My new what i think is disabled tang

[Saadatski]

I got my yellow tang yesterday, my first bigish fish. Hes now in quarantine, and i acclimated him correctly. Once i added him to the QT, all he does it go back and forth on the side glass trying to get out, or hes fighting with his reflection.

How do i stop him? hes been doing it all night now

[ultraxr]

How big is the QT? it'll be alright, as long he's not showing signs of physical stress.

[disc1]

He doesn't see any reflection and he isn't aware that there's not water on the other side of the glass. His natural home is the ocean where there never any lack of space to swim. What he's doing is looking for a way to get out and swim around the room.

[Saadatski]

alright, well can i fix this by putting like black paper on the back and the sides? I mean i would let him out of the tank and swim, but he wouldnt get very far

[Saadatski]

i just also realized he is breathing VERY fast. no sign of ammonia poisoning, im giving him plenty of oxygen. His tail bone looks a little red now! HELP!!!

[ultraxr]

Signs of "red tail" isn't good. Keep a close I on it and the water parameters.

[Saadatski]

just tested for Ammonia, a tad high, gonna do a quick water change. That doesnt solve the problem that he is insane though. should i try just to cover up the sides and the back?

[lucky_snapper]

Does he have any cover in there ? Some live rock or a piece of PVC might help him and give him a place to hide. Remember tangs are very active swimmers.

[redneckgearhead]

Originally Posted by disc1

He doesn't see any reflection and he isn't aware that there's not water on the other side of the glass. His natural home is the ocean where there never any lack of space to swim. What he's doing is looking for a way to get out and swim around the room.

Why cant he see his reflection?

[DarrinSimon]

Originally Posted by redneckgearhead

Why cant he see his reflection?

You see reflections from the side of the tank looking in. I heard if you stuck your head in the tank and looked there would be no reflection. Don't know anyone who has actually tried this though.

[Saadatski]

well, hes in a 10g... and hes pretty small, like 2". giving him a pvc would help him? give him hiding space?

[redneckgearhead]

Well, I know my tang AND my massuda will both fan out their fins and "attack" glass right after I clean it. So who knows.

[disc1]

You might see a slight reflection, like looking out the window at night. But the mirror like reflection you see on the sides when looking in is an optical illusion caused by light refracting through two panes of glass at right angles.

Ever notice that you never get that effect on the back glass? Well unless you are looking in from the side.

[BANANAHANDS]

Two problems here, 10g is WAY too small for a tang, regardless of size. Second, there shouldn't be any measurable ammonia. Having the tang in an undersized, un-cycled tank is doing way more harm than good.

[boilermaker1]

He's freaked out. Cover the tank with something dark (paper, a sheet, etc...) so it feels more enclosed. At first, cover up all 4 sides, then as he calms down, take off one side. I'd leave at least 2 sides, if not 3 sides covered for the duration. If you use paper, and you need to see in, you can always peel off and replace it. A PVC pipe or flower pot that he can hide in will also help the comfort level. As far as the red tail, once he calms down, if it doesnt improve, consider antibiotics, but try and get him calmed down first.
Make sure the tank has a lid on it, as carpet surfing is always possible with a stressed out fish. With a tang, I think egg crate would be fine as long as you weight it down a bit.
I'm not going to get too much into this, but a 10 gallon for any tang, even a QT is probably too small, even the little ones need room to run around. You may want to consider picking up a longer tank just to provide some swimming space. It would probably also help calm him down.

[jlylec]

Do you guys think a 40g breeder tank is big enough for a QT for tangs? If so...how many could I put in at once? I've read that you should introduce them all at once so they don't get territorial and fight. I was thinking of like 3 in QT for 2-4 weeks before putting in my 150H.

[redneckgearhead]

How long is that 150H? And what type of tang?

[mess7777]

Others may disagree but I recommend using something like Seachem Alpha to control the ammonia in a non cycled tank. It could save you losing a fish to ammonia issues.

[BANANAHANDS]

Originally Posted by jlylec

Do you guys think a 40g breeder tank is big enough for a QT for tangs? If so...how many could I put in at once? I've read that you should introduce them all at once so they don't get territorial and fight. I was thinking of like 3 in QT for 2-4 weeks before putting in my 150H.

