Help with tangs. New to QT’ing these guys!

[Mini Coop]

The best insurance you could have: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015E2UFGM/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This one inexpensive, easiest to use, and has great bells and whistles. I have a temp controller on every one of my tanks, since the wild temp swings I had one year that spurred an ich outbreak. I live where at the change of seasons, we run our ac and heater in the same day.

dangit!!! Well ordered one of these. My heater was freaking me out so I put my backup in last night....yeah. Woke up this morning to do the water change and it is 88 in their tank!!!! The Naso is our an about. The powder blue is hiding. 75% water change this morning for ammonia. SLOWLY draining their tank and opened it up so it can come down slowly.

I really hope I didn’t kill them. I’m just absolutely sick.

 

[Daniel Waters]

dangit!!! Well ordered one of these. My heater was freaking me out so I put my backup in last night....yeah. Woke up this morning to do the water change and it is 88 in their tank!!!! The Naso is our an about. The powder blue is hiding. 75% water change this morning for ammonia. SLOWLY draining their tank and opened it up so it can come down slowly.

I really hope I didn’t kill them. I’m just absolutely sick.

I think they will be fine. They might not like you too much right now, though!

Don't beat yourself up. Just another reminder that none of us should make any kind of tank adjustment before bed or before vacation. Murphys law is too strong a force to flirt with!

 

[lion king]

I don;t think you need to concern yourself with prophylactically treating with copper at this point, with all the activity if ich is present, you are going to see it.

 

[Mini Coop]

I don;t think you need to concern yourself with prophylactically treating with copper at this point, with all the activity if ich is present, you are going to see it.

Very true!

 

[Mini Coop]

I think they will be fine. They might not like you too much right now, though!

Don't beat yourself up. Just another reminder that none of us should make any kind of tank adjustment before bed or before vacation. Murphys law is too strong a force to flirt with!

I was concerned because the temp seemed to be rising in the tank last night. I think maybe my eheim heater needs calibrated. I watched a couple videos and tried to re-set it this morning. Headed home to check on it now. These poor fish.
Plan today - leave them alone as much as possible! Check in temp and check ammonia tonight.

 

[Daniel Waters]

I was concerned because the temp seemed to be rising in the tank last night. I think maybe my eheim heater needs calibrated. I watched a couple videos and tried to re-set it this morning. Headed home to check on it now. These poor fish.
Plan today - leave them alone as much as possible! Check in temp and check ammonia tonight.

I use eheim heaters also. I had a heck of a time re-calibrating mine. Just one more reason I don't trust using heaters without a controller. I've gotten for my QT tank I use a very small heater that I know can barely keep up so I don't have to worry about it sticking on, but that strategy wouldn't be advisable for someone who has a tank in an area that might get very cold. In my case, my house ambient temperature makes the chances of tank temperature dropping too low a rare chance versus the converse of temperatures getting too high.

 

[Halal Hotdog]

I have a naso in QT right now with two rabbitfish and 2 sleeper gobies. So my naso is not eating a lot of frozen/nori/prepared food. What I am doing is using a frag plug and attaching chaeto/GHA to it with a rubber band and placing in the tank. The rabbitfish and naso are grazing on that all day. I am also running CP prophylactically, but it is an algaecide. I am removing any uneaten food every night and doing a small water change. Naso has been eating the algae consistently, but is avoiding most other foods.

 

[PhreeByrd]

I think you're doing fine. The whole point of quarantining is to isolate and observe so you can feel confident that the animals are healthy and stable. Some live rock in the quarantine tank is fine to help with the biological processes and to help keep ammonia at bay. However...
If it becomes necessary to add any kind of medication, I would either move the fish to a dedicated hospital tank or remove all live rock and filtration from the quarantine tank before medicating.

Above all, you should try to keep temperature and lighting stable, and pollutants to the absolute minimum. Quarantining should not be a stressful experience for the fish.

The fish appear to be getting along just fine, which is great. The Naso is nice and fat, so he should be OK as long as he starts eating soon. Definitely avoid the temptation to overfeed in an effort to get him to eat. He is a large fish, so larger foods like frozen plankton or mysis are appropriate. He is likely to ignore any food of small size. I have tangs that will not touch seaweeds, and others that pick at it constantly. But they all eat frozen and dry foods when offered. Might be worthwhile to find out what the Naso was being fed before you got him and try some of that food...

 

[PatW]

I have quarantined tangs. Two weeks in copper, two weeks without. I get them eating well. 29 gallon tank, heater and hob filter rated at 200 gal. They all did fine. In my experience, tangs are easy but that just might be dumb luck. I have done Kole, yellow and powder brown. The tricky part is the introduction. The established tangs harass the new tang for a few days.

 

[Eggpaul]

Would 2 tangs in a 29 gallons QT be too much? that's the only extra tank I have.

 

[PhreeByrd]

Would 2 tangs in a 29 gallons QT be too much? that's the only extra tank I have.

If they're small fish, a 29g should work OK. Just be prepared to run out and get a second tank or have some way ready to divide the tank in half to separate them if they start fighting. It probably won't happen, but it's best to be prepared for this, since tangs often bicker with each other for a while... and they are definitely capable of injuring each other.

If they are more than about 2-1/2" long, or one is much larger than the other, then I'd proceed with a lot of caution in a 29g tank.

 

[Mini Coop]

Looks like this has helped with good discussion for all!

Here is my video update!

@Eggpaul - certainly depends on the size of the tangs. I’ve got a pretty good sized Naso - 4-5” in a 40. And it’s about the smallest I would go with one that size. He and the powder blue are getting along pretty well. I also have a full sized sailfin in my old tank. I’m waiting for these guys to get through QT and adding them all to the main tank at the same time to hopefully avoid aggression.

Enjoy the update!

 

[ca1ore]

A bit late to this thread ..... I see lots of advice/opinions ..... some of it contradictory. The behavior you noted from the Naso is certainly predictable in a new fish, though it can be problematic if it persists. Do make sure that there is PVC in the QT that a fish that large can easily hide in. Naso tangs are notorious for stress-related 'blotchiness', though it's usually light rather than dark patches. Naso are also prone to hunger strikes when stressed, so until a fish has gone more than a week without eating I'd not worry. I personally don't start any medications until a fish is eating; particularly as prophylaxis. I certainly wouldn't be doing copper until they're settled in.

 

[lion king]

So it looks like you got the ammonia in check, how are they eating. They look good.

 

[JQSquared]

Any updates?

 

[Mini Coop]

So it looks like you got the ammonia in check, how are they eating. They look good.

@JQSquared and @lion king - YES!! Sorry! It has been a little nuts!

Ammonia is good to go - I added an entire bottle of bio spira to the 40 with the tangs and the ammonia was measuring .25-.5. After the ammonia - all good. ZERO! Woo hoo!! Ammonia badge is installed as well. Figured out I had to calibrate my eheim heater. Something must have been messed up after I tore down and sterilized it the last time! Now temp is regulated at 79.2-80.

As of yesterday, my Naso was not eating STILL. I was feeding Rods but at the LFS I got him from, he feeds Larry's. So - I picked up some Larrys Fish Frenzy (larger pieces in that as well). Fed yesterday . . . nothing. Then yesterday I did see him picking at a rock. Again, the nori is gone most days. Although lots does float up to the top - I know they are eating it. (Well, either him or the powder blue). This morning he took what looked like his FIRST BITE of frozen food. I saw him take ONE nibble. But at least I know he is trying! I will feed again this afternoon and tonight little bits several times to see if I can get him to eat. I am also turning pumps off so it doesn't all get sucked up the filter. They both appear to be doing REALLY well! Just need him to EAT!

Watching for spots, and hopefully won't need to treat, but we will see. I see big chunks of black poop, so I am not super worried about parasites. No white stringy that I have seen.

I also picked up my "queen of the tank" this week. My niger trigger. She is BEAUTIFUL!! I have always wanted one and know they are 50/50 on reef safe. Hopefully since I am getting her young, she can be trained and be nice Her transition to QT has been much more peaceful!

 

[lion king]

Sounds like you might want to try something live for the naso, try some live black worms, some fish are not used to eating from the water column, so the worms wiggle will grab his attention. Nigers acclimate fine, here's my niger, not the best pic but I wanted you to check out his cool teeth. I raised him from a pup, under 2", he's about 5" now a little over 2 years. He's a male, nice streamers that show up around 3" or so. He's in a fowlr, cuc would be toast, I've watched him carry around snails until he decides to crunch them up. I'm one not to recommend triggers in a reef, other than the Xanthichthys genus. Just a heads up, even if it takes a couple years or even more, it usually doesn't end well in a reef, most triggers like to chew up stuff.

 

[Mini Coop]

Yeahhhhh!!!! Everyone is eating! All of the sudden today I’ve SEEN the Naso eat the frozen food and rip 3 pieces of seaweed off the clip and devour it! He must have decided 1.5 weeks was a long enough hunger strike!! Now he’s catching up!

The trigger is also doing amazing! So incredibly beautiful! @lion king - your Niger is so cool! I’m sure hoping it goes ok in my reef. For me it was worth the risk. We shall see. She’s about 3” now with streamers starting! (From what I’ve seen you can’t tell make from female so I’m calling her “queen of the tank”. Lol.