Tang Problems

hab2001

Member
I have a yellow tang that has not eaten in almost two weeks. It always sits in the corner and never really swims around anymore. I checked my water and my pH 8.0, Nitrate 0, Nitrite 0, Ammonia 0, Phosphate 0. It seems to be breathing really hard but there are no other signs of disease. My tank is stocked:
* 1 - blue tang
* 2 - clowns
* 1 - chromis
* 1 - bicolor angel
* inverts, cleaner shrimp
Any ideas or suggestion would greatly help I don't want to lose this fish.
 

sepulatian

Moderator
What sized tank is this? How long have you had the tang? Did you add anything new recently? What do you feed them?
 

hab2001

Member
I have a 90g FOWLR. I have had the tang for 1 1/2 years. The last thing I added was inverts about a month ago. I feed them Nutrafin morsels, Mysis, Formula 2, and algae sheets. My blue tang seems to chase all my fish to some degree including my yellow tang.
 

sepulatian

Moderator
The blue, I am sorry to say, will grow rather large for a 90. They can become aggressive toward their tank mates when confined to smaller areas. How much rock do you have? Is their adequate places for the other fish to hide from the blue?
 

hab2001

Member
I have about 80-90lbs of live rock and they have hiding places. The blue tang is about 4" and so is my yellow tang.
 

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by hab2001
http:///forum/post/2618273
I have about 80-90lbs of live rock and they have hiding places. The blue tang is about 4" and so is my yellow tang.
He has been in there for awhile with the other tang? Has this always been a problem, or did it just start? Is the yellow eating?
 

waterlogged

Member
From what I have read yellow tangs require higher o2 concentrations. Has anything changed recently like surface agitation,powerheads,filters,skimmers?
 

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by hab2001
http:///forum/post/2618523
There hasn't been any problems until now and the yellow tang isnt eating.
Do you have power heads in the tank? Is he not eating because he is being chased, or is he not interested? Does he have any redness on him? My gut says that one of them will have to leave. If you do have to choose, the blue is the one bothering everyone. These guys need room to swim. I understand that he is only four inches, but they are open water swimmers and they grow large. He will cause more problems. I am sure that you love this fish. They are awesome, but they have requirements. A large tank is one of them.
 

hab2001

Member
I have two powerheads in my tank. Maxijet 1200. As for the yellow tang it doesn't seem interested in eating at all. It just hangs out in the same corner all night and day. There isnt no red marks or any signs of ich at all. It just seems to be breathing hard. So do you really think the problem is the blue tang. When observing all the fish in the tank the yellow tang is the only one breathing really hard and hiding. The blue tang doesn't really seem to bother any of the other fish. Also, how large of a tank does the blue tang need?
 

waterlogged

Member
Originally Posted by hab2001
http:///forum/post/2618771
I have two powerheads in my tank. Maxijet 1200. As for the yellow tang it doesn't seem interested in eating at all. It just hangs out in the same corner all night and day. There isnt no red marks or any signs of ich at all. It just seems to be breathing hard. So do you really think the problem is the blue tang. When observing all the fish in the tank the yellow tang is the only one breathing really hard and hiding. The blue tang doesn't really seem to bother any of the other fish. Also, how large of a tank does the blue tang need?
A lot of people recommend 6 foot long tanks for tangs.
 

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by hab2001
http:///forum/post/2618234
I have a 90g FOWLR. I have had the tang for 1 1/2 years. The last thing I added was inverts about a month ago. I feed them Nutrafin morsels, Mysis, Formula 2, and algae sheets. My blue tang seems to chase all my fish to some degree including my yellow tang.

Originally Posted by hab2001

http:///forum/post/2618771
I have two powerheads in my tank. Maxijet 1200. As for the yellow tang it doesn't seem interested in eating at all. It just hangs out in the same corner all night and day. There isnt no red marks or any signs of ich at all. It just seems to be breathing hard. So do you really think the problem is the blue tang. When observing all the fish in the tank the yellow tang is the only one breathing really hard and hiding. The blue tang doesn't really seem to bother any of the other fish. Also, how large of a tank does the blue tang need?
The blue does sound like the problem here. I know that you really like this guy, but he is just not well suited in this tank for the yellow. He is maturing. They are both surgeonfish, they both have the blade on their tail. The tussling can get a LOT worse. If you have a cycled QT, then by all means, pull the Yellow out and see if he gets better. If there are no marks, nor signs of illness, then there may be more chasing going on than you see. Does the hippo hover over where the YT is hiding? What about at feeding time?
 

hab2001

Member
The hippo seems to hover around where the yellow tang is. The yellow tang has always had little nips taken out of its tail but I never saw who was doing it. I just hope that by removing the hippo it will solve the problem. I would hate to remove the hippo and the yellow tang still continues to have problems. My wife loves the hippo! Her favorite fish.
 

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by hab2001
http:///forum/post/2619355
The hippo seems to hover around where the yellow tang is. The yellow tang has always had little nips taken out of its tail but I never saw who was doing it. I just hope that by removing the hippo it will solve the problem. I would hate to remove the hippo and the yellow tang still continues to have problems. My wife loves the hippo! Her favorite fish.
I understand. They are awesome fish! It sounds like the hippo is keeping the yellow down though. The hippo will outgrow your tank. It seems like he already has. They need at least a six foot tank. They need room to swim and get aggressive if they don't have it.
 
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