The big problem with that is if one of them is sick they all will get sick. What do you have in your 150? Unless you have a lot of fish in our display, I'd just add the tangs to the DT. Chances are several tangs will cost several hundred dollars. Yes you run the risk of introducing something to your tank but at least the parameters in your display are stable. Plus usually as long as the other fish are healthy, they can fight off ich with no problem.

[Saadatski]

thanks guys for tips. The lil guy was just scared, everyone walking by all day next to him. I blacked him out except for a side where i can watch him. I also realized i was putting a ridiculous amount of flow. I had a MJ400 and a HOB filter at the same time. once i shut off the powerhead, he stopped beating the glass with his head and started eating the nori i gave him this morning.

[jlylec]

Originally Posted by BANANAHANDS

The big problem with that is if one of them is sick they all will get sick. What do you have in your 150? Unless you have a lot of fish in our display, I'd just add the tangs to the DT. Chances are several tangs will cost several hundred dollars. Yes you run the risk of introducing something to your tank but at least the parameters in your display are stable. Plus usually as long as the other fish are healthy, they can fight off ich with no problem.

It seems like I hear different advice from everybody on this! And the arguments always make sense.

I have 3 bartlett anthias', 2 gold head gobies, and a purple chromis in the 150 right now. It's been set up for a few months and is doing really well. I set up the QT because with these fish I bought a hippo tang who died from ich 3 days after bringing her home. My brand new, disease free tank was infected forever unless I pull all the fish and run it fallow for 6-8 weeks (apparently).

So since I know I have ich in the tank now I thought I should QT all future fish and treat them for ich in QT so they're as healthy as possible when I introduce them to the DT.

I was thinking they'd be best off going into the QT first because I CAN treat them in there. I can't treat in the DT because of my corals and I figure catching them and moving them one more time from the DT to the QT for treatment would be even more stressful. ugh. what to do?!

[redneckgearhead]

Originally Posted by jlylec

It seems like I hear different advice from everybody on this! And the arguments always make sense.

I have 3 bartlett anthias', 2 gold head gobies, and a purple chromis in the 150 right now. It's been set up for a few months and is doing really well. I set up the QT because with these fish I bought a hippo tang who died from ich 3 days after bringing her home. My brand new, disease free tank was infected forever unless I pull all the fish and run it fallow for 6-8 weeks (apparently).

So since I know I have ich in the tank now I thought I should QT all future fish and treat them for ich in QT so they're as healthy as possible when I introduce them to the DT.

I was thinking they'd be best off going into the QT first because I CAN treat them in there. I can't treat in the DT because of my corals and I figure catching them and moving them one more time from the DT to the QT for treatment would be even more stressful. ugh. what to do?!

First, you should start your own post so that you can get more responses about your particular concern. Second, IF it was my tank, I wouldn't risk it. I would catch all fish and QT/treat for ich. Then once I was certain my tank was ich free I would add the tangs. Again, your choices on tangs will determine if you should put them in all at once or not. Tangs stress easy and can be ich magnets, I would not add a tang without QT and I would not add a tang to a tank that is known to have ich. just my 2cents.

[jlylec]

Originally Posted by redneckgearhead

First, you should start your own post so that you can get more responses about your particular concern.

yeah understood...i tried this and didn't get any help so i figured i'd throw it out here. didn't mean to hijack but it figured it was a similar issue...

Originally Posted by redneckgearhead

Second, IF it was my tank, I wouldn't risk it. I would catch all fish and QT/treat for ich. Then once I was certain my tank was ich free I would add the tangs. Again, your choices on tangs will determine if you should put them in all at once or not. Tangs stress easy and can be ich magnets, I would not add a tang without QT and I would not add a tang to a tank that is known to have ich. just my 2cents.

this is the reality that i (and most) don't want to accept i think. at this point i'm so mad at myself for not QT'ing originally. catching these fish will be so much easier said than done, but I do realize this is the only true way to fix my problem for good. i just worry about stressing the fish i have out and risking their lives when they're so content and happy now. it sucks the only real treatment can't be used with coral or inverts and taints the sand and rock permanently. if somebody came up with a way to treat without killing anything good or removing your fish from the DT they'd be rich. I think I'd pay upwards of $100 for that right now. maybe even more when i think about what i'm up against!