Yellow Tang

[tattooedlife]

My Yellow Tang has tan colored spots behind his eyes, worst on one side than the other. What could this be? He seems to be doing ok, but this still worries me. He's a hardy eater, and he loves lettuce. I allow him to nibble on a leave every day. Is this too much?
Also my tank is run by a Skilter and Ug filter.......I know this is not enough, what should be my next upgrade, Canister filter or just a good Skimmer, which should I git first. Can't really afford a wet/dry, not yet.....Please help!!!

 

[kris]

Sorry, I can't say for sure about the spots. I guess if he's doing ok otherwise I would leave him alone. As far as the lettuce just make sure you're removing whatever isn't eaten everyday, 'cause alot of leftovers will pollute your tank in a hurry. If you've just got fish, do the canister next (fluval 304 or 404) if you've got a reef thing going I'd do the skimmer first.

 

[tattooedlife]

Originally posted by Kris:
Sorry, I can't say for sure about the spots. I guess if he's doing ok otherwise I would leave him alone. As far as the lettuce just make sure you're removing whatever isn't eaten everyday, 'cause alot of leftovers will pollute your tank in a hurry. If you've just got fish, do the canister next (fluval 304 or 404) if you've got a reef thing going I'd do the skimmer first.
If I git a Skimmer, should I run my Skilter 250 as just a power filter or leave it skimming, as it is now?

 

[beth]

I wasn't going to say anything about the brownish spots on the tang, since I really don't know what it is, but I will say what I observed once.
Yellow tang is actually my favorite fish. When I was waiting for my fav pet shop to bring one in, a shipment of yellows came in however, they all had these brownish spots on them, right behind the eyes or head area. I thought it was strange, but they all looked healthy and vigorous. I didn't get these tangs because I wanted a solid yellow, and the owner of the store who is the fish expert wasn't in that week, so I never got a chance to ask him about it. I have a feeling that there was really nothing wrong with these fish, though, and that perhaps this was just a variation of these species, or, perhaps, some kind of maturation or sexual feature. I don't know. If I remember, the next time I get a chance to talk to the shop owner, I will ask him about it. The spots actually just looked like brownish, or tanish faded area of the skin. I notice that my own tang also gets this dicoloration when the lights in the tank go out! I see this discoloration on him 1st thing in the morning before he's up and about and its sitll a bit dim in the house. As long as your fish is healthy and otherwise happy, don't worry....but do keep an eye on it. And let me know if you find out anything!

 

[youbetyourwrasse]

Hi Tattooed.
Sounds like it could be head and lateral line erosion (HLLE). HLLE is characterized by degeneration of tissue around the eyes and lateral line (which starts behind the eyes) and the formation of scar tissue.
It is prevalent in mainly herbivorous fish after introduction into the aquarium. It has been linked to a vitamin C deficiency. HLLE can be prevented and corrected by feeding foods high in vitamin C, fresh or frozen foods with marine algae and spirulina, dried seaweed, broccoli, squash,spinach, and romaine. Consider no diet for these fish complete without some form of marine algae. Vitamin supplements (Kent Zoe) can augment the diet. Just a thought.
Darlene.

 

[fishtanker]