Please help my new Sohal Tang!

[Largeangels]

Not uncommon for fish to hide after being moved but I’ve never seen my sohol be in that position unless he’s squaring off with another tang.

I would also check the salinity of the store and compare to yours.

 

[littlefoxx]

Are you saying salinity is 1.035 ppt??

 

[littlefoxx]

If so thats incredibly high…

 

[Largeangels]

Assuming it is 35 ppt (1.026 SG) and hope it’s not 1.035 SG.

 

[W31Olds]

Randi, did you find out what the salinity was at the LFS? A Temp drop of a couple of degrees did not cause your fish to die. 35 PPT is correct salinity. I would remove the second heater from your DT. A tank that size will drop very slowly. Do you have a Protein skimmer? And finally, and most important, when your fish all died how many and what size were in the Tank?

 

[randiLee]

I see the gyre now.

So when you say you “turned off” your filter what are you referring to?

I guess I technically mean we turned off the return pump. When it’s on…the water will fill the tank and then eventually into the overflow basins which leads to the sump and begins the filtration process. We turn it off when feeding or adding certain things that need to sit in the tank.

When we feed or add things, we’ll typically just put it on feed mode which is on a timer. It turns off the system for a few minutes and then auto restarts it. This time, my husband was also adjusting the auto-top off valve or something and had turned them all the way off. So, it never got turned back on.

 

[TwelveL16]

I see the gyre now.

So when you say you “turned off” your filter what are you referring to?

I guess I technically mean we turned off the return pump. When it’s on…the water will fill the tank and then eventually into the overflow basins which leads to the sump and begins the filtration process. We turn it off when feeding or adding certain things that need to sit in the tank.

When we feed or add things, we’ll typically just put it on feed mode which is on a timer. It turns off the system for a few minutes and then auto restarts it. This time, my husband was also adjusting the auto-top off valve or something and had turned them all the way off. So, it never got turned back on.

Ahh ok. All makes sense now. When you said filter I thought you meant canister filter.

 

[randiLee]

Randi, did you find out what the salinity was at the LFS? A Temp drop of a couple of degrees did not cause your fish to die. 35 PPT is correct salinity. I would remove the second heater from your DT. A tank that size will drop very slowly. Do you have a Protein skimmer? And finally, and most important, when your fish all died how many and what size were in the Tank?

Yes. Salinity at LFS is between 35 and 36. The filtration was not specific to that tank by itself.

Yes, we have a protein skimmer.

We had 15 fish in the tank.
Orange shoulder tang
Hippo tang
Magnificent fox face
Moorish idol
Powder blue tang
Reef beauty
Black and white damsel
Blue damsel
Yellow tail damsel
Blue streak cleaner wrasse
Porcupine puffer
Clown trigger
Niger trigger
Diamond goby
Clown goby (only fish to survive)

I’d say they were relatively small. They were all added to the tank at the same time when they were tiny, so they grew up together. No aggression or issues with them getting along.

Orange tang and mag fox face were our largest at maybe 4 inches. Powder blue & hippo was maybe 3 inches. Clown trigger also maybe 3-4 inches. Everyone else was pretty small.

 

[randiLee]

Ahh ok. All makes sense now. When you said filter I thought you meant canister filter.

Is there a better way I can word it, now that you understand what I’ve got going on? (Still learning what things are called and how things are done so, I struggle to explain what I’m talking about.)

 

[TwelveL16]

Ahh ok. All makes sense now. When you said filter I thought you meant canister filter.

Is there a better way I can word it, now that you understand what I’ve got going on? (Still learning what things are called and how things are done so, I struggle to explain what I’m talking about.)

Just the way you did. “Return pump.”

 

[randiLee]

The behaviour seems odd to me for that specific fish. That’s good size water!

Perhaps he sees himself in the glass and thinks that’s another competitor, you can test that theory by seeing if it stops when lights out.

I would have expected him/her to be constantly on the move, likely letting all know who the boss is.

If there’s no agressive behaviour, I leave the PB in.

Sometimes things just work out for no apparent reason.

Beautiful fish, very fast.

Likely will not accept any new entries going forward.

