Blue Hippo Tang looking funny

[jeremyg]

I’ve had this tang for 18 months. Eating well, growing nicely, and behaving normally. Over the last week or so we noticed it’s color beginning to change around its eyes and face mainly.

Any idea what’s wrong?

Here are some pictures and short video:

 

[fishski13]

it almost looks like a bacterial infection with fin rot

 

[vetteguy53081]

I’ve had this tang for 18 months. Eating well, growing nicely, and behaving normally. Over the last week or so we noticed it’s color beginning to change around its eyes and face mainly.

Any idea what’s wrong?

Here are some pictures and short video:

This is HLLE and likely stemming from a vitamin deficiency due to lack of proper food. ther causes are linite carbon excess use and even stray voltage. For diet, these fish are herbivores and at minimum, you want to feed them:
-Spirulina brine shrimp
- LRS Herbivore diet
- mysis shrimp
- small plankton
- Nori seaweed basted with garlic extract
- Hikari Marine cuisine
- Formula 2 flake and frozen
- Hikari veggie marine

Add selcon vitamins to the foods 2-3X per week and on alternating days, garlic extract for stamina and immunity health

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

MHLLE. Was just reading an article about this.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-06/sp/index.php

 

[jeremyg]

This is HLLE and likely stemming from a vitamin deficiency due to lack of proper food. ther causes are linite carbon excess use and even stray voltage. For diet, these fish are herbivores and at minimum, you want to feed them:
-Spirulina brine shrimp
- LRS Herbivore diet
- mysis shrimp
- small plankton
- Nori seaweed basted with garlic extract
- Hikari Marine cuisine
- Formula 2 flake and frozen
- Hikari veggie marine

Add selcon vitamins to the foods 2-3X per week and on alternating days, garlic extract for stamina and immunity health

All of my fish currently get the following.
- Hikari Marine A and S pellets
- Brine shrimp (freeze dried)
- Krill (frozen; soaked in Selcon)
- SF Bay cubes (frozen; soaked in Selcon):
-- Marine Cuisine
-- Emerald Entrée
-- Omega Brine Shrimp
-- Plankton


Schedule:
- Pellets daily
- Frozen foods 3 x week
- Freeze dried on most days without frozen 2-3 x week

I just got a veggie clip and Two Little Fishies Sea Veg-Purple Seaweed sheets coming tomorrow. These should be soaked in Selcon and fed daily?

Other than the seaweed, what is missing? Am I just not feeding enough of certain foods? It's worth noting that I have a second Hippo tang that doesn't appear to have HLLE. They eat the same foods/frequency.

Also, is the HLLE damage reversible?

 

[jeremyg]

it almost looks like a bacterial infection with fin rot

Btw, the fin damage (the same on both of my Blue Hippo Tangs, while only one has this other HLLE issue) looks like they are constantly being nipped. It never seems to get better, but I never really see it happen, so I am not certain who is doing it...

 

[vetteguy53081]

All of my fish currently get the following.
- Hikari Marine A and S pellets
- Brine shrimp (freeze dried)
- Krill (frozen; soaked in Selcon)
- SF Bay cubes (frozen; soaked in Selcon):
-- Marine Cuisine
-- Emerald Entrée
-- Omega Brine Shrimp
-- Plankton


Schedule:
- Pellets daily
- Frozen foods 3 x week
- Freeze dried on most days without frozen 2-3 x week

I just got a veggie clip and Two Little Fishies Sea Veg-Purple Seaweed sheets coming tomorrow. These should be soaked in Selcon and fed daily?

Other than the seaweed, what is missing? Am I just not feeding enough of certain foods? It's worth noting that I have a second Hippo tang that doesn't appear to have HLLE. They eat the same foods/frequency.

Also, is the HLLE damage reversible?

Reversible , yes. Full healing, seldom.

- LRS Herbivore diet
- mysis shrimp
- Nori seaweed basted with garlic extract
- Formula 2 flake and frozen

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Other than the seaweed, what is missing? Am I just not feeding enough of certain foods? It's worth noting that I have a second Hippo tang that doesn't appear to have HLLE. They eat the same foods/frequency.

Also, is the HLLE damage reversible?

In the article I linked, it said early damage can be reversed but for more advanced cases, while the fish may improve, the scars will remain.

And the missing nutritient might be vitamin c

 

[jeremyg]

And the missing nutritient might be vitamin c

Which food would provide that?

 

[jeremyg]

- Nori seaweed basted with garlic extract

Is the Two Little Fishies Sea Veg-Purple Seaweed different than Nori? Having a hard time figuring that out.

 

[jeremyg]

- mysis shrimp

Freeze dried or frozen?

 

[jeremyg]

delete

 

[jeremyg]

- Formula 2 flake and frozen

Is Hikari Marine A comparable, or do I really need both?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Freeze dried or frozen?

Frozen

 

[vetteguy53081]

Is Hikari Marine A comparable, or do I really need both?

Marine a is like dog food- wheat, yeast and other preservatives
Formula 2 good

 

[vetteguy53081]

Is the Two Little Fishies Sea Veg-Purple Seaweed different than Nori? Having a hard time figuring that out.

Nori isxseaweed and having 20 tangs, they prefer the red and green seaweed

 

[jeremyg]

Marine a is like dog food- wheat, yeast and other preservatives
Formula 2 good

ok, so replace Marine A/S with Formula 2. Is there any reason to use flakes as opposed to their pellet offerings?

 

[jeremyg]

-Spirulina brine shrimp
- LRS Herbivore diet
- mysis shrimp
- small plankton
- Nori seaweed basted with garlic extract
- Hikari Marine cuisine
- Formula 2 flake and frozen
- Hikari veggie marine

In addition to the 2 Blue Hippos I also have the following fish. Are there any foods I am missing?

Queen Angelfish
Passer Angelfish
Gray Angelfish (juvenile, still in QT)
Coral Beauty
Powder Brown Tang
Clownfish
Leopard Wrasse
Blue/Green Chromis
Bangaii Cardinal
Unknown Cardinalfish (still in QT)

 

[vetteguy53081]

I’m not big on dry food exce

ok, so replace Marine A/S with Formula 2. Is there any reason to use flakes as opposed to their pellet offerings?

as supplements through my feeder
Formula 2 frozen ideal but to your question, pellets sink right away and has to be chased before it hits the bottom whereas flake floats a few seconds and slowly drop but continues to move from current and when wet is easier for fish to consume