Strange raised bump on Yellow tang

[finding nemo]

A few days ago, we purchased a Yellow tang to add to our tank. He appeared fine until this morning. He has a strange hook shaped bump on his left side. His top fin also seems to be a darker yellow than the rest of him. I was wondering if anyone knew what this might be?
Background- we have a 40 gal tank, established with a Percula clown, carpet anemone, Niger Trigger, 2 turbo snails,1 Cleaner shrimp and 1 small catfish. All water tests came back fine. Temp is at 78 degrees. I feed veggie flakes and brine shrimp. There is also a seaweed clip in the tank

 

[beth]

Can you post a digital picture of the problem?

 

[finding nemo]

Unfortunately, it has now gotten worse. He is turning orange and breathing heavy on his side. His dorsel fin is torn with a white spot on it. The "bump' now is a brown spot, possibly blood under the skin. I don't think he will survive the evening.
thanks anyway

 

[beth]

Ok, it sounds like a bacterial infection. Unless you have a cycled QT, you can't treat with antibiotics.
Try doing a large water change using aged, well mixed salt water.

 

[finding nemo]

Just one question. Now that my tang has died, do I need to do anything to protect my other fish?

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by Finding Nemo
Just one question. Now that my tang has died, do I need to do anything to protect my other fish?
Are you sure he didn't bang off of the rocks in such a small tank?

 

[xdave]

This is a common problem when lfs guys feed them brine shrimp to keep them looking plump. This often results in internal parasites and bacterial infections.

 

[sepulatian]

a YT in a 40 with a trigger and gets a raised bump. I realy, honestly don't think it is anything internal. He more than likely injured himself trying to actively swim. They also get stressed out very quickly in confined tanks. The two would cause his death.

 

[beth]

Please post info about your tank, water readings, fish in tank, etc.
This kinda thing usually results from a poor tank environment.

 

[finding nemo]

I have a 40 gal rectangle tank. It has been established for about 2 1/2 months. Readings are;Nitrate 40ppm, Nitrite 0 ppm,Ammonia 0ppm,PH 8.2, temp has been a steady 78 degrees, salt is 1.22. I test the water once a week. Readings have remained steady.
I have a Niger trigger (small) a Percula Clown, Carpet Anemone, a cardinal, 1 cleaner shrimp, 2 Turbo snails and 3 cone snails. And maybe 20 lbs live rock. My tang was a small one, only 2 inches in size. When he got too big for the tank, I would have given him to my son who has a 120g or gotten a bigger tank myself. Yes, he might have bumped into something. I don't know. I didn't see him ever darting around the tank. He always swam quite leisurely. But he might have injured himself.

 

[beth]

Nemo, your tank is not aged enough to support some fish and, as others have said, tangs and triggers are not appropriate for a tank so small. This is not a criticism, just helpful advise.
Any nitrate in a marine tank is a bad thing, and always a terrible thing for tanks that have tangs. Why are you having problems with your nitrates? What are your filters, substrate?

 

[finding nemo]

Originally Posted by Beth
Nemo, your tank is not aged enough to support some fish and, as others have said, tangs and triggers are not appropriate for a tank so small. This is not a criticism, just helpful advise.
Any nitrate in a marine tank is a bad thing, and always a terrible thing for tanks that have tangs. Why are you having problems with your nitrates? What are your filters, substrate?
Thanks Beth for the advice. I guess I also should have mentioned that when I started my tank, my son provided all of the initial water at set up. He got it from his tank, which has been running for 2 yrs. He is very experienced at Saltwater fish, so I know this first water was free of parasites and was fully cycled. My fault for not mentioning that.
From what I have read and been told, Nitrates are not bad, Nitrites are bad. My Nitrites are 0. Even the saltwater test kit and my local FS tells me this.
I have crushed rock and coral substrate. My son gave me the filteration system so I don't know what exactly its called but its a dual filter Penquin. I also have a powerhead.

 

[beth]

Fish bring ich with them from nature. This is very common. You can just about always count on new fish having ich. It is the rule, more than the exception.
The crushed coral is the reason for your high nitrates. Unfortunately, there is no way to address this, except to start over. I would advise, no angelfish, or tangs in this tank. Whatever your read about nitrates is incorrect. Nitrates signal that your system is not removing wastes adequately. If you had a good system that was handling wastes adequately, and many do, your nitrates would be zero, or just trace. at 40, it is high, and, in my opinion, a bad sign for your tank.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by Beth
Fish bring ich with them from nature. This is very common. You can just about always count on new fish having ich. It is the rule, more than the exception.
The crushed coral is the reason for your high nitrates. Unfortunately, there is no way to address this, except to start over. I would advise, no angelfish, or tangs in this tank. Whatever your read about nitrates is incorrect. Nitrates signal that your system is not removing wastes adequately. If you had a good system that was handling wastes adequately, and many do, your nitrates would be zero, or just trace. at 40, it is high, and, in my opinion, a bad sign for your tank.
Actually, I am going to disagree with Beth. You do not have to scrap your entire system. Nitrates can be removed via water changes. Your trates arn't out of control. I strongly recomend that you get rid of the CC. Start scooping out some with each water change, This is not a disaster situation. Your tank can thrive beautifully with your current stock. There are just a couple of things that need to be corrected.

 

[finding nemo]

Thanks very much for your advice.