Tang in qt

[66chuck]

I've had a yellow tang in qt for about 3 weeks due to popeye. His eye is back to normal and he is swimming - though rather unenthusiastically. He will not eat though. He may be pecking at a algae sheet, but wont touch any prepared foods - even with garlic. Don't know what to do.

 

[beth]

Why don't you acclimate him back to the display tank, if he's ok now? How did you treat?

 

[66chuck]

Didn't use any medicine, just isolated. Can't put him back into dt because there is another yellow tang in there. I've had the two together for 2 years without any problems (got them from a friend, who had them together), but when the larger of the two developed popeye, the smaller one beat the daylights out of him. The larger one hid in a cave which allowed the other to take over the tank. I can't put the larger one back into the dt in his condition.

 

[beth]

What condition? Didn't you say he was cured up?
What do you plan to do if you're not going to return him to the display?

 

[66chuck]

I'm afraid if I put him back into the dt, the other tang will beat him to death. They were originally put in as equals and they got along fine. Once the larger one got weak, the smaller one turned on him and beat him savagely. The smaller one now dominates the tank. So, I am going to have to give one of them to the lfs store, but I don't want to give them a fish that is not eating and I don't want to give away the other fish and keep one that is not eating. I want to make sure he is healthy and will be able to take the shock of being transferred to the lfs.

 

[sepulatian]

What have you been trying to feed him? Was he eating before and then stopped or has it been difficult to get him to eat since you put him into the qt?

 

[66chuck]

He was eating fine in the dt prior to getting beat-up. He would eat algae strips and frozen blends and/or mysis. He pretty much stopped eating in the qt. If he does eat, it is to nibble on an algae strip.
I've tried various frozen foods soaked in garlic.

 

[sepulatian]

What size is the qt tank? He may just not like it in there if it is small. How old is the rock in the display? If it is mature then put a few pieces in there for him to graze on. I kept my lion in QT for two months. I knew he was clean of parasites, but he was giving me a hard time eating. He was all of an inch, maybe an inch and a half. I had to 'play' with his food to get him to eat. Finaly I decided to add him to the display. He is a pig now. He always begs for food and swims in front of 'Sir' Quizzy to get the big piece of food. He never ate like that in the QT, and it was a 15L with excellent water flow and parameters. Certain fish just get tired of the QT and want a more natural environment. I would personally try him back in the DT. I would actualy catch the other YT and acclimate him into the QT for a week or two so that the larger one can regain his alpha status in the tank. That is what I would do. It is, of course, up to you though.