3rd try

clown-lover

clown-lover

Member
ok, this is my third time that i'm trying to keep a Yellow Tang in my 55 gallon aquarium.
the first time, i got a yt, i blame it's death on my lack of knowledge. I didn't know then that they need algea and things to graze on.
after my tank matured over time, i tried another yt. this time, the tang got ich...causing his death and the death of others in the tank. he had a 'pinched stomach' where the stomach was sucked in on both sides....it didn't look very healthy.
now, this is the third time i'm going to give it a try....i purchaced this yt yesterday from the lfs. i watched him eat. he had great color. he was of perfect size. his belly was full and plump.....all in all....he was a good looking healthy fish.
TODAY.....i wake up to find that he has a 'picnched' stomach.
it is...just like the last one....sucked in from both sides.
does anyone know why this might be happening or what i can do to solve it??
i've tried feeding him algea sheets soaked in garlic....he didn't go for it. he ate one small bite of frozen brine/squid with garlic. and he is nipping at the rocks.....
if this one dies on me, i'm done with yellow tangs!!!!
any help would be great...i'll try my best to get a picture but it's kinda hard to see
thank you very much
 
dburr

dburr

Active Member
You need a bigger tank.
But anyway, fish do not get stomaches pinched overnight. You must have overlooked that when you bought it. Did you try flake food?
 
clown-lover

clown-lover

Member
i swear to you that i am not seeing things.
he didn't have it yesterday at the fish store....nor when i put him in the tank....nor the rest of the night
he did however have it today
i have not tried flake food yet....thank you, i will try that next
 
clown-lover

clown-lover

Member
i got this from a search....is this true?
Could this be my problem
The stomach area of Yellow tangs often appear to be pinched. This means they haven't gotten enough to eat lately. A lot of them look this way when they arrive at the retailer. Be more concerned with the area above and behind the eyes. Loss of weight in the upper body indicates long-term starvation. Their colors should be bright
 
T

tizzo

Guest
Mine gets a pinched belly pretty quickly, but it's NEVER THAT bad!! I hafta put some seaweed selects in my tank and as soon as he's done eating that he's plump again. Your's seems to have a whole pinched underside, it don't look good.:notsure:
 
clown-lover

clown-lover

Member
i just don't get it....he's the second one that i've had that has looked like that.
i just tried feeding him brine/squid and nothing
 
T

tizzo

Guest
He kinda looks sickly. I see them look like this alot although the closest I could find for a reason is an internal parasitic or bacterial infection. You should wait until you find one that looks very healthy BEFORE you purchase it.:)
My pride, my joy my picture reference for you to take with you when you go for another. But you really should get a bigger tank first. HTH
 
clown-lover

clown-lover

Member
well, thank you for your help....everyone
i thought that yt's could be happy in a 55 gallon....esspecially being that he would be the only fish in there except for a small clown....guess not
after him....if this one doesn't make it....i'm not going to try to keep another tang....i really hate seeing things not make it in my tank
any ideas on what i could do to make him eat?
if not, thanks agian for all the help
 
T

tizzo

Guest
I didn't look long, but do a search on "marine mycobacteria". Google search. I don't think it's mentioned in these forums. That is the only (fairly common) disease that I can find that perfectly describes the emaciation. I am suggesting the search because mycobacteria is contagious. Good luck, let us know what you learn!!:)
 
clown-lover

clown-lover

Member
you know, tha'ts what i thought i might have done wrong.
i let float for about ten minutes (just while i preped to accumilate him) then i dripped for about thirty minutes in the bag, emtying out water here and there as the bag overflowed. then i put him in a bucket and let it drip until the water matched mine.
that's how i normally do it....am i doing something wrong??
 
T

therock0861

Guest
First of all your acclimation process seems fine. Secondly, I have had a YT in a 55 gallon tank for over 2 years and he is perfectly happy and healthy because his only tank mates are inverts and 2 clowns. I think that your fish will be fine just keep an eye on him and keep offering seaweed and brine shrimp and he should be ok. If not then he was definitely ill when you purchased him IMO.
Joe
 
beckzilla

beckzilla

Member
Just a quick observation... even though you only have one other fish in your tank makes no difference to the Tangs survival. They need lots of room to swim or they will get stressed out. Do more research before you add anything to your tank. It will increase your total survival rate. Acclimation is very important and i am concerned that you are not doing it long enough. Check this site for proper procedure. And last but not least...get a BIGGER tank if you want to keep Tangs. It is a well known fact on this board that 75 gallon is minimum size for most Tangs and width length is important too to give the fish room to swim.:D
 
900dublr

900dublr

Member
I have a tang in a 55 gal and its a pig. It seems to pretty happy its about 2.5in long. I plan on upgrading once its full grown. Have u been buying the fish from the same store? Mabe you should try buying from another source. Just a thought.
 
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