To buy or not to buy...?

[w glint]

As you can get from the tread title, im at a bit of a tough choice:
My lfs rarely gets tangs, and i mean rarely, like one every few months, and the main saltwater 'expert' is quite knowlageable and i know her quite well- has never lead my wrong, knows what shes doing, ect. For the last 2 weeks ive had my eye on a small, juvi yellow tang- perfect size for what im looking for ( my new 90g that just finished its cycle ).
The only reason i havent scooped the little bugger up and started a QT for it is because of two things:
1. it has very slightly niped fins from some large damsels, and has since been moved to a different tank in the store.
2. a prominante white strip on both sides across the lateral area. ( is this normal, or HLLE?)
The thing eats like a hog' and is very active/ healthy/ ect. My question is, what are everyone's thought on if i should buy or not, or suffer and wait 2 more months to have the 'chance' to find another? Like i said, it looks great, minus the white line on the side. if i aquaire it and QT it, feed algea sheets soaked in selcon and mysis in garlic, do you think it could make a recovery?
Im going to be honest, im pretty much sold already, im just trying to think through my plans on how to 'nurse' it.
Opinions would be greatly welcome.

 

[njbillyv]

Sounds like your mind is made up but let me mention two concerns I would have.
First, I don't think a YT is a good first fish for any tank unless all the other fish you plan on getting are more aggressive. Second, I'd never buy a fish that already had HLLE. Although it's not contagious, it is a sign of poor tank conditions and possibly another disease.
I'd pass (or wait until he's completely healthy) but good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[mr. limpid]

Since you asked for opinions, 90gals is to small for tangs, maybe a Kola tang. Yellow tangs are very aggressive and territorial fish. Would need a picture to tell you if HLLE or go to Diseased form and look at Beth's pictures. I suggest you research this fish and make a decision based on your findings.

 

[w glint]

Thanks for the input guys!
Oddly enough, this will be one of the least aggresive fish that go into the tank for now, the other two inhabitants that will be going in there are my snowflake eel and my GSM clown, and the tank is small, only 2'' or so, so i want it to have a good hold on the tank before i put the clown in there and the SFE. As for research, i have done my share, so i think and as for tank size, i figure he will do well for a few years as he grows, and giving the addicting nature of the hobby, i will upgrade down the road, and if i dont in time, im more then prepaired to take measures for its well-being.

 

[deejeff442]

why dont your lfs get tangs? if they sell salt fish of any quality they should have them all the time.they are the "fish to have" in a reef
i have never had a yellow and never will.they are too aggressive .i have 4 tangs together now and wouldnt take the chance of adding a yellow
jmo of course

 

[rickross23]

Yellow tangs have a yellow scalpel on the sides of them they use for defense that is quite sharp. This may be what you are seeing.

 

[rickross23]

I meant white scalpel sorry

 

[w glint]

Well, so far so good. i got him home, dripped him into his tank for about 2 hours and now he has taken to hiding from me lol. He fancies his flowerpot-cave only been a couple hours and he's already scared me with a 'playing dead' routine when ever i come into the room to check on him, and his is out of the pot he will instantly flop to the bottom until i move out of his vision lol. I popped in some seaweed but im sure its too early for him to be eating, but its a hopefull venture ill update later on with more tang-like-news.
Also, the white strip i was refering too is just his later line colored up due to stress. hopefully it goes away soon as he becomes acclimated to his new surroundings.

 

[w glint]

Woo! He eats! and only after 12 hours in the QT tank! i pinned up some green seaweed on the glass and hes been pecking at it every 10 minuets or so. still very skidish and flies into his flowpot when i come close, but he eats non the less. Is red seaweed good too? i men, does it offer specific nutrients green does not? ( should i feed both or just green ), also, what are some other good foods for yellow tangs? i feed my other fish (6line. GSM, and blue damsel ) a combo of mysis, cyclop-eze, and marine flakes, each once a day, and then ocasionly some Form. 1 small pellets to supplement my CUC.

 

[rickross23]

Red is the same as green just not as common. Algae is tangs natural diet, so provide lots of that. I'd recommend to feed mysis out of that list. There are SOME decent flakes, pellets for SW but most are not good for SW tanks. Id recommend mysis and nori for feeding. As snakeblitz33 said, mysis is GOURMET!!!