I have other tanks I can move fish into, if any bullying occurs. But for now…everyone seems happy and healthy except for this big guy. He’s still swimming vertically with his tail dragging on the sand. It’s SO strange. I’m so worried about him because he had such a great personality at the store.

I’m starting to wonder if he has a broken tail or something…maybe during the transfer to the bucket they dropped him or something. I don’t know. It’s so weird. I just hate to see any fish acting un-fish-like.

 

[randiLee]

Just the way you did. “Return pump.”

Ahh, ok. Got it. Thanks so much for asking the right questions and helping me out! Hopefully our Sohal snaps out of it soon.

 

[randiLee]

Are you saying salinity is 1.035 ppt??

No. It’s 35 ppt or 1.0264 sg depending on which unit of measure you’re using.

 

[randiLee]

Adding an air stone often helps if breathing is elevated from stress of a new tank

Ok, we’ve an air stone for a little while. Sohal

Assuming it is 35 ppt (1.026 SG) and hope it’s not 1.035 SG.

correct. 35ppt.

 

[W31Olds]

Sorry for your loss. So more than likely a lack of O2 caused your fish to Pass, and BTW the lower Temp actually buys some extra time. As for your Sohal, was he swimming in the bucket normally during the acclimation process? Did you run an airstone as he's a big fish. For your return pump, you may want to consider an inline flowmeter from Neptune Systems. I'm not an expert on their equipment but I'm sure they can be setup for alerts to your phone or a DC Return pump that is WiFi enabled.

 

[randiLee]

Sorry for your loss. So more than likely a lack of O2 caused your fish to Pass, and BTW the lower Temp actually buys some extra time. As for your Sohal, was he swimming in the bucket normally during the acclimation process? Did you run an airstone as he's a big fish. For your return pump, you may want to consider an inline flowmeter from Neptune Systems. I'm not an expert on their equipment but I'm sure they can be setup for alerts to your phone or a DC Return pump that is WiFi enabled.

Thanks, that’s what I’m thinking too. I thought maybe the temp drop could’ve affected the moorish idol or a few of the sensitive fish that died first. But they all died within 2 hours of each other so, it seems to be more than likely an oxygen issue.

Yes, we have added something from the Neptune system and my husband dialed in all the alarms. We should never have an issue like that again.

The Sohal barely fit in the 5 gallon bucket. Despite being almost full of water, he laid down on his side for the majority of the ride home.

After watching him for the past 24 hours…It almost seems as though his tail is paralyzed. I don’t know. I’m at a loss for what could be wrong.

I’ve tried to poke at him once or twice to get him to swim. He just slowly moves to another spot in the tank and continues his vertical swimming with his tail dragging in the sand. Doesn’t seem bothered by me touching him.

 

[littlefoxx]

Thanks, that’s what I’m thinking too. I thought maybe the temp drop could’ve affected the moorish idol or a few of the sensitive fish that died first. But they all died within 2 hours of each other so, it seems to be more than likely an oxygen issue.

Yes, we have added something from the Neptune system and my husband dialed in all the alarms. We should never have an issue like that again.

The Sohal barely fit in the 5 gallon bucket. Despite being almost full of water, he laid down on his side for the majority of the ride home.

After watching him for the past 24 hours…It almost seems as though his tail is paralyzed. I don’t know. I’m at a loss for what could be wrong.

I’ve tried to poke at him once or twice to get him to swim. He just slowly moves to another spot in the tank and continues his vertical swimming with his tail dragging in the sand. Doesn’t seem bothered by me touching him.

Did he fall or jump out of the tank at all? My sohal jumped after being chased by a clown trigger. He couldnt swim and his back end wasnt working like youre describing. Lost him unfortunately from the fall, too much damage

 

[randiLee]

Hi! Brand new member here.

I found a very active Sohal tang at our local aquarium store. They’ve had him 9 months. I brought him home because he was SUPER interactive through the glass, ate like a piggy, and just seemed like such an active and healthy guy.

We added him to our tank yesterday and he has been acting extremely weird. Swimming vertical, flapping his side fins and barely using his tail.

At the store, he was kept in a smaller aquarium but with no