Red spot on Yellow Tang

beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
That fish does have good color and I do see the patch. I have to say, that he looks too thin. How long have you had him, and what are you feeding him? What type of tank is he in? LR, REEF?
 
mburnickas

mburnickas

Member
I think he looks bad due to the angle it was taken. Here is another picture of him.http://home.comcast.net/%7Ehsdfcu/fish/tang.JPGI have had him for about 7 weeks and gets the following each day (on a schedule)
Mon: Formula 2 pellets and vita-chem. vitamins
Tuesday: Mysis shrimp and Liguid garlic and vita-chem. vitamins
Wed: Formula 1 pellets and vita-chem. vitamins
Thursday: OSI flake with vita-chem. vitamins
Fri: Frozen Brine and vita-chem. vitamins
Sat: Formula 2 pellets and vita-chem. vitamins
Sun: Formula 1 pellets and vita-chem. Vitamins
Everyday there is a lot of green algae on the back walls and the 50 lbs of LR. Also they are millions of pods on the glass and DSB. Oh, I use RO/DI water now (over 1 week now). Lastly, I put a 1.5”X1.5” piece of Ocean Nutrition Green Seaweed select on a rock and put in the water. I do this in the AM and PM since he should have plenty with all the other stuff in the tank.
So what am I doing wrong or how to I stop this red stop……
Oh, this is only a FOWLR for now and going to a reef in the fall. I need to let the tank mature from about 6 months. Not goiung to rush this...
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
You're right, that is a much better pic of him. The other pic really made him look thined out, and with tangs, you want them to be a bit plump. There should be no sunken abdomn or bones showing.
What are your water readings, including nitrates and phosphates? What filters are you using? Do you have a grounding probe?
 
mburnickas

mburnickas

Member
The picture showed the small red spot but it made him look like his stomach was indented...sorry
He does eat the algae like mad and he still likes the seaweed selects.
My water reading are:
phosphates: I do not check since I am using RO/DI but I can check.
I just did a 15 gallon water change last week with RO/DI. I have a 75 gal but with the DSB it is only about 55 of salt water in it. I also add about 0.75 gallon of makeup water per day; which is also RO/DI.
Ammonia=0
Nirtires=0
Nitrates=<0.3
Ph=8.15
Cal=450
Temp=79.7
SG=1.0238
I am using a wet/dry and change the 50 micron DLS filter media every 5 days. The prefilters are on the overflow box and on the top drain plate on the filter. The bio-balls look nice and clean.
I have only 2 Power Heads in the tank plus the main pump return.
I also just put a grounding probe in last week.
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
What test kit are you using? What would you consider high nitrates?
Starving your fish is never a good solution to resolving other issues.
 
mburnickas

mburnickas

Member
I am using a fastest and a seatest. To me, high nitrates are around 7 to 14. 14 being a 50% WC.
for a 75 gal tank <0.3 is not that bad. I would like 0 but it has never gotten over this #.(<0.3ppm)
I have read in a few books that <50.00 is fine. That to me is crazy.
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
LOL....I agree with you. But sometimes hobbyists post the wrong reading. In other words saying .30 they may have meant 30! To me, anything more than trace nitrates is a bad place for tangs to be.
I am no fan of the wet/dry just because I feel they don't complete the nitrogen cycle resulting in a system with high nitrates. You, however, are doing media changes pretty frequently.
Its hard to find something wrong with that tang. He had good color and the fins are in good shape. Keep an eye out on that area on the fin that looks like a darkening to see if it develops into anything. In the meantime, you might want to add Zoecon as a supplement on to your fish food. Very good supplement for tangs because of the Omega3 fatty acid.
 
mburnickas

mburnickas

Member
Yea 30 vs .3 (0.3) is a HUGE differance. That little point is a killer if you do not watch out! I have done that on a few of my designs at work and boy, did I look dumb.
Now with the red spot he is tapping his rear fin on the glass and then darts off. He does this on both sides of his body. He does this on a 30 degree angle. I was thinking a parasite for tapping/rubbing on glass and a bacteria for the red spot. Maybe this is a yellow tang issue? Oh, also he is breathing very rapid for a few days.
I have tried all my limited know-how so it is up to you people since I failed with this one. I was think maracyn-two for this but why if I do not need it.
Oh, really I do not need the Wet/dry bio-balls(BB) with the LR and DSB so I might slowly start removing the BB.
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
When is the last time you did a water change? Sometimes, a small problem like this can be addressed with a water change, but you didn't say he had been breathing hard!! Now that is a big piece of news. Has he been consistently breathing hard or just occassionally?
Maracyn2 would be a good choice for a bacterial infection. Do you have the QT ready to go?
 
mburnickas

mburnickas

Member
I did a 20% water change (WC) last week with RO/DI. He has been breathing hard for about 3 weeks. I even did a 5-gallon WC between my normal changes. So he has been consistently breathing hard. I posted a question about 1-month back about him and what he does. It seems like he likes to shake or rub on the glass and then darts off. He does this all the time but it is like 90% in the same spot or corner.
I would say ick but he looks fine.
My QT ready to go. It is at same salinity, temp and new water. Put some bio-balls in the water to get the bacteria going. I just hate moving him since it will put more stress on him.
Well there is my problem. I would say bacterial infection for the red spot but them I have the rubbing /shaking on glass & breathing hard. That I think is a parasite but what do I treat first?
Thank you for the help with this yellow tang. He thanks you too..so he can kive :)
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
Do you have Maracyn Two for Saltwaterfish? Go ahead and start that.
Its hard to make an opinion on this with so little physical symptoms and without a picture that shows a definative problem. I am wondering if the glass rubbing is not aggression! He sees his reflection in the glass and then tries to sword himself. Is that a possibility?
 
mburnickas

mburnickas

Member
Hi Beth- Thanks for the help just wanted to make sure I was doing this correctly since I have been out of the salt trade for about 10-years now. Plus you know a hell-of-a-lot more then me on this topic. You people on this board are the “salt water fish gods”!
My tang is in QT for the last 4 days along with my small non-eating clown. The clown was not doing much, not eating and not swimming etc. Now in the QT tank he is zooming all arould. Happy little fish! The tang is doing better also. The red spot have gone, fins are not all up (not as stresses?) and his breathing a little slower.
The only thing I am nervous about is the Ammonia levels, along with other parameters since the small Qt tank is only 10-gallon. I hate feeding them in the tank since over feeding will make the water got toxic fast.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top