Need help with identifying

[maggot]

I have had a Chevron Tang for about two to three weeks. He is about three inches and I have a 55 gallon tank. I know a little small but I am going to upgrade soon just want to get the jist of things before I make that commitment. Water is normal. Ph 8.0 or 8.2 Ammonia reading .25 could be a false reading nitrites at .5.
Anyway his behavior has been that he is scratching his eye or facial area with his fins. I believe this has caused his eye to get and infection and the nose of the tang has a film cover looking like a white mucus. They aren't white dots and he doesn't have any of these markings anywhere else. There are four other fish in the tank Three clowns and two gobies, all small meaning two inches long or less. I have live rock and live sand. Need help from anyone and sorry I don't have a camera.

 

[elfdoctors]

Welcome to the Boards!
Is your tank new?
Some cheaper test kits never give 0 readings for ammonia. However, any truly detectable ammonia and nitrites can be toxic for fish. Clowns are relatively resistant to poor water quality (they are related to damsels which are sometimes used to cycle a tank). However, for a more sensitive fish, such as a tang (for which even nitrAtes can be toxic), poor water quality can be fatal. Many of your symptoms sound like they could be caused by poor water quality.

 

[maggot]

thanks i am going to do a twenty percent water change tomorrow and then test again. My tank is about a month and a half old. Thanks for the info. I was also wondering if he was not getting the nutrients he needs. He eats the junk out of my flake food spirulina but wont touch the dried algae. He also eats off of the live rock but not as much as he used to. I think he is addicted to the flake food. Any suggestions. I have tried frozen brine and myst..

 

[elfdoctors]

If your tank is still that new, do not overfeed the fish. Hopefully there is enough natural algae in the tank to prevent him from starving.
Dried Nori, (such as seaweed selects), soaked in garlic, and/or Zoecon are also good ways to get a new tang to eat. You might even be able to get some real plants or live brine shrimp at your LFS for the tang to eat. Formula 2 is a good food for tangs and other omnivores which like lots of veggies. I would probably suggest that you try the frozen variety rather than just flakes.