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View Full Version : Hippo Tangs tail eaten off. Can it live?


nme1337
08/18/2006, 09:41 AM
Our Blue Hippo tangs tail was eaten completely off by a crab. we had a big teddybear crab hiding in the liverock that we werent aware of. Somehow our hippo tang got caught and its entire tail was eaten off a little into the actual flesh of the fish. Will it live? What should i do?

cristhiam
08/18/2006, 09:47 AM
I say put the hippo in a QT tank, and look for infection. Is the fish still swimming and eating?

saltwater_wannabe
08/18/2006, 09:56 AM
I would venture a guess that the tail was already rotting and the crab would have eaten the flesh that was already dead. I don't know much about Tangs, but I would look into fin rot or something similar.

Hope that helps!

nme1337
08/18/2006, 10:01 AM
No the fish was in perfect health. It was swimming around happy as can be. It appeared stuck in the live rock when we tried to get it out the teddybear crab had a grapple around him. The fish is swimming as best it can and eating fine. Looks in good health but cant swim as good as usual.

Travis L. Stevens
08/18/2006, 10:21 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7964630#post7964630 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by saltwater_wannabe
I would venture a guess that the tail was already rotting and the crab would have eaten the flesh that was already dead. I don't know much about Tangs, but I would look into fin rot or something similar.

Hope that helps!

Not if it was a Teddy Bear Crab. They tend to predate more than scavenge.

cristhiam
08/18/2006, 10:22 AM
If it's swimmin around and eating, I let it be, just watch out for possible infection, and watch other fish pick at it. Hope it gets better.

nme1337
08/18/2006, 10:22 AM
Yeah im pretty sure it was. Its very hairy and i had no idea it was in there. Its the size of the hippo tang itself. My main question is. will it grow back?

nme1337
08/18/2006, 10:23 AM
Lol look at the last 3 posters All in the graphics field. funny.

Sk8r
08/18/2006, 10:26 AM
I've had freshwater fish recover from such an event. They need a waterflow that's adequate for health but that doesn't buffet them about in their attempt to swim. Watch for signs of infection.

cristhiam
08/18/2006, 10:27 AM
lol just noticed it. :) probably it will grow back. ohh friday I'm bored at work. :)

theatrus
08/18/2006, 10:28 AM
As long as the tang doesn't get an infection, it will grow back. I would take the precaution and move it to a QT tank and monitor for infection, possibly even pro-actively treating with an antibiotic since it is an open wound. Something like Maracyn-Two or tetracycline.

SDguy
08/18/2006, 11:09 AM
FWIW, the fish can survive (assuming no infection) even if the tail was removed to the point of not being able to grow back. I've seen fish with genetically missing tails (dorsal fin and anal fin just met each other at a point) live and grow without problem. In fact they'll have an easier time in captivity.

boilermaker1
08/18/2006, 12:04 PM
Suggestion of adding garlic (if its not already in use) would also probably be a good move... might as well give the immune system a boost, and keep an eye on it for a few days.
if it was me, I'd think about leaving the fish where it is, as the thought of moving it from the display to a QT tank may freak it out and possibly make it worse. I'd watch for an infection and be ready to move it, but if it starts making a recovery on diet and clean water alone, let it heal itself.

Ne0eN
08/18/2006, 12:09 PM
How big is the Tang? If it's a baby - it will grow quickly. Can you post some pics?

jpslickorocks
08/18/2006, 01:17 PM
has no one addressed that the preditory crab is still in the tank? Or did I miss that. If the fish is not moving as well as he used to he will be an easier target for the crab and it wont matter if he can survive without a tail or not. I know he can not survive being eaten by a large predetory crab. lol

Arch01
08/18/2006, 01:26 PM
I have a fish currently recovering from a tail that was nearly completly removed. As long as the fish is not abnormally stressed and infection does not develop it should grow back and be perfectly healthy. And whoever named them "Teddy Bear" crabs has clearly never kept them...

jgoodrich71
08/18/2006, 01:31 PM
From my expericence, if the fin was removed all the way to the "meat", then it will not grow back, but if it was just the tissue of the fin, then it will grow back.

Just watch for a secondary infection. Even if it doesn't grow back, he should be fine without a tail, just not as fast.