New Tang Behaving bad

[homer1475]

Sorry, didn't mean for that to come out so rude. A

month in an acclimation box with barely any room to swim(for a fish that swims hundreds of miles day) is like a death sentence. Your LFS was just plain wrong in this instance.

 

[Michael Gentile]

This is stress or discomfort that you're seeing right now. That's not "behaving bad" any more than a dog whimpering in distress is behaving bad.

I didn’t mean it as bad behavior. I should’ve worded it better. Just was getting the post out quickly. Wanted to see if there was anything I could do immediately to help.

 

[Michael Gentile]

Sorry, didn't mean for that to come out so rude. A

month in an acclimation box with barely any room to swim(for a fish that swims hundreds of miles day) is like a death sentence. Your LFS was just plain wrong in this instance.

Not rude at all! I appreciate the feedback I agree with what you said! This is unfortunately a hard learning experience buying such a juvenile fish. I should stay with my usual parameters.

 

[C4ctus99]

How is it doing this morning?

 

[Matty Ice]

Are there larger tank mates?

 

[Michael Gentile]

How is it doing this morning?

Still breathing but it has gotten faster. He didn’t leave the box. I’m getting ready to leave for work now. Unfortunately I don’t think he will survive the day

 

[Michael Gentile]

Are there larger tank mates?

Bristlettoth tang, not fully matured. A foxface relatively large, 2 clowns and a 6 line both fairly large

 

[Michael Gentile]

I thought about taking him out of the box completely but didn’t want to add extra stress

 

[Tired]

Ah- "behaving bad" as in "looks bad", not as in "misbehaving". I get your drift.

He's probably scared at the change. Leave him in the box so he can use it as a hiding place.

Any chance any of the other fish are going at him?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hello all,

I bought a biota yellow tang from my local dealer, he was extremely small when i got him. I have had him in an acclimation box for abought a month now in the tank. The dealer quartintines them for me. He has eaten every day and has been getting more and more daring every day. i was going to release him into the tank next week. But 2 days ago he has refused food and is barely swimming. he clings to the rock i placed in there at the start as well as almost swimming sideways. any idea what this could be? i can provide before and after photos if needed!

This fish is in distress and may be moribund. In addition the fish is very thin and its a toss up if it will stablize or decline in health.

 

[Michael Gentile]

Ah- "behaving bad" as in "looks bad", not as in "misbehaving". I get your drift.

He's probably scared at the change. Leave him in the box so he can use it as a hiding place.

Any chance any of the other fish are going at him?

From what I’ve observed, the only time the fish bothered him while in the box if when he didn’t finish his food and they would try to eat it from the bottom. Luckily my tank is peaceful, no forms of aggression between anyone (knock on wood) I watch last night and this morning while getting ready, none of the fish were investigating

 

[Michael Gentile]

This fish is in distress and may be moribund. In addition the fish is very thin and its a toss up if it will stablize or decline in health.

I’m surprised how thin he is as he’s eaten 1-2 times a day everyday since I’ve received him. I always added more food than needed and siphoned out the extra that he didn’t eat.

this was a blindside to me. But seeing his current condition. I don’t think he will make it. Which is extremely depressing.

thank you for the response though

 

[Sink_or_Swim]

Yeah I usually don’t purchase smaller fish, but for yellow tangs it’s hard to find them let alone a matured one. Most LFS I would agree with that statement but these guys are very reputable. I’ll say this was my error.

I got a small baby cb yellow tang a few months ago as well, and since I had a large adult tomini in the tank, I kept the baby in a decent sized acclimation box for around 2 weeks. Never developed the behavior yours is exhibiting though (looks like stress to me, not disease) - I would personally wait until lights out and release to the tank. :) Also I agree with others - need to add nori/seaweed to its diet asap.

 

[Michael Gentile]

I got a small baby cb yellow tang a few months ago as well, and since I had a large adult tomini in the tank, I kept the baby in a decent sized acclimation box for around 2 weeks. Never developed the behavior yours is exhibiting though (looks like stress to me, not disease) - I would personally wait until lights out and release to the tank. :) Also I agree with others - need to add nori/seaweed to its diet asap.

I’m most likely past the point of return. There’s nori banded to his rock. The box is on its side in the sand bed with the lid open. He’s taking no interest in nori or anything else.

most likely my fault through bad diet and small confinement for too long.

 

[Sink_or_Swim]

I’m most likely past the point of return. There’s nori banded to his rock. The box is on its side in the sand bed with the lid open. He’s taking no interest in nori or anything else.

most likely my fault through bad diet and small confinement for too long.

I'm sorry, that's too bad. :( I hope he pulls through - you never know, fish can be surprisingly resilient!

 

[Michael Gentile]

I'm sorry, that's too bad. :( I hope he pulls through - you never know, fish can be surprisingly resilient!

I hope I’m in for a surprise when I get home from work tonight!

 

[Michael Gentile]

Just an update, the fish didn’t survive :(

 

[C4ctus99]

Sorry to hear that man. I lost a new fish yesterday in quarantine, seems as though I sometimes have environmental adjustment problems. If they settle in the first week it seems like they’ll be good, but I’ve lost 2 or 3 new guys inside of the first week who did not settle in properly. Almost sounds like you had the inverse of that

 

[Michael Gentile]

Sorry to hear that man. I lost a new fish yesterday in quarantine, seems as though I sometimes have environmental adjustment problems. If they settle in the first week it seems like they’ll be good, but I’ve lost 2 or 3 new guys inside of the first week who did not settle in properly. Almost sounds like you had the inverse of that

Yeah honestly it was the opposite. T when I first started years ago I killed many fish in QT which lead me to find a vendor that would do it for me. Since then it has been smooth sailing with a few hiccups. I’d rather lose coral than a fish

 

[C4ctus99]

I need to start a thread and ask about that, I’ve had 4/8 fish attempts die in the first week. One of them was due to rough handling, one was probably due to stirring up the bottom, but 2 of them were in the tank for just under a week, didn’t really ever eat or seem to adjust. The first one was straight to display tank, this past one was quarantined cause I got ick in the main tank so why not ‍