New CB problems

[damselindistress]

Got a new Coral Beauty Friday evening and I broke every cardinal new fish rule that reefers follow and I’ve learned my lesson.

Idiot mistake #1 - Fish had just been received the day prior and I asked to see it feed. They put some mysis in and the CB went after it with gusto but immediately spit every piece out - clearly was not his normal diet. LFS that will remain nameless gave me the spiel about how he’d gotten a dozen in and they were mostly gone in 24 hours. I know CB is an easily attainable fish but I fell for the FOMO like an idiot and bought the fish.

Idiot mistake #2 - I am still relatively new to reefing (a little over a year) and have not purchased many fish yet. I have never quarantined (go ahead, I deserve a bashing) but have always been lucky enough to never have any real problems. Until now...

I added the CB to my 60 gallon long that houses 2 clowns, 3 YT damsels and one Tomini Tang, all of whom get along swimmingly. At first the Tang was just curious but then it got adversarial pretty quick. The CB was doing a good job of ducking and weaving and I turned the lights out and hoped peace would be found by the next day. I was wrong.

Tang continues to pursue CB aggressively and I realize one of them has to come out. By the time I can set up a quick QT tank and catch the CB the Tang had gotten a pretty good nip out of his side. The CB has been in his own 10 gal QT since Sunday but still will not eat. His nip actually looks good and has begun healing well. His color is still good and he's still swimming with ease but he stays in one cave or the other just turning slow circles and going through some repetitive motions, poking his head of a hole then pulling it back in repeatedly.

I have tried frozen mysis (again), nori, LRS and yesterday and today live black worms and masstick. Zero interest whatsoever. I'm starting to accept that it's looking pretty bleak for him unless anyone out there has other suggestions?? I'm willing to do whatever can give him a chance, I feel I did not do right by him with my hasty purchase and subjecting him to injury in an inhospitable environment.

 

[Jesterrace]

One of the things people often forget is that Dwarf Angels aren't technically carnivores, in the wild they mostly graze on algae with some opportunistic meaty feedings on the side. It's not uncommon for many Dwarf Angels to spend a week or more doing nothing but grazing on algae around the tank and they won't eat anything else. What I would do is get some seaweed/nori on a clip and try that to get it feeding, possibly some algae tabs or spirulina formula if the first option doesn't work. LRS Reef Frenzy is also a great choice. My Coral Beauty spent a week grazing on algae and didn't really eat much else when I first got it and then adapted to Seaweed and then Reef Frenzy.

As for the Tang/Dwarf Angel issue, it does not surprise me at all given the size of the tank and especially where the Tang was established prior to the Dwarf Angel. One of the things many people fail to think of when mixing Tangs and Dwarf Angels in less than a 5 foot tank is that they are of a similar shape/profile and given that Tangs are generally bigger it makes it easier for them to bully dwarf angels. Case in point, I added a 4 inch Yellow Tang together with my Coral Beauty Dwarf Angel. They hung out in the same holding tank at my LFS for 2 weeks and added at the same time. They were best buds for about a month and even shared a long cave together in my 90 gallon tank. After a month I noticed my CB had a chunk missing from the tip of it's lower fin and then every few days it would get what appeared to be a "White Scratch" on it's body that would heal up in a few days. Then I noticed the Yellow Tang back up to the CB and slap it with it's tail scalpel and a new "White Scratch" would appear on it. The Yellow Tang was such a jerk, I swear it would intentionally get right above the coral beauty and then release a massive poop volley right in it's face. My CB would get hit with the poop in the face and it clearly tried to get away from it as soon as possible. I can only imagine this was the thought going through it's head:



Needless to say I FIRED the Yellow Tang from my tank and the tank has been much happier since.

 

[damselindistress]

Fired the yellow Tang lol, I like it ;Smuggrin. Thanks @Jesterrace for the advice and sharing your experience, I appreciate the encouragement and will try the nori again. I did see it peck at the rock in the main tank before I had to pull it out. If I can get it eating I’ve already talked to someone about potentially rehoming the tang. He’s a real beauty and highly entertaining but would likely be happier in a bigger tank.

I’ll update and thanks again:)..

 

[Jesterrace]

Even for a Tomini, I agree that a 60 is pushing it, mostly because it doesn't offer the width to make it not feel cramped and it makes it so that any new addition is an easy target with not many places to hide/get out of the way.