Yellow Tang with Wide Mouth

[suzyc]

Please Help. I have had this yellow tang for 5 weeks now. He is doing great. Eating, swimming, etc. Just noticed his mouth is stuck opened. Is this normal? I never noticed it being this open before. I have a 75 gallon year old tank. 1 blue damsel, 1 striped damsel and 1 wrasse. All are 6 months to a year old and doing great. I do two - three week water changes and other than a red algae problem the readings are all good. My LFS recommended eurethromiacin (sp?) for the red algae and it does work. Would this be affecting the Tang. Thanks for any input as to what could be causeing this if it isn't normal.

 

[beth]

Using antibotics to eliminate algae is ALWAYS a bad idea. Stop doing this. Yes, it will kill off algae, as well as much of the bacteria upon which your aquaria depends for filtration. It also exposes your fish to medications for no good reason, cause they aren't sick. Hopefully, you do not have LS, LR or inverts in this tank, as none of these can take antibiotic treatment.
Stop this treatment immediately and do a large water change. Check all your water reading daily for ammonia spikes due the die off of algae and bacteria.
Look closely at the fish. This fish does tend to have a pouting lips look. Perhaps use a magnifying glass to take a good look at the mouth area. If the fish is acting and behaving normally otherwise, I would not worry about it...worry more about overall damage to your tank due to the antibiotics. However, do keep a close eye out on the fish.

 

[suzyc]

Thanks, I will stop using the antibiotic. I was just so happy to finally get rid of the red algae. I hate that stuff. I do still have quite a bit of green algae and some brown, so it hasn't totally disappeared. I will do a water change and readings. Thank you so much. And no, I do not have LS and LR. Stricktly a FO tank. I will be back if there are further problems. I appreciate the info.

 

[beth]

There are natural cleaners, snails, that will eat the algae. But it is good that you had a FO so there's min damage to your tank.

 

[suzyc]

Today I did a water change and took readings. Everything is in the 0's PH is normal. No alkaline and no ammonia, but the tang is still not looking good. His color and eyes are fine. He is just hovering next to a rock and not swimming like he usually does. He seems to be breathing harder than normal and his mouth is still in an open position. All the others are doing great. I am really concerned about the tang. I lost one do to my stupidity in putting him in a too new of a tank. I really hate to loose this one. Don't know what else to do for him. Could it be he is not eating enough of the green algae?

 

[beth]

Ok, before you said that the only problem was the open mouth, but now the fish obviously is showing signs of a bigger problem.
When is the last time you did a water change? Tangs need extra good water quality, water circulation and 02 in the water. Is this fish still eating? If so, then start feeding him food soaked in garlic.
Take a good look at this fish. You say he is breating rapidly. Do you notice if the gills are swollen or red? Are there any red areas or streaks on the fish's body or tail and fin areas? Use a magnifying glass to really look at the fish. He may have ick, but due to light solid color, you haven't noticed it. It may be time to start getting the hospital tank ready. Do a large water change first if you haven't done one resently.
Tangs are not easy fish to keep...they seem to be prone to every disease.

 

[suzyc]

I did a water change yesterday. All readings were good. Like I said, 0 ammonia, 0 alkaline, ph was 7.6, 0 nitrate and nitrite. Water temp is 78 -79. The tang is still eating and this morning is swimming around more. I have checked him for the red lines after reading all the posts about this disease. No sign at all of that. He is breathing a little better today. His mouth still seems open more than usual to me. Maybe it is my imagination!! He does not like me cleaning the tank. he hides. Not like the wrasse who tries to eat the sponge. Maybe he just got shocked? I guess I am just looking for reasons now. I guess I worry too much. To look at him he looks perfectly fine except for the mouth. Thank you for your help though. I will let you know if anything further develops. Should I give him some seaweed as part of his diet anyway? And would it hurt to soak it in garlic as a precaution to boost his immune system? I want to add another fish, but will wait and see how this guy does. You have been very helpful. Thank you

 

[beth]

What test kits are you using to check water? That pH is TOO LOW. If that is an accurate reading, you need to slowly, very slowly raise that pH to 8.2. This could very well be your problem.

 

[suzyc]

I am using the Marine Lab test kit. After doing a water change yesterday I did readings again. The PH 7.8, ammonia 0, akaline 0, nitrate 2.5, nitrite 0.1 My salinity is 1.020 and the water temp. 79. Is another water change the only way to get the ph back to normal? Do you think the ph dropped because of the antibiotic or adding the tang? Like I said, the two damsels are a year old and the wrasse is 6 - 7 months old. The three have had no problems. I thought the tank was established enough for a tang. I am begining to think he will be the last one I get. Got the tank for Christmas last year and am an amateure at this. Can you tell? Oh by the way, I have a Fluval 404 filter and changed the charcoal yesterday too.

 

[dshurett]

There are a number of things you can do to raise your PH. One of them is to add an alk/ph buffer like Kent's dKH or one from any of the other vendors. I mention Kent's because it is the one that I use from time to time. I understand that you could also use baking soda, but I cannot recommend it as I do not have any experience using it.
I am also somewhat concerned that your nitrite is not 0. You might test that again just to be sure.
Oh, and what do you feed your tang?

 

[suzyc]

I am feeding him the frozen shrimp and a frozen mixture of shrimp, scallop, etc. He also will eat flake foods and he does eat the green algae in the tank. My LFS suggested I wait out this mini cycle she feels my tank is going through before trying to feed him seaweed or fresh vegetables. I will take readings tomorrow and hope there is an improvement in the ph. There is a buffer that comes with the test kit but I am afraid to put anything in. He is eating fine and swimming fine except his mouth is still open. For some reason my blue damsel has been swimming in jerking motions for a week now and the striped one keeps chasing it. These fish have been together for a year with no problem. The Wrasse is fine. I did catch the Tang rubbing on the rocks three days ago but it was a one time thing and I see no signs of flukes or ick. None at all. It is a mystery to me what is happening. IF these guys don't survive this, it is back to fresh water fish for me. I am finding out this is a rich mans hobby and that I am not.