new purple tang

[kittykitty]

I took this guy home from work last night to try to cure his severe lateral line erosion. He just wasn't getting any better at the store.
I am currently adding vita chem to the water, and stuffing him full of formula 2 and seaweed selects. Hopefully this will help him. Anyone else have any good ideas?

 

[kittykitty]

Here's another pic. You can't see it too well here, but his dorsal fin is completely gone. Poor guy :nope:
I will keep you all updated.

 

[moraym]

I actually inherited a blue hippo the other day, EXACT same problem. Been in my friend's tank for TWO YEARS!
The blue hippo will not eat seaweed selects, been trying for two weeks, in both red and green. And although using vita chem constantly probably will help, I don't think I can afford that much vita chem at this stage in my life.
He's been alive forever, doubt he's going to die, but he is so active and so much fun to watch, good personality, i feel horrible for him. How can I get him to eat seaweed?!?

 

[moraym]

Couldn't get a clear pic, he was cruising, but you get the point, he's in a bad situation:

 

[kittykitty]

see I get lucky cause the owner of the lfs that I work at has a huge jug of it in the back so I get it for free
MorayM - he does look bad. But I have heard from several people that VitaChem really works wonders. If you want him to get better, keeping buying it no matter what the cost.

 

[midwest reefer]

I have a reccomendation for both of you....
In st. louis, I went to a store in clayton(near st .louis) and they ahd a yellow tang in that same dilemma. They simply threw it in the fuge since their was no chance it would sell. It is healthy, and will never fully recover, but doing alot better.
Id reccomend throwing it in a refugium if big enough, or atleast getting some macro aglaes in the tank...

 

[jokerswild]

Good luck!!!!!!

 

[lions n nd]

New Life Spectrum Works wonders

 

[tony detroit]

Pellets-
OSI
Kent marine reef herbivore
Spectrum, and Spectrum RX
Kent marine reef carnivore
Vitamins-
Selcon
Zoe
Zoecon(high in vitamins that tangs need, many from spirulina)
Seachem Garlic Guard
Seaweed Selects(nori)
red
green
brown(brown is best from what I have read in Aquarium fish mag)
Frozen-
plankton
brine
mysis(definitely)
bloodworms(not great, but my tangs divebomb it)
Also-tangs graze throughout the day. After I bought a Rondomatic fish feeder I noticed that my tangs color came out so vividly after a month's time. I fed them five times daily and just about every time I walk by the tank after work. Stable water conditions are a must. All the different kinds of food work too. I have had a Sohal tang for a year and 2 months and it has never even touched frozen food, only seaweed and pellets, so it is a necessity that you feed as many different kinds of food that you can afford. I have no signs of HLLE whatsoever, which I believe is highly food related. Good luck to you, the fish will look beautiful when you bring it around, it is possible do not give up hope.
I've been obsessed with tangs, and have lots of experience with them, so if you have any questions just ask away. Unfortunately I killed a lot before finding out everything I know now.

 

[moraym]

any way to entice the tangs to eat?
My friend used flake only on this blue.
He eats up Formula 2 flakes, as well as Formula 1, Brine Shrimp Plus, and Prime Reef.
But he won't touch seaweed selects (red, green) or frozen foods. He picks at a krill once in a while when the anemones let one go, but usually he runs off. Even garlic won't help.
I've only had him about two weeks, I'll keep trying. I'll look for brown seaweed as well. Any chance I should put the seaweed somewhere else? I've tried clipping it halfway up the glass in back and front, and also putting the clip on the sand under his hangout. Nada so far.
Thanks.

 

[kittykitty]

TonyDetroit-
Here is a list of what all of my fish, including the purple tang now, are eating:
Spectrum
Aquadine: Marine, Spirulina
Frozen Mussel
Spirulina Brine Shrimp
Mysis Shrimp
Krill
Formula Two
Seaweed selects Green
He eats up the formula two like crazy, but only picks at the seaweed. Do you think he might like red or brown better?
As far as the vitamins go, do you know what the ingredients of Vita Chem versus the Vitamin supplements that you listed might be?
All I know is that there is a girl where I work that has a purple tang, and she uses vita chem regularly. She said that it doesn't get very much algae, but it has never had head or lateral line erosion, and she believes that it is the vitachem doing the trick.

 

[fishtanker]

Wow those are some severe cases of HLLE...i would also reccommend some Vitamin C supplements (Kent Marine C) and some Julian Sprungs Sea Veggies (green and red). My achilles tang was coming down with HLLE and earilier this month i started using the Sea Veggies and Marine C as well as the Selcon and just 2 weeks later i noticed improvment.
Vitamin C
Selcon (HUFA)
Spirulina
are very important in curing HLLE
HTH

 

[irenicus]

That case of HLLE may be to far to reverse. He may get better but the scars will prob. remain.

 

[tony detroit]

I feed all three every morning. Red/green/brown seaweed select. I do not know the difference in vitamins, other than zoe has high vitamins from spirulina, a good natural food source for tangs.

 

[sebae0]

doesn't a stray current in the tank attribute to hlle disease also? just wonderng if that could have also helped with the problem?

 

[tony detroit]

A grounding probe certainly would not hurt.

 

[fin follower ed]

This my be out of line, but I'm so glad that my purple doesn't look like that.

 

[kittykitty]

I'll trade you

 

[moraym]

Tony, sebae, want to provide any more hints on the stray flow and grounding probe problem?
What should I be looking for concerning this, I thought I was covered but maybe not.

 

[moraym]

I put in Julian Springs Sea Veggies and the tang looked at them as if they were from another planet.
Nothing in my tank was even remotely interested, but when the Formula 2 flakes hit, they went crazy again.