 

[w glint]

sounds good! thanks for the advice Rick! i just wasnt sure, because from what i got from my LFS gal' is that they only feed red because thats all the store gives them for feeding the stock, so i was curious if there was a real big difference, and like i said, he went right for the green that i put in, so thats great i plan to have a sheet in every day for a few hours for him, and then once i get him into my 90 DT ill get him on a regular feeding schedual with the other fish. Nori is just the green seaweed, but you get it from like Asian Markets right? (seaweed for humans if im correct?) [best part is, half a block down from my dorm is our local Asian shop so i have high hopes they will have some
Also, is it a good idea to supplement the greens' with something like Selcon? i have a few bottles in the fridge left over from getting my Flake' Eel to eat, so i could drop some of that onto it too for good measure.

 

[rickross23]

Your lfs should sell nori...Asian markets probably do Idk never been in one haha. Definetly dip in selcon or garlic, this boosts fish' immune system and promotes eating (great for new fish). Nori is frozen seaweed.

 

[w glint]

yeah, they dont have any from what i have seen, but it might warent a closer inspection. im not too happy about spending more money then i need to for dried seaweed lol. But from what i have heard from around the web is that you can get nori from most asian grocery stores. Any whoo, lots of greens with selcon and good water quality? ( im planning on like 2.5g water changes perday to keep water quality pristine to keep stress levels low ).
What are some other tip and trick on keeping stress levels down in QT?

 

[rickross23]

Run lights like from 9am-7pm or somethin...not too much...this keeps down stress. Pvc piping is common in qt's. No LR though. HOB filter will do. Simple powerhead also. Don't overfeed. Keep fish in there for 6weeks minimum usually depending on fish species. Be PATIENT! Look for any signs of disease or weird movements, scratching, etc. If anything happens, pm me or post on forum.

 

[w glint]

for decor' i currently have a few small planter flowerpots in there and they make for the best little caves. i think i still have some fake plants and stuff from my freshwater days as a little kid so ill see if i can find thoes lol..

 

[njbillyv]

What type of lighting do you have for the QT? Any moonlights?
I run an 8 hour light cycle in my QT with moonlights, less lighting keeps stress down. Also, be careful to match temp and salinity when you do water changes, big swings will also cause stress.

 

[mr. limpid]

All fish are skid-dish when entering new home. He will do the same thing when you move him to your DT. It just takes time for them to adjust, all we need to do is have patience. Patience and not over reacting is key to this hobby. As for nori it good to feed both red and green, red has other nutrients that green does not and visa verse. I only found red at LFS or on-line, green can be found in local super market, sold as sushi wrap.

 

[w glint]

I currently have a 24'' Coralife dual bulb NO t5 fixture over a part of the tank, and the bulbs are about at that 1 year mark so they are relitivly dim. i could swap it out with my eel's tank light wich is a LED fixture, also dim and it does have moonlights on it.
Thats exactly what i was thinking about the red / green. thanks for confirming and yeah, hes been out swimming for a while now since i turned the lights on for the first time. ( im going to run a 7-8 hour light period [ noon to 7 or 8pm, i work 2nd shift, so its when im around]) im currently soaking some green with selcon and then i will moniter how much he eats.
Fingers crossed.

 

[mr. limpid]

Quote:
Originally Posted by W Glint http:///t/391056/to-buy-or-not-to-buy#post_3466450
I currently have a 24'' Coralife dual bulb NO t5 fixture over a part of the tank, and the bulbs are about at that 1 year mark so they are relitivly dim. i could swap it out with my eel's tank light wich is a LED fixture, also dim and it does have moonlights on it. You should relamp your lights because this could cause algae and cyno growth.
Thats exactly what i was thinking about the red / green. thanks for confirming and yeah, hes been out swimming for a while now since i turned the lights on for the first time. ( im going to run a 7-8 hour light period [ noon to 7 or 8pm, i work 2nd shift, so its when im around]) im currently soaking some green with selcon and then i will moniter how much he eats.
Fingers crossed.
Good luck

 

[w glint]

Well, good news first: The tang is alive, and doing quite well. i have him eating green and purple seaweed, all soaked in selcon. he becomes more active and brazen by each day and will now stay in the open water when i walk by! he still hides when my roommate walks by, but its progress lol. his white/ yellow stress lines are still present, but less and less by each day. His slightly niped fins also show great improvement, and so far: No ich! woo! but its only been a week so i wont count my chickens just yet
Bad news: hes a gross little pig when it comes to eating. i use a simple algae clip and he likes to 'saw' his way across the sheet at the very top and cut off the min part and watch it drift away in the current. so my typical routine is to come back from class and pull seaweed from the powerhead prefilter and reattach it multiple times in a day

any suggestions on how to prevent this?