Yellow tang swimming acting weird

[ghola5]

My yellow tang is 3 years old and I have never had this problem before. The front of his chest has been pinched in for about a week and a half and he is swimming funny. When he swims up he acts like he is top heavy and waddles as he swims upwards and a little when he swims straight. A friend of mine said he seems to have a parasite inside him and to get meds for him. I also called my lfs and they said its because he isnt being feed enough veggie sheets. I doubled up on the veggie sheets and he has been eating them and the pinch seems to be going away but not the weird swimming so much. He has been on the med now for two days but im not seeing a really big improvement yet. WHat does it sound like? has anyone had this happen with their tangs? The med is metro something im pretty sure and its an antibiotic . Let me know what you think.

 

[fishygurl]

maybe it has a lot of air bubbles inside of it?

lol i have no idea sorry...

 

[mr.clownfish]

its some kind of disease. i dont think its because u dont feed him but if its getting better then keep doing what ur doing. maybe improving ur parameters will help him a little. i had a yellow tang that died. i left on vacation for 2 days and when i came back i found him dead. he looked like he lost more than 60% of his weight. like skin and bones. it was nasty

 

[ghola5]

I feed him a second time yesterday evening and he didnt seem to want to really eat. I dont know if he is feeling weird from the med or what but I hope he wont stop eating.

 

[mx#28]

What and how often do you feed the fish?

 

[ghola5]

I feed only once to twice a day. I feed frozen brine and 2 different dry foods. Veggie sheets and home made shrimp and garlic mixture. I switch off from day to day what I feed.

 

[mx#28]

Originally Posted by ghola5
http:///forum/post/2618447
I feed only once to twice a day. I feed frozen brine and 2 different dry foods. Veggie sheets and home made shrimp and garlic mixture. I switch off from day to day what I feed.
In my opinion, that amount of food is not optimal for general health but should not lead to this severe starvation. It could very well be that the tang has some internal parasite like Cestodes (tape worms), etc. You should post in the Disease section where you'll get good diagnosis and help.

 

[ghola5]

what kind of fish do you have and what do you feed your fish? what else should I be feeding?

 

[mx#28]

Originally Posted by ghola5
http:///forum/post/2618718
what kind of fish do you have and what do you feed your fish? what else should I be feeding?
I have a number of tanks and quite a few fish, but here's a quick list:
Yellow Tang
Purple Tang
Squarespot Anthias
Volitan Lions
Radiata Lionfish
Pearscale Butterflies
Copperbanded Butterfly
Porcupine Puffer
Lemonpeel Angel
Various clowns and damsels
Sixline wrasse
Numerous gobies/dragonettes
Various blennies
More...
Either way, the heart of this was to be about feeding, so...
...I'm an advocate of numerous (3 or 4 or more) small feedings throughout the day. Many fish can eek by with just one feeding per day or less (others simply can't live too long without more food), but even the majority of those fish will be healthier with more feedings. Here's a comparisson - Humans can live with one meal a day or less, too, but those people wouldn't have as high an immune system, etc, etc.
I'm also an advocate of variety with food. I feed mysis shrimp, emerald entree, brine shrimp, blood worms, caulerpa, algea sheets, as well as raw shrimp, clam, squid, scallop, mussels, oysters, etc.
I still reccommend you post in the disease section. Beth, in particular, will assist you if you're dealing with an internal parasite or whatnot. I've had a yellow tang go over 15 years, so yours has the potential for many more years, yet.

 

[tizzo]

Tangs get fed multiple times a day in the sense that they graze all day.
I know you said metro something, but is there any chance it was Pepso something?

 

[tizzo]

I won't wait for your answer cause I'm going to bed, but if it is that food, be careful cause it is copper based.
I did a lot of research on the product even called the company and when I asked if it had copper the girl who answered says, "Copper? ummmmm, I don't think so... I'm not really sure"

But it does. So if you are feeding that in your DT, I would try to remove and feed in a QT if I were you.
If it's not pepso, then disregard the whole post.

 

[ghola5]

Yea you have alot more fish then I do. In my 120 gallon I only have 6 fish in there. I used to feed 3 plus times a day but after reading up on it and hearing from others I thought it wasn't good to feed more then 2 times a day. I have heard some people even say they feed there fish ever other day. I will start to feed more ofter in smaller amounts though and see if it helps. My tang was at least 3 years old when I got him and I have had him for 3 years and have never had this problem before. He eats a ton and is a pig and always gets the most when its feeding time. My fish I have found to be picky to though. They will not eat mysis shrimp, blood worms or clams, they take it in and spit it out so I stopped buying it. I will try some of the other things that you feed yours though. No im not using the P stuff that was mentioned in the other post. Im using metronidazole .

 

[mx#28]

Originally Posted by ghola5
http:///forum/post/2620027
Yea you have alot more fish then I do.
Of course, I have quite a few tanks, too. It would not work too well to have a 12" Lionfish with a 1.5" shrimp goby.

In my 120 gallon I only have 6 fish in there. I used to feed 3 plus times a day but after reading up on it and hearing from others I thought it wasn't good to feed more then 2 times a day. I have heard some people even say they feed there fish ever other day.
Large predators like lionfish, eels, frogfish, etc can be harmed by frequesnt feedings. These fish are built to take in large prey items and then digest them for a few days. Most all the reef fishes, though, feed nearly all day long in the ocean. Some people feed even these types of fish less often but I've found the following things to be great benefits of more frequent feedings:
1. Healthier fish. I'm a fairly advanced aquarist and I've keep fish that many deem as difficult. I have very good survival rates and fish that live a long time. I believe frequent feedings of good foods are a big reason for this.
2. Less aggression. Fish that are fed often compete much less because they don't have as much need to do so.
3. Color. Fish that are feed often with a large variety of quality foods are noticiably more beautiful than those that aren't.
4. Water quality. Belive it or not, I have much less issue with nitrates, etc with more frequent smaller feedings. Small amounts of food won't ever hit the bottome of the tank - with one mass feeding, it probably will.
I will start to feed more ofter in smaller amounts though and see if it helps. My tang was at least 3 years old when I got him and I have had him for 3 years and have never had this problem before. He eats a ton and is a pig and always gets the most when its feeding time. My fish I have found to be picky to though. They will not eat mysis shrimp, blood worms or clams, they take it in and spit it out so I stopped buying it.
The trick is to mix a small amount of the new food into the regular food and then slowly increase the percentage. Works like a charm.
I will try some of the other things that you feed yours though. No im not using the P stuff that was mentioned in the other post. Im using metronidazole .
Do consult one the members here who is more familar with fish disease.
.