naso suddenly not eating

[safaribrooke]

ive had a very lively and healthy naso tang for about nine months now, and suddenly the past 2 days hes had no appetite whatsoever. his body is starting to look thin and boney, and his tummy area, almost looks pinched in! water is testing perfectly, as usual, and there doesnt seem to be problems with anyone else in the 120 gallon year-old tank (yellow tang, small school of clarki clowns, blue damsel, large domino damsel, hipo tang, sailfin tang, sea urchins, starfish, snails, several anemones) up until now, hes always been a very social fish, following people as they walk past his habitat. now he just hangs out in the middle of the tank, not even really responding to his favorite foods that he usually scarfs immediately. i watched him eat just a few nibbles, but all at once, he puffed it back out only moments later. there have been no recent changes in his environment, such as moving/adding rock, variations of water quality, no new fish, etc. i read a previous post that someone elses naso was doing the same, but he was new. this is my favorite ole buddy in the tank and id appreciate any help you pals could offer. thanks alot

 

[chrisg]

How is your Naso doing. I had one, ate great for a month, then stopped and within a day, was dead. This was after a wrasse, that I had for a year, died in the same way. Now, a yellow tang I had for a year, just died in the same way. I am desperate to identify what is going on.

 

[mcgruff]

I've had 2 Naso's before and one has done very well, the other was fine for about 4 months then went downhill. I would first test your water to make sure you haven't had any fluctuations in water quality. If your naso's your most delicate fish (considering your other fish, it appears that it is), it will be the first to let you know something's wrong. Also, I see you have a 120, which from what I've experienced is the smallest you'd want to go with this type of fish. It's possible you may have emaciation problems due to an internal parasite. Also, you have quite a few Tangs, how long have you had them all together and have they all been behaving? Just the stress from other Tangs could make your naso tempermental. From my experience, they fast whenever there's adversity.
Caveat (all IMHO). Good luck.

 

[safaribrooke]

well just as soon as id diagnosed the problem as a possible gill parasite, he started eating that morning. i asked around and researched, and figured maybe since tangs are more prone to gill parasites, that could be it. so i cleared the invertibrates and was ready to treat the tank. suddenly hes scarfing shrimp as before. so hes all better. thanks to your help to those who replied. btw, there were no changes in water quality or new fish. theyve all been happy together for about 7 months or so now.