help...sick kole tang...suggestions needed

[92protruck]

He did not show for dinner (this is a first). He is staying in his cave with his body up against the side of the rocks. He is opening and shutting his mouth constantly like he is trying to dislodge something, injured his mouth, or is trying to get more oxygen. He is stretching his mouth open much wider than normal opening and closing while eating. I can't tell if he is breathing hard or not. His stomach and everything looks fine. His mouth is very big and white inside. He was fine at lunch time. I gave him formula 2 medium size pellet for the first time today. He normally eats Omega One super veggie flake, prime reef flake, formula 2 frozen and mysis shrimp frozen soaked in zoe and zoecon. He gets a sheet of seaweed/algae in a clip a couple times per week. I have had him for one month he is very healthy looking fat and 5+ inches long. His tank mates are 2 clowns, six line wrasse and bi-color blenny all small 1.5 inches or so. Everyone gets along fine. 72 gal tank with 90 lbs live rock up and running 6 months. Good flow with AquaC Remora Pro w/ Mag 5 skimmer, Emperor 400 and 2 maxijet 900's. 10 hermits and 15 turbo snails. corals consist of a few zoos, GSP, mushrooms, tree sponge and colt coral. Water checks at Amm 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 10-20, PH 8.2 Temp 81, salinity 36 ppt (trying to get it down to 35). I have not done anything yet. My guesses....he constantly picks/eats off the sand and sometimes gets a piece of shell stuck in his mouth (but I usually see it and it falls out), the form 2 pellets did not agree with him (don't know why this would be it), he may have eaten a hermit shell molt (got stuck...didn't agree with him??) all out of ideas....He is very skiddish and runs to his cave when you approach the tank. Capturing him and putting him in QT would be most stressful and I don't think I want to try it. Does anyone have any ideas? Thanks.

 

[92protruck]

thanks everyone for the responses

 

[nicetry]

It sounds like your assessment of the situation is correct. The fish may have a piece of foreign matter lodged in it's mouth. At this point, quarantine may not do much, since the fish may dislodge whatever it is, on it's own. If the fish is still eating, then leave it be. Watch for other symptoms like redness around the mouth, color fading, etc.. In the event the problem persists and other symptoms crop up, you may need to move the fish to a Q tank. An extreme measure would be to remove the fish from the tank and attempt to physically remove the object, if in fact there is one. It's touchy but it could be done.

 

[92protruck]

thank you nicetry! May I ask you ...do know if it is common or uncommon for a tang to get something caught in its mouth? Is this a freak thing? Do they usually dislodge it? Have you ever heard of a fish dying from this? His mouth is swollen and white but seems to be moving around more. He may have injured it on a sharp rock or something. Are these fish pretty hardy?

 

[nicetry]

Bristle tooth tangs eat by scouring rocks and other objects for algae, so they are more apt to get mouth injuries, than fish that pick at food. Certain other fish can injure their mouths by striking at food. You see it sometimes in lionfish or groupers.
Hardy is a relative term with any fish, and sometimes you have to take a "wait and see" approach. I kept a kole before who's caudal spine extended and would not retract for weeks. I was afraid he would catch it on something and tear it out. It eventually retracted and the fish was fine. Nature takes it's course. Intervention would be needed only if the fish appeared to be in acute distress; not eating, listless, bacterial infection (redness), etc..

 

[fisheye]

Hello, I have a quick question for you nicetry, I too have a kole tang and he is about 4 inches, in good health(i think) and eats regularly, but his mouth looks a little red sometimes, i thought he hurt his mouth on the rocks by trying to eat algae, but after I read what you said, is this a bacterial infection? Also he has orange streaks on his skin, they look like scratches or a wound, but hes doing great, any ideas?

 

[nicetry]

Tough to say w/o knowing more about the tank; any aggressive mates? water parameters? is the fish seen scratching itself against rocks etc..
Water quality must be kept high with these fish, and this in itself will aid in healing. Red streaks, or scratches/wounds are not a good thing and are indicative of possible bacterial infections. Sometimes fish seem to function well even with these problems, but allowed to go untreated, can be cause for more problems.

 

[fisheye]

Thank You nicetry, Well I dont have a water testing kit of my own yet, so I get my levels tested at my nearest fish store once a week, I just got it tested yesterday and my ammonia 0, nitrate 0, nitrite 0, ph 8.3 about and salenity in the good range on the hydrometer, the fish store said my levels were great and i have a 75 gallon tank, a kole tang, clown fish, two gobies and a hawkfish, two anemonies, an emerald crab and a feather duster. I am starting to become concerned about this because when i fisrst ourchased the tang he was in great condition, now he has orange abrasions on his body that you cant see unless you get close. He doesnt scratch against the rocks either as far as I know.
Thanks Cassie

 

[92protruck]

fisheye...can you get a photo of your kole with the red lines/scrathes? I've never been able to get one of mine but maybe you will have better luck. My Kole routinely gets cuts and scrathes from zipping in and around my rocks. I have seen him do it. However, the cuts/scrathes are white (easy to see on a Kole) and heal up in a day or two. If your lines are red and don't heal up right away you may need to look into this further. Posting a pic may help a lot.

 

[beth]

Pro, a tang of any kind is generally considered not appropriate for a 72 gal. And a 5+ inch tang is most definately not appropriate for this size tank. I would suggest that you do your best to find him another good home. I'm not trying to be mean, but honest.
Any signs of Head and Lateral Line Erosion? Do you have a grounding probe installed?

 

[92protruck]

thanks for the reply Beth. I agree and would not recommend any tang for a tank less than 6 feet despite the numerous threads on this forum suggesting that a kole or convict would be suitable for a 55 gal tank. I chime in every chance I get when I see someone suggest a kole/convict for a smaller tank. I didn't get mine by choice but I will provide best I can for him. Anyway, he is doing much better. I have concluded that the formula 2 pellets are not suitable for him and caused bloat by either swelling in his belly after eating too many or taking in air bubbles. I also think he injured his mouth on a rock. He is better now. I am still trying to figure out how to hook up a grounding probe since none of my home outlets are grounded. Thanks for your help.

 

[beth]

That could welll be the case. I try to stay away from a lot of the dry foods, with the exception of algae.

 

[57chev]

Pro, over the years I've noticed, and have had it happen to me twice with the kole or yellow eyed tang they seem to be subject to the condition you have descibed. Its almost like a white growth or somthing they get inside their jaws, Ive notice that the growth seems to be symetrical to a point. I'm not sure what causes it. The kole tang has a much different mouth anatomy and structure than yellow, purple, or even the naso group which allows them to be the good algae eaters they are. I have seen this condition on several other kole tangs as well. Its unlikely that there is something stuck in his mouth. Good luck I wish I could offer you some advise, I've never seen a kole come out of it unfortunatly.