Emergency!!!

[TenWings5007130]

I just got this powder brown tang today from divers din and ever since I put him in he's been breathing really heavily and leaning to one side and I'm worried he's sick, does anyone know??

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

#fishmedic

I'd suggest reading through the link below (particularly the "Aquarium Parameters," "Water quality," and "In-depth Information" sections) to figure out what info you can share here with the #fishmedic to get the best diagnosis and treatment advice possible:

Some Helpful Hints When Posting or Responding to Threads in the Fish Disease Treatment and Diagnosis Section

Aquarium Fish Disease Problem Solving Determining the best course of action for a problem with your aquarium can be a difficult task. Even advanced aquarists will often need to seek the help of others for complicated or unique issues. Our intent here on Reef 2 Reef is to offer expert advice...

www.reef2reef.com

Also, for future reference with these sorts of issues, posting in the forum linked below can get you help faster:

Fish Disease Treatment and Diagnosis

A forum for discussing treatment and diagnosing saltwater reef fish.

www.reef2reef.com

 

[eliaslikesfish]

unfortunately a lot of people can’t see that video format, try uploading it to youtube then posting it here. in the mean time, what are your current parameters? was he breathing heavy before you put him in your tank? has he been quarantined?

 

[vetteguy53081]

I just got this powder brown tang today from divers din and ever since I put him in he's been breathing really heavily and leaning to one side and I'm worried he's sick, does anyone know??

This fish is moribund and question is, How did you acclimate it and for how long?
Was this from California or WI facility?
Moribund is a point where a fish is struggling and may or may not eat normal in its state but I have seen Few fish bounce back. You can lower the white intensity a little and add aeration via air stone to relax it.

 

[TenWings5007130]

unfortunately a lot of people can’t see that video format, try uploading it to youtube then posting it here. in the mean time, what are your current parameters? was he breathing heavy before you put him in your tank? has he been quarantined?

I got him from the live aquaria divers din and they are quarantined there and he was breathing heavily when I got him, my temperature is 78.9 and salinity is 1.026 and my ph is about 8.0

 

[TenWings5007130]

This fish is moribund and question is, How did you acclimate it and for how long?
Was this from California or WI facility?
Moribund is a point where a fish is struggling and may or may not eat normal in its state but I have seen Few fish bounce back. You can lower the white intensity a little and add aeration via air stone to relax it.

I acclimated it for about an hour to an hour and half and I dripped tubes it and it was from WI

 

[dennis romano]

Did you notify Divers Den?

 

[Jekyl]

I acclimated it for about an hour to an hour and half and I dripped tubes it and it was from WI

Depending on shipping time, once the water is exposed to air the ammonia can skyrocket. In these cases drip acclimation can actually be bad.

 

[TenWings5007130]

Did you notify Divers Den?

I haven't, how would I notify them and do they still do the guarantee?

 

[TenWings5007130]

Depending on shipping time, once the water is exposed to air the ammonia can skyrocket. In these cases drip acclimation can actually be bad.

It was 2 days, if this happens again how should I acclimate

 

[twentyleagues]

It was 2 days, if this happens again how should I acclimate

Sounds not good but temp acclimate and drop into tank or qt if you do that. The parameter change is less issue than ammonia poisoning.

 

[Cthulukelele]

Long shipment = keep bag closed and temp acclimate then dump. Much less risk to fish

 

[vetteguy53081]

I acclimated it for about an hour to an hour and half and I dripped tubes it and it was from WI

Im not a fan of drip method but many do well with method. Was water cold when it arrived?
Additionally, did you check and match salinity of bag with that of intended tank?
As for Quarantine, I would Not rely on their QT but rather assume the fish has something and do even a 14 day QT on your own, Regarding acclimation again, I should mention reason it's important is fish in shipped bags produce carbon dioxide and ammonia which lowers the pH of the water in the bag, and in turn makes the ammonia toxic to the fish. When you acclimate them, if not done just right, you drive off the carbon dioxide faster than you are diluting the ammonia which then raises the pH of the water in the bag, and in turn makes the residual ammonia very toxic to the fish.
Sometimes, the fish will die right in the bag

 

[TenWings5007130]

Im not a fan of drip method but many do well with method. Was water cold when it arrived?
Additionally, did you check and match salinity of bag with that of intended tank?
As for Quarantine, I would Not rely on their QT but rather assume the fish has something and do even a 14 day QT on your own, Regarding acclimation again, I should mention reason it's important is fish in shipped bags produce carbon dioxide and ammonia which lowers the pH of the water in the bag, and in turn makes the ammonia toxic to the fish. When you acclimate them, if not done just right, you drive off the carbon dioxide faster than you are diluting the ammonia which then raises the pH of the water in the bag, and in turn makes the residual ammonia very toxic to the fish.
Sometimes, the fish will die right in the bag

The water wasn't cold it was probably about 75ish and I wish I wasn't just now learning about the ammonia with drip acclimation. Now that the lights are off he's up so I'm hoping he'll be ok tomorrow

 

[brandon429]

What was the specific gravity of the -shipping water- in the bag

 

[vetteguy53081]

Iv

The water wasn't cold it was probably about 75ish and I wish I wasn't just now learning about the ammonia with drip acclimation. Now that the lights are off he's up so I'm hoping he'll be ok tomorrow

Ive seen fish arrive and in this state and next morning just fine. In the future keep what was mentioned in mind and assure the salinity of bag (which I prefer transferred to a clean container) is equal to the tank Prior to release

 

[Leon821019218]

What comes to mind, seeing him so wobbly and going upside down is a swim blatter problem. I believe that bad water quality (which the water in the bag might was?) and some added stress could cause this problem. I had a Malawi cichlid once that had swim blatter issues and I fixed him by letting him swim in a very shallow plexiglass container so that he didn't had to do so much effort to stay upright. Not saying this is what the tang has but to me it sure looks like it... Hope he pulls through! Powder browns are beautiful!

 

[TenWings5007130]

What was the specific gravity of the -shipping water- in the bag

It was 1.024 - 1.025

 

[TenWings5007130]

What comes to mind, seeing him so wobbly and going upside down is a swim blatter problem. I believe that bad water quality (which the water in the bag might was?) and some added stress could cause this problem. I had a Malawi cichlid once that had swim blatter issues and I fixed him by letting him swim in a very shallow plexiglass container so that he didn't had to do so much effort to stay upright. Not saying this is what the tang has but to me it sure looks like it... Hope he pulls through! Powder browns are beautiful!

The water in the bag was pretty bad

 

[Leon821019218]

The water in the bag was pretty bad

Hopefully it is just that, he swam in dirty, poor quality water and now that he is a tank with well aerated water he will get better over time, like Vetteguy said. And the only thing the tang has is a bad hangover in a few hours