sick/dying fish

[topherice18]

I have a 55 gallon fish only tank and all of my fish (couple damsels and a yellow tang) are doing excellent, they are eating well and dont appear to be stressed out at all. I have never seen any fish bother this sick yellow tang and he has been eating well also. I checked my water and the nitrates are a bit high. and my tap water is high in nitrates as well so partial water change doesnt appear to do much good. I just woke up and he is on the bottom laying flat. with no signs of any sickness that i can tell... anyone have any ideas.... I will be happy to post more info upon request

 

[patandlace]

How high is a bit high. I would switch to RO water if that is the case. How long have you had the yellow tang? Was it acclimated properly? What are all your other tank readings?

 

[topherice18]

I have been lookin into RO but I dont have a space faucet to use for it because I live in an apartment complex, I just have my kitchen and bathroom sink. The ammonia was 0 so is the nitrites and the ph is 8.2 the temp 78 and thats all I have test kits for... and I think it read between 20-40. is there any RO units that dont have to be hooked up to a water supply all the time?

 

[cwgibson]

test all your parameters, a yellow tang really shouldnt be in a 55g tank to begin with. how old is this tank?

 

[cwgibson]

Originally Posted by topherice18
I have been lookin into RO but I dont have a space faucet to use for it because I live in an apartment complex, I just have my kitchen and bathroom sink. The ammonia was 0 so is the nitrites and the ph is 8.2 the temp 78 and thats all I have test kits for... and I think it read between 20-40. is there any RO units that dont have to be hooked up to a water supply all the time?
yes corallife makes a nice one that i use.

 

[topherice18]

where can I get a corallife ro unit

 

[topherice18]

Originally Posted by cwgibson
test all your parameters, a yellow tang really shouldnt be in a 55g tank to begin with. how old is this tank?
what other parameters do I test, Im still fairly new at this

 

[cwgibson]

Originally Posted by topherice18
what other parameters do I test, Im still fairly new at this
sorry, my post came in after the other guy. you can get them online,just google it. how old is your tank,what type of filtration?

 

[topherice18]

Originally Posted by cwgibson
sorry, my post came in after the other guy. you can get them online,just google it. how old is your tank,what type of filtration?
I've had the tank setup for about 8 months now. and other than some red slime algea I have had very good fortune as far as i can tell. I use overflow setup I got at a LFS. I got new powerheads and changed the whole flow of the tank and Im wondering if maybe that has something do with my poor practilly dead tang

 

[sepulatian]

Do you have any pictures of the tang? What has he been eating. A nitrate reading of 20-40 is not ideal, but not lethal either. You should definately get another water source if your tap is reading nitrates. How much nitrate is the tap water reading? You can go to Wallmart and get bottled RO water for about .35-.40 a gallon if you don't have a place for a unit in your apartment.

 

[hot883]

Did you feed the tang seaweed or nori sheets? Did you feed brine?
IMHO, it died or is dying because it is a new setup and a SMALL tank for a tang. But nobody listens to that story until they have killed a tang and wonder why!

 

[topherice18]

i have just been feeding it Sally's frozen marine cuisine and some marine flake. I dont have pictures yet but will post them soon. and I havent checked my water source yet... i will be doin that soon and will update as soon as test is complete

 

[cymbal67]

something other than it being new (8 months isnt new) or a 55g is doing this. too many people have tangs in 55g with no issues, for that to be it.
there is no telling what it is yet, but its not simply the age or size of tank, thats for sure.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by cymbal67
something other than it being new (8 months isnt new) or a 55g is doing this. too many people have tangs in 55g with no issues, for that to be it.
there is no telling what it is yet, but its not simply the age or size of tank, thats for sure.
No actually, that is not for sure. The age of a system means a great deal with tangs because they are natural grazers and graze all day long in the wild. If the system is new there will not be enough growth. Also, new systems tend to have fluctuations, and yes 8 months is still new. The size definately matters because these are very active swimmers. The diet is a huge factor here. He needs way more variety. The Nori sheets as hot883 suggested, Formula 2 frozen for herbivores, Jullian sprugs sea veggies. You should also be giving him vitamines.

 

[hot883]

Originally Posted by sepulatian
No actually, that is not for sure. The age of a system means a great deal with tangs because they are natural grazers and graze all day long in the wild. If the system is new there will not be enough growth. Also, new systems tend to have fluctuations, and yes 8 months is still new. The size definately matters because these are very active swimmers. The diet is a huge factor here. He needs way more variety. The Nori sheets as hot883 suggested, Formula 2 frozen for herbivores, Jullian sprugs sea veggies. You should also be giving him vitamines.

And just the fact that is a realitive new tank and not being properly fed, cramped space etc. I rest my case.