Help! Blue Tang decided to quit eating.

WRB

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Blue tang has been in my 120Dt for months without ant issues. Entire crew are like a band of brothers. He's been eating from day one basically anything that was put in the tank. He looks fine, color,breathing,stomach,fins etc. He's active but has decided to quit eating. Nothing new introduced into the tank. I've never in 3 decades had a Tang not eat. UGH!
Fish only tank. Any thoughts.
 

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Hmm. If it looks fine maybe try garlic? I used to have FOWLR and tangs. Garlic entices them or just leave it for a bit to see if its a disease or just acting finicky
 
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I found a previous thread on garlic and it had a DIY fresh Garlic Food Supplement, made some up.
All the rest of my fish loved it but the Blue Tang just swam thru it and wandered back to his garage in a lava rock. :(
 
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I'll do my best to snag a shot when he makes a cameo Saturday.
 

Jay Hemdal

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I'll do my best to snag a shot when he makes a cameo Saturday.
Is the tang breathing faster than normal? The trouble is that non-feeding (anorexia) is just a general symptom, and not a sign of any specific disease.

Here is a link to an article I wrote on the topic of fish anorexia:



Jay
 
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Great article. Thank You.
I attempted to snap a pic but he's to fast for my camera gear.
He was out a couple times this a.m, made is normal rounds of the tank end to end and swam thru veggie flake food he would have devoured only a few days ago.
Ignores the Nori on the clip which he never did before.
His colors are very good, no pinched belly and no sign of rapid breathing. His tanks mates are thriving and I've never seen any of them harass him.
Whats frustrating is, besides the sudden decision to quit eating he looks and acts like like Blues I've had in the past.

Water seems good for what I can test for, No corals or live rock.
Temp 78
Salinity 1.021
Ammonia not detectable
Nitrite not detectable
Nitrate 5? ppm + or -

Tankmates:
Salfin
Foxface
Juv. Koran
Blue Chin Trigger
Pearlscale
Naso



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How many feedings do you do daily, and how many has the BT missed?
Is a “pig” fish so abruptly stop is concerning.
 
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Couple cubes of frozen in the a.m
Some Flakes at lunch and a 4x5? sheet of Nori in the evening.
Missed 3 or 4 days counting today.
He seems curious when food is added but we haven't actually seen him eat.
 
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Wife just caught these with her iphone.
picture.jpg
 

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Jay Hemdal

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That is actually a key symptom - fish that look at food, at least aren’t sick to the point where they have lost the appetite. You said the fish isn’t pinch bellied, but could the belly be swollen, this offsetting the pinched belly that would be expected from not having fed for a number of days?
I’m thinking here of constipation/blockage…
Jay

Couple cubes of frozen in the a.m
Some Flakes at lunch and a 4x5? sheet of Nori in the evening.
Missed 3 or 4 days counting today.
He seems curious when food is added but we haven't actually seen him eat.
 
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WRB

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Can I do anything to help him?
Not sure he's bloated or swollen, just thought he looked healthy until this.
 

Jay Hemdal

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If there is a physical blockage, I don’t know of much you can do. An old school remedy for constipation is to give the fish a 30 minute dip with 2 gallons of tank water to which you’ve added 2 teaspoons of Epsom salts, and aerate it.
I hesitate to suggest that though because it would be really stressful if you chase the fish all over trying to catch it…
Jay
 
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Not only stress him but all his tank-mates. I put even a small net in the tank to skim a bit or something and they go into panic mode.
I can easily do what you mentioned,,I have everything, but what does it do to him if he's not constipated.
I've had good luck with tangs over the years, do you consider them "hardy" especially when under stress.
Rory
 

Jay Hemdal

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Not only stress him but all his tank-mates. I put even a small net in the tank to skim a bit or something and they go into panic mode.
I can easily do what you mentioned,,I have everything, but what does it do to him if he's not constipated.
I've had good luck with tangs over the years, do you consider them "hardy" especially when under stress.
Rory
If he isn’t constipated, the Epsom salts won’t cause any harm. It’s a long shot though….
Jay
 
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I'm pretty sure I'm gonna loose him so I'm leaning toward giving it a try. I was reading your older posts about epson salt and a few guys got lucky. Since the treatment isn't harmful I think I can get him out by blocking his exit from his favorite rock and lifting it out and directly into the bath and that shouldn't stress him or the others out too much.
Been reading a wide variety of sites and journels I've collected over the years and at this point I don't see many options.

if it is constipation how long before it may help?
Rory
 
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Well I got lucky and with a helping hand we caught him with very little stress to all involved. Did a 30 min Epson soak. I put him in a clear small Qt tank and took a good look at him. Does appear a bit bloated but no other obvious abnormalities. Returned him to the DT and he promptly dashed of and is currently leaning against some decorative coral. Time will tell.
Thanks for the help Jay!
 
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He's semi-active this a.m and still not eating but like before when food is introduced he show's interest.
Was very happy to get back in the DT and had the apperance of normality but not eating .

Any guesses of how long it would take for the Epson bath to take effect on his digestive system if that is the problem.
TIA
 

Jay Hemdal

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He's semi-active this a.m and still not eating but like before when food is introduced he show's interest.
Was very happy to get back in the DT and had the apperance of normality but not eating .

Any guesses of how long it would take for the Epson bath to take effect on his digestive system if that is the problem.
TIA

Sorry - it should have helped within a hour or so.

Jay
 

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