sailfin tang on the verge of death

[hlp]

Please help us! Our tank has been set up for about 2 months. pH is 8.2, nitrite, nitrate, and ammonia are all 0. The temp is 78 and the salinity is 1.024. We bought a sailfin two weeks ago and he has been fine until Sunday afternoon. He stopped eating and pretty much stopped swimming. His breathing appears to be labored and is now mostly laying around near the bottom. He has been eating algae from the tank and been offered green marine algae sheets but he didn't seem interested. What should we do? Is it too late to save him? Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

[elfdoctors]

Do you see anything else wrong with the tang (e.g. color, spots, swellings)? Are there any other inhabitants? If so, how are they doing?
Your tank is still quite young (and smallish) to have a sailfin. They demand pristine water quality. Your most important waste products are okay but many other waste products associated with the cycle will still be abnormal. You should probably start with a relatively large (20%) water change using aged water.
Another possibility is cyanide poisoning. Many fish are poisoned on the reef to enable capture and can die within a short time after shipment. Unfortunately, there is no good treatment for this problem.
Welcome to the Boards!

 

[hlp]

Thank you for your help. Unfortunately he did not make it. I could see no other visible signs of sickness. We also have some damsels, a pair of clowns, snails, crabs, and shrimp. Everyone else seems to be doing fine.

 

[elfdoctors]

Sorry to hear about your loss.
I would recommend waiting another month or two to allow your water chemistries to stabilize before trying another tang. If you buy fish from a LFS, try to make sure it is vigorous and eating.
A QT is also a good idea. Tangs are notorious for bringing ich into a tank.