Hiding Purple Tang

[freemchr]

I bought a Purple Tang 10 days ago, and he has been hiding in the corner of the tank, he looks like he had got whitespot but it has since faded..

The tank has a foxface, blue tang, yellow tang and kole tang. The Kole and Yellow have been picking on him and forcing him to hide in the corner, but slowly he is coming out of his hiding spot, still not swimming around.

How long could it be before he starts swimming with the other fish?

[freemchr]

Just to add to this.

Noticed today he has gone a whitish colour hopefully that is not too bad a sign. ( I know its related to stress).

I have noticed when he is in the corner, the yellow tang and Kole tang come right next to him and don't do anything to him, however when he attempts to go out in the open they hammer him.. He is slowly gaining confidence but just not quick enough...

[NewFish3]

HHHMMMMM... Do the other fish belong to any gangs that you know of....lol lol lol

Its most likely a territory thing..........I have a friend that kinda went through this same thing....... He put in a plastic divider with the flow holes, you can can get them from any LFS.

He did this for a week or so...until they all got used to each other in the tank..............there all fine now

[super stooge]

to my knowledge (limited as it may be) tangs should be introduced at the same time especially the yellow tang and sumthing with the same body shape such as the purple tang. the yellow especially is known to be aggresive against fish similar to itself in shape and or colour such as for example the achilies tang or the purple tang. your best bet would be to introduce them all at the same time but seeing as this cannot be done in your situation u may want to try moving the rocks arounds and re-aranging the territories in your tank before adding a new tang (careful not to squash your fish ;) ) ooooor if u have the space available get more than 1 tang at 1 time. this way the beating will be distributed among 2 or more individuals rather than 1 poor lil fella. hopefully they will be able to hold out until they can establish themselves in the tank. these opinions are just what i have read, heard and observed and none of it is guaranteed to work, simply suggestions.

if all else fails then your tank may simply be to small to house so many tangs :(

[DarthSimon]

Get some mirrors up asap. They will help a great deal...

[super stooge]

hmm never thought of that, good idea

[DarthSimon]

also are you spot feeding him foods soaked in selcon and garlic? Keeping him in good health during this will aid him in comming out more.

[rolodex1]

Not sure what your set up is like but, I have heard if you re arrange some of the LR in the tank the fish think it a new "tank" or "area" and they all start out on the same playing field...or I mean finding their own areas. Also, I like the tank divider idea.

Just my 2 Cents!

[freemchr]

Poor little guy was lying on his side this morning breathing heavily, I don't think he will make it.. Such a shame too.. his colour is back but just lying on his side.. Im afraid ill go home to a dead purple tang today after work.

[Meeshi_ma]

dang - hope that turns out all right; hate it when you lose a fish

[super stooge]

i suppose u dont have a QT tank set up?

[freemchr]

I do.. but i think its a bit too late now..

[DarthSimon]

Did he survive??

[freemchr]

I don't know haven't been home yet from work. But when I left this morning he was lying on his side and breathing heavily. Don't expect miracles when I get home though.

[super stooge]

im sorry to hear that, i recently lost 1 of my blue tangs to the same symptoms, very hard to watch. if when u get home he is still alive, either take him out and hopefully nurse him back to health in the qt then re-arange your tank and try again. u could remove his tormentors instead to allow him to establish himself but it sounds like hes to far gone to recover in your display.

[freemchr]

Unfortunately I think me may be too far gone. Ill try and take him out when I get home. Will see how we go. Will be leaving the office in an hour or so, so will let you all know the outcome. He is in a corner which is quite difficult to get too as well, to re-arrange the tank will be a nightmare as nearly all the rockwork is carefully placed and locked in.

If I can get to him when I get home and he is still alive, ill place him in my QT and see how we go.

[super stooge]

if he doesnt make it, do u plan on trying again with another tang?

[freemchr]

Unfortunately got home and the poor little guy didn't make it. I may try again in the future. Purple Tangs are pretty hard to come by here. May end up trying with one a bit larger then my yellow and kole tang though, and QT him for several weeks to ensure he is up for it properly. Pretty sad actually.

[super stooge]

yea i live in sydney aswell and have never actually seen a purple tang, sorry to hear about your tang, dont give up on it tho, maybe when you get your next tang make a post here asking for advice on ways to introduce it?

[freemchr]

Speaking to a fish importer, he said to keep the purple tang or a similar shaped tang in a clear box under the water (like an aquamedic fish trap) and the yellow tang and other aggressive tangs will try and hammer the box for 2 days or so and then give up, thinking that the fish in the box is invincible. Interesting concept, not sure if it would work though but worth a try.

[super stooge]

i was thinking to try teh same thing but with a (clean) spaghetti strainer or sumthing floating on the water surface with the tang inside, the clear box would probably be better tho aslong as water can still circulate through it

[jthao]

my advice: get tangs/fishes from other people leaving the hobby. I've never lost a fish that I got from another person, but I've lost all the fishes that I got from an lfs. maybe just my luck.