Kole Tang questions

[DannyB]

I am thinking a Kole Tang will be the next fish I add to my tank but I have bought one in the past which died within 3 days of purchasing in QT, so I have some concerns.

I am planning on using TTM and then observing for a few weeks after TTM is complete.

Not knowing what really went wrong last time i can only speculate the possible issues and came up with some questions.

1. Would TTM be a good way to treat this type of fish? Should I use Prazipro as it is recommended during the TTM? Any Issue with doing TTM with a medium kole tang in 5 gallon buckets?

2. Are they jumpers? Will a cover be required, or would the water level being 3-4 inches below the top of the tank suffice?

3. The last one I was never able to get it to eat. I understand they will eat meaty foods but require algae. Is there any way to entice them into eating? Selcon, garlic, etc? Is there any algae which would work better than others? Sheets, wafers, flake? I have had luck getting new fish to eat ROE but I am not sure it is something they will readily eat or if it would be too small, any thoughts here?

4. Once QT is complete, what is the best way to feed them in the DT, i know this will be a lot of opinion and preference, but I really want to know what has worked best for other people.

5. Is there anything else I should be concerned with that I haven't listed here?

It was hard watching the other one die and not being able to do anything about it, I really don't want the same result.

I know there are a lot of questions up there so if you can even help with one of them I appreciate any help and advice that can be provided.

 

[eatbreakfast]

TTM is a great way to treat that fish, and yes, prazi should be administered in qt, which is more effective than a bath in a bucket.

Any fish can be a jumper, but tangs are a little less likely. Provide hiding places in qt and you should be ok.

If being purchased from an LFS, ask to see the fish be fed. Then in qt, feed him whatever he will accept, even if it is meaty. Getting it eating eating is more important than getting it's diet right in the beginning. I prefer nori sheets for algae, but there are a lot of options available for getting algae to a tang.

 

[DannyB]

Anyone else have a good experience with a Kole Tang?

 

[PatW]

I have a kole tang. He sailed through a quarantine with Cupramine and Prazipro.

He eats flakes, brine shrimp with spiralina, mysis, pods, and all of the algae he can get off the rock work. I think he would eat almost anything I give him.

He is alert, active, has vibrant colors and stuffs himself every chance he gets.

Since your fish died so soon, you either have something really wrong with your quarantine technique, your fish had a prexisting condition or both. I would think you just got a sick fish.

I have heard that you can do the TTM with 5 gallon buckets. Or you could use a larger tank and hold the fish in a bucket whilst you clean the QT and add new water. I haven't tried it though.

I assume that every fish jumps. My kole tang has not shown that tendency, but I have large mesh screens on my DT.

 

[reefm]

I have a ~3-year old kole tang, he'll eat anything other than NLS, for some odd reason. He loves Nori!

They're very active and fun to watch fish, they essentially "influence" the entire side of the tank they're in with their constant movement and constant food searching.

They typically occupy the lower/mid part of the tank, nowhere near the top (and not typical jumpers unless the water params are out of whack, in which case all fish will potentially jump to escape)

 

[DannyB]

i am only concerned about the jumping while in QT. I have a mesh cover on my DT to keep my wrasse from taking flight.

I also think since the first Kole tang I got didn't live long that it had some pre-existing condition which didn't show on the outside. But It still makes me gun shy about getting another.

 

[reefm]

Cover the QT with egg crate, that should be easy to take care of. If you follow the QT instructions from the Fish Decease forum here you should be good to go!

Good luck!

 

[DannyB]

So I have the Kole tang in my QT which i will be doing TTM with. I have had the fish in the tank for 48 hours and have not seen the fish eat anything. I have tried green and purple algae, Mysis, ROE, and now New Life Spectrum pellets.

The fish seems healthy, he swims around when he can't see me. He was acting strange last night though, swimming around but not coming off the bottom of the tank, not on his side or anything, just swimming around with his "belly" touching the bottom of the glass and he didn't run and hide when I was in the room and right next to the tank.

So i don't know if this behavior is something to worry about or not, he is acting normal again this morning.

How long can he go without eating before I need to worry. Should I try anything else? I don't have access to any live macro algae except for chaeto.

 

[PatW]

I have had fish go through quarantine without eating and then they do fine in the DT. Still, eating is a good sign. QT are disorienting to many fish. After a few days, most fish will start eating especially if there is another fish in the tank who eats.

 

[4FordFamily]

Red nori is like crack to tangs and Angels, highly recommend. Most QT related deaths are due to ammonia (they were not cycled prior and they didn't do frequent large water changes to keep it at bay)

 

[jsker]

Red nori is like crack to tangs and Angels, highly recommend. Most QT related deaths are due to ammonia (they were not cycled prior and they didn't do frequent large water changes to keep it at bay)

Get the garlic laced crack, I mean nori. Once a tang get the taste for garlic infused nori they will attack the clip in the tank. Kole tang are great fish.

 

[DannyB]

I have had fish go through quarantine without eating and then they do fine in the DT. Still, eating is a good sign. QT are disorienting to many fish. After a few days, most fish will start eating especially if there is another fish in the tank who eats.

I can't really tell if he is eating yet. He is alone in QT so no one to show him the food is good.

Red nori is like crack to tangs and Angels, highly recommend. Most QT related deaths are due to ammonia (they were not cycled prior and they didn't do frequent large water changes to keep it at bay)

I have tried green and purple nori both with and without garlic added to it. The piece was a bit tore up last night when i got home but I couldn't tell if the tang picked at it or if it just started falling apart. There is only an airline and stone for circulation in the tank. I am keeping an eye on the Ammonia level. I am doing TTM so 100% WC every 3 days. But i do test for ammonia on day 2.

Get the garlic laced crack, I mean nori. Once a tang get the taste for garlic infused nori they will attack the clip in the tank. Kole tang are great fish.

I have been trying to add garlic to his food but he doesn't seem interested in it yet. Is it something they have to try first before they get the taste for it, or could the fish possibly just not care for garlic?

 

[reefm]

You can also try Seaweed Extreme S(mall) pellets, my kole tang loves them.

 

[jsker]

@DannyB The garlic usually gets them eating, Get some focus http://www.seachem.com/focus.php and the focus bonds the garlic to the food, and then that we get everyone in the tank eating the garlic. Without the focus the garlic oil just rises to the top of the tank and then get filtered out. Have is you can get your hands on some garlic infused nori, my tank go nuts over it.

 

[4FordFamily]

I don't know if I mentioned it but live black worms are a very much appreciated staple

 

[Kershaw]

I have had a Kole tang for a year so far. Never has jumped. I didn't qt but I don't recommend that. He had some fin rot a few months ago I fed with silcon, and he healed right up. Eats everything.