Please Help blue tang is dying

[tucsonmike]

I posted this in the disease forum and got limited response please help my tang is not looking good.
I just got home and the tang is just lying on its side at the bottom of the tank near some rocks. I thought she was dead as I reached in I had to like touch her for her to move and she swam like 6 inches than just laid on her side again kinda looking lifeless. I feel so bad my LSF said to take her in what do you think they will do just kinda nurse her because they made it very loud and clear whenever I buy anything that there is no guarantee on life.
Michael

 

[tucsonmike]

sorry forgot to add
50gal
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 10
ph 8.0
1.026
1 clown added the same day as tang (Saturday)
1 bubbletip anemone ditto above

 

[pallan]

sorry im not sure what to do to help. but just in case you didnt know.
This site does not even quarentee blue hippos due to their behavior (playing dead) they will often wedge themselves into small crevises, lay on their sides and behave the way you described yours. now the problem is it could be normal behavior or it could be a major problem.
try posting a pic in the desease thread if you can so beth can get a good look at the fish.
Good luck
here is a cut and paste job from this sites description of the tang
They can be kept singly or in groups. The Blue Hippo can be very timid and may wedge themselves under rocks and into caves and crevices when young or new to an aquarium. In the wild they will wedge themselves into coralheads and branching corals. They are very peaceful towards other fish and do well in a peaceful community or reef tank. This fish will often lie on its side and "play dead" and that is the only reason it is not guaranteed, because the novice can become confused as to its actual health.
This item is Not Guaranteed (NG), because either its behavior is irregular during acclimation, or because it is packed in a non-traditional way; in either case the hobbyist may not be familiar with the animals's true actual health and vitality because they are not familiar with its behavior. One can have every confidence when ordering this item, but it will not be covered under the guarantee because its natural behavior or how it is shipped differs from other items

 

[fishtales1]

if your hippo is laying on his side he probably wont make it.its ashame they are cool fish but very tricky. i responded to you in the disease section. don't treat your tank. TRUST ME. it's not worth it. i was told you cant keep your salt level low if you have anemones. i have 3 in my tank and i keep my salt between 0015 and 0017. i have a powder blue and a hippo in my tank so i have to keep a close eye on my ich problems. you can try some immuno vital. that won't harm anything in your tank. add lots of garlic to the food. even though i had someone disagree about keeping the lights out it works for me.the fish get into a more relaxed state when the lights are out.is your hippo all that is affected?

 

[tucsonmike]

yes its just the tang I even have an anemone witch I thought were more sensitive to variations in water and stuff. He is doing fine now if I turn out the lights for awhile will it be bad for my anemone? If the tang dies tonight and I take him out in the morning is he going to make my ammonia etc spike and kill anything else?

 

[phixer]

For some strange reason Ive seen a lot of Hippo Tangs lying on their sides in the stores, as mentioned above. Not all died, this position just seemed very common for this particular fish. Most eventually came around. There was no sign of disease initially either. :notsure:

 

[sinner's girl]

turning lights off is less stressful to fish, always keep lights off when adding new fish.
also, just so you know, 50 is too small for a blue tang, that's not your problem now, but it could be in the future.
adding garlic to tang's food is said to help them, also make sure you are feeding the tang correctly, off greed food for it to graze on during the day
he tang dies tonight and I take him out in the morning is he going to make my ammonia etc spike and kill anything else?
depends, age of tank? number of fish? clean up crew? #lr? filteration?
in general, no a dead fish won't cause many problems, the clean up crew, depending on what you have may eat him right up.
if it's a new tank with little filtration, you may have a problem, but if adding two new fish didn't cause a problem, one dead for a few hours shouldn't be a problem.