Lavender tang death - coral rubble found in stomach

[Planarium]

My lavender tang was doing fine, then all of the sudden I found it swimming strangely and was very lethargic. He didn't eat, was upside down and hyperventilating. He was then placed in an isolation container in the same system for observation and feeding. He didn't respond to any type of food and 2 days later he died.

I did an autopsy to check for potential parasites/issues internally as there were no visible signs of external parasites (ich, fungus).
Gills were bright red and without any signs of damage
Digestive system was empty and transparent (no sign of food)

I have also found 3 pieces of small coral rubble in his stomach (blue circle) .

I know there is probably not enough info for a proper diagnosis, but does anyone have an idea of a potential cause?
Do tangs swallow rocks to be used as gastroliths? could the coral rubble in the stomach block the passage of food and cause mortality?

Thanks

 

[srobertb]

My lavender tang was doing fine, then all of the sudden I found it swimming strangely and was very lethargic. He didn't eat, was upside down and hyperventilating. He was then placed in an isolation container in the same system for observation and feeding. He didn't respond to any type of food and 2 days later he died.

I did an autopsy to check for potential parasites/issues internally as there were no visible signs of external parasites (ich, fungus).
Gills were bright red and without any signs of damage
Digestive system was empty and transparent (no sign of food)

I have also found 3 pieces of small coral rubble in his stomach (blue circle) .

I know there is probably not enough info for a proper diagnosis, but does anyone have an idea of a potential cause?
Do tangs swallow rocks to be used as gastroliths? could the coral rubble in the stomach block the passage of food and cause mortality?

Thanks

Nothing on the google about tangs and gastroliths but some fish do use them. Thanks for labeling the anus. Necessary.

They do pick at live rock constantly I find. Have to wonder if they “picked” a little too hard. Was the rock in the stomach or intestine? Speaking to knowledge of mammals- an intestinal blockage could absolutely cause death but it’s not a quick process. Then again, I wouldn’t know if my fish were constipated and for how long. We’re close but not that close.

 

[Planarium]

haha I had to label it. for correct anatomical depiction of course.
The rocks were found in the stomach not the intestine.
I couldn't find any info online about fish gastroliths either

Thanks for the feedback

 

[Sharkbait19]

@Jay Hemdal
Have you ever seen anything like this before?

It’s possible the tang was grazing on algae and picked up some coral along the way, whether or not this could kill it I don’t know.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I

@Jay Hemdal
Have you ever seen anything like this before?

It’s possible the tang was grazing on algae and picked up some coral along the way, whether or not this could kill it I don’t know.

I’ve seen this in electric eels and I’ve lost angelfish due to them biting rubberized tank decorations - I’ve never lost tangs to eating gravel though.
Jay

 

[Celestion]

Sand and gravel consumption i believe it's the cause of maybe %10 of all fish death , good you noticed and posted here , it's a good argument for the no substrate setups , actually it's possibly the only one