Pleas help!!

[SpencerT82]

I have a gem tank and my tank is about 4 months old it has had little cuts out of his fin for a while now but they always heal back with two-3 days but this time it’s been about a weak and a half. I don’t know what’s wrong and how to treat please help!!

 

[SlugSnorter]

If he is eating and moving okay, then its likey from other fish or inverts attacking him. what size tank is it, and what other tank-mates are inside? also, he shouldn't be loosing fin chunks either way

 

[SpencerT82]

So I have. 112 gallon tank with a purple gem and baby NASO tang till he gets about half size and a fox face he seems like he wants to eat but never full goes to take a bite of the seaweed clip I never see any aggression between any of the fish and the only inverts I have are snails and hermit crabs and 1 cleaner shrimp

 

[SpencerT82]

So I have. 112 gallon tank with a purple gem and baby NASO tang till he gets about half size and a fox face he seems like he wants to eat but never full goes to take a bite of the seaweed clip I never see any aggression between any of the fish and the only inverts I have are snails and hermit crabs and 1 cleaner shrimp

He’s moving fine

 

[SlugSnorter]

He’s moving fine

eating breathing fine?

 

[takitaj]

Those look like bites. It's fighting with something, probably the purple as they have very similar body shapes and coloration. Even if you don't see it happen, you see the aftermath. They can be sneaky. Keep an eye on it and hopefully they work it out otherwise you may have to re-home one of them. The Foxface is probably acting so timid because of the fighting. The chunks will eventually fill back in. Just keep them healthy and well fed.

 

[SpencerT82]

eating breathing fine?

Breathing fine and he looks like he wants to eat but he doesn’t fully go to the seaweed clip and eat it while I’m watching it might be different when I’m not but not sure. I got him to eat a few small seaweed extreme pellets today when I fed.

 

[SpencerT82]

Those look like bites. It's fighting with something, probably the purple as they have very similar body shapes and coloration. Even if you don't see it happen, you see the aftermath. They can be sneaky. Keep an eye on it and hopefully they work it out otherwise you may have to re-home one of them. The Foxface is probably acting so timid because of the fighting. The chunks will eventually fill back in. Just keep them healthy and well fed.

Ok I understand It could be fighting but any idea on why before when he would have chunks go missing they would reappear in 2-3 days? Vs this one being about a week and a half now.

 

[SpencerT82]

eating breathing fine?

He is breathing fine and it looks like he wants to eat but never go’s fully up to the seaweed to take a bite.

 

[SlugSnorter]

Ok I understand It could be fighting but any idea on why before when he would have chunks go missing they would reappear in 2-3 days? Vs this one being about a week and a half now.

Because some heal but they can scar and not heal

 

[blaxsun]

It's also possible that the purple has now acquired a taste for gem tang.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I have a gem tank and my tank is about 4 months old it has had little cuts out of his fin for a while now but they always heal back with two-3 days but this time it’s been about a weak and a half. I don’t know what’s wrong and how to treat please help!!

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

These do look like aggression from another fish. You may not ever see the fighting happen - while you are watching the fish, they are busy watching you. In addition, each torn fin mark is from a single bite, over in a split second. If one or two bites happen each day, then you'll likely never see it happen.

That said, the more scalloped marks can be a sign of other issues - nutritional mostly, excess carbon use is another cause. I see you are offering the fish nori and algae pellets. What about higher fat/protein items like mysid shrimp? That is helpful in rebuilding damaged tissues.

Jay

 

[Tamberav]

Ok I understand It could be fighting but any idea on why before when he would have chunks go missing they would reappear in 2-3 days? Vs this one being about a week and a half now.

Fish can heal fast because of slime coat... however repeating attacks.. one could end up with a bacterial infection and the tang is under a lot of stress from this.

I would remove the aggressor. It is better to have a nice healthy show quality gem tang then a raggedy stressed one. Not seeing aggression doesn't mean it is there. You could try to isolate the purple and see if the issues resolve or if the Gem's behavior changes and he becomes more of a bolder eater.

I feed my tang LRS fish frenzy, live worms, and LRS Nori. My tang was skinny/pale, had lateral line erosion and an eye infection when I bought. It looks like a real show pony after some TLC and quality foods.