HLLE, Oh No!

[petem]

Okay, Here we go....I just got rid of Ich in my tank, and now this. My yellow tang is swimming erratically. Quick starts and stops. I looked closely, and saw the tiny holes on his head, and a definate "whitish" looking line shooting backwards towards his tail.. I wanted to make sure, so I checked the pic on here that is of a tang with HLLE. Sure enough, that's what it looks like.
He's the only one in there along with a Damsel, and a snowflake eel. 4 pieces of baserock. Tons of diatoms. The salinity is down to 1.012 (because of the Ich) I was supposed to start bringing it back up, starting tomorrow.
I dont know my water parameters yet.
The only thing the tang eats is the algae sheets. It's not dipped in anything that was mentioned in Beth's article. I have always thought that Tangs are vegetarians. However, a piece of scallop fell off of the tongs when i was feeding my eel, and the tang came over to it, and was eating it. I guess he's converting. But seriously, What else can I do, other than getting a grounding probe?
I also have the Emperor 400 and I added extra carbon, in the availabe empty cartridges, but that was almost a month and a half ago. So, I dont think it would be the cause of it, do you?

 

[elfdoctors]

Yellow tangs are omnivores. They do need a lot of algae but will benefit from a well-balanced diet. Mine loves brine and mysis shrimp, plankton, flake food, etc. I even change the color of algae sheets which I feed ~4 days/week. I often soak the algae sheets in Zoecon.
Besides nutrition, elevated nitrate levels will often worsen HLLE. Anything you can do to lower these can be helpful.

 

[petem]

Thanks Doc. By the way, The label on my algae sheets says, Marine Algae. They look green under regular lights. I do have brine shrimp, frozen in little cubes. Once I tried feeding it to my other fish, but they just spit it out. I dont remember the Tang eating it. Is there any special way to defrost brine shrimp. I put the cube in a little aquarium water and then poured it into the tank. I didnt realize how many brine shrimp were present in that cube. I remember reading something about garlic infused food but I think that was for Ich?
Oh, and what's Zoecon?

 

[elfdoctors]

I use red, green, or brown algae sheets called Seaweed Selects. Don't be surprised that the fish prefer one over another initially. Mine used to only eat the brown (which is what I started with) but other people report their fish only eat other colors. I feed all three to improve the variety in the diet and now my fish eat all equally. I will also supplement with spirulina algae flake food.
Zoecon is a fish lipid emulsion. Here are a few lines from the label: "Diets deficient in omega-3 fatty acids can promote head and lateral line erosion (HLLE) syndrome in freshwater and marine fishes. ........ contains shark liver oil which contains natural immune system stimulants. .....
I regularly treat with garlic. Sometimes I just drip the garlic into the tank ~1 drop/20 gallons. Otherwise I soak brine shrimp in it by thawing a cube in a separate small container to which I have added some garlic. If you have a small tank there is no need to use a whole cube of brine or mysis shrimp. Often I will just hold the cube in my fingers in the tank and let it gradually dissolve from the warmth of the tank water. Some fish will even feed out of your hands (particularly my heniochus butterflyfish and my cleaner shrimp). The garlic will both stimulate the fish' immune system but also serves as an appetite stimulant (particularly useful if your fish have gotten used to a particular diet.
If a lot of this stuff is new for you, I believe that improving your nutrition will go a long way to correcting your HLLE.

 

[ucdpike2001]

May i suggest going to a asian food market and buying nori seaweed. You can buy it for about 1/5 of the price of Seaweed Selects. May i suggest going to a asian food market and buying nori seaweed. You can buy it for about 1/5 of the price of Seaweed Selects.
-Pike

 

[elfdoctors]

That can certainly work. I have heard not to get the salted or spiced types. I know little else about this product. I don't use them because there are no Asian supermarkets within 100 miles of me. Seaweed Selects are probably more expensive but have been much more convenient for me.
Pike,
How is nori sold? Do you have to buy a huge amount at once? Does it keep well? Are there tips to know that you are buying a good batch? When I can get to Minneapolis, I am considering checking this product out. How do humans eat it (raw, boiled,etc)? What does it taste like?

 

[petem]

No Asian markets within 100 miles? Whoa! that's unheard of in NY. LOL! Every 50 feet there's either a Chinese, Korean, or Japanese market. There's even a couple of Filipino markets in my neighboorhood. Also, you can tell whether an asian market is good, or restaurant for that matter, when it's in a Jewish neighboorhood. Funny thing, whenever the Jewish holidays come around, the Chinese markets are closed.
I believe Nori, is the seaweed that's used to make Sushi rolls. I dont think you have to cook it. You might soak it, in rice wine and then put your rice, and (gasp) fish in there, and roll it up.

 

[ucdpike2001]

I buy it in packs of 5 sheets. A pack has 5 sheets of nori the size of a frisbee. For me a pack last about 4 months (since it is dried) and only cost about $10. This is a steal ***** charges $5 for a 1/10 of the size. They come in different colors green, purple, and red. I have found that my tangs like the purple the best
-PIKE

 

[petem]

I saw them in bulk...green color only. didnt say how many sheets but they were $40.bucks. Oh well, Price...the bad part of living in NY.