanish and the fish were showing strong signs of healing.

Within two months the fish completely healed and the previously healthy fish developed HLLE.

Sorry guys I will try to find the link and post it. at the time i emailed it to all of my friends who had tangs, and every one thought it was a very interesting experiment, possibly something to do with the diffrent type of algea that can grow with only reef type environments essential to natural algae grazers that cant be cultivated with fish only systems.

hope you found this interesting?

[adambaron]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11739286#post11739286 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by boca rat
Quick update. I have been using the Ocean Nutrition Green Marine Algae, and have now also tried the brown, both clipped and in the rocks but no luck, along with Mysis.

He's just not interested, and just grazes on the rocks and walls all day long.

I think he was fine when I got him, but not 100% sure as to how good as broke my ankle 3 days after I got him and so memories are a bit hazy...

I will try for 'live' algae and garlic from Petco as LFS (there is only one) was out of both last night.

I have no QT tank but do have my 100g FO, but need to research parasites first I guess.

Do you have this guy in your 30 gal?

[boca rat]

Yep.

[adambaron]

A 30 gallon is way way too small for any tang. He is might be stressed of the lack of room for him. even the 100 gallon is a little small but you should transfer him to that tank or to someone elses with a much larger tank right away. Sorry but he really will never be happy in a 30 gal.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=739380

[boca rat]

He is really small though - 2-3 inches, and does not appear stressed at all - just potters around munching all I can. He is definitely not medium to large as per your (very useful) link.

But if I put him in the 100g with a large yellow tang, will they fight?

[willjeff]

Its possible if you put him in the 100g with the yellow tang, the convict might learn to eat from the yellow tang.

[Gary Majchrzak]

Your Convict is wasting away. It's not HILLE, it's starvation. I had a Convict that would not eat anything but microalgae. You need to get your fish out of the 30 gallon and into a larger well lit aquarium that has microalgae growing in it ASAP.

[sunfish11]

I also agree that the tiny tank can in no way supply enough food, but even in a big tank he will probably die. Sorry, I just saw a few of these, one in my own tank, and some at my friends stores. They are messed up to begin with. I hope I am wrong.

Lisa

[keithntracy]

i'm no expert in anyway, but could this be cyanide poisoning gone bad.

[Gary Majchrzak]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11745587#post11745587 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by keithntracy
i'm no expert in anyway, but could this be cyanide poisoning gone bad.
highly unlikely.

[adambaron]

You should get him in the 100 gal asap. Do it later in you light cycle, feed the yellow right as your putting the new tang in, then turn off the lights at the first sign of aggression from the yellow. This isn't a guarantee but it works well with my tangs. If the next day if the yellow bothers him much put a mirror on the side of your tank to distract the yellow tang.

[boca rat]

Catch-22 here. 100g FO tank has poor water quality which I can't easily fix with water changes 'cause I broke my ankle 3 weeks ago and was 2 days away from setting up an RO reservoir....so the 30g is in good shape chemically, but the 100g is poor so he may not survive the transition! Aaargghh!!!

BTW tried romaine and no luck there either as I expected. I will garlic if I can make it to petco in the next day or so, and try and fix up the 100g a.s.a.p. using friendly help and hope he makes it....

:o(