Is my blue tang sick?

[elijah scot]

My blue tang has been laying in and on the sand but still swims around, I dont know if it’s sick or not.

 

[KrisReef]

They sometimes like to hideout in weird places, usually tucked in a spot inside the live rock. If it’s just drifting around on the bottom it might be unhealthy?

@Jay Hemdal, is a great resource for diagnosing fish sickness and behavioral quirks.

It looks good in the picture, to me.

 

[DrinkinPepsi]

My hippo tang has done the same thing many of times and freaked me out but he's always healthy so I've just assumed it's just something they do.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

My blue tang has been laying in and on the sand but still swims around, I dont know if it’s sick or not.

How long have you had this tang?
Is it still eating food well?

Hepatus tangs often lay on their sides in coral cervices, but if there are secondary symptoms,(rapid breathing, not eating, etc.) it could be something more than normal behavior.

 

[tzabor10]

My hippo tang sometimes likes to scratch against corals. This behavior was reduced greatly after adding a UV sterilizer at low speed for 6 hours per night.

 

[elijah scot]

How long have you had this tang?
Is it still eating food well?

Hepatus tangs often lay on their sides in coral cervices, but if there are secondary symptoms,(rapid breathing, not eating, etc.) it could be something more than normal behavior.

If had it for about a year and it eats well

 

[vetteguy53081]

How long have you had this tang?
Is it still eating food well?

Hepatus tangs often lay on their sides in coral cervices, but if there are secondary symptoms,(rapid breathing, not eating, etc.) it could be something more than normal behavior.

Mine does the scratch thing but never amounts to anything but dont take it as a norm

 

[m3xm3xm3x]

Was he/she laying on the side during lights out? That’s how mine sleeps when lights go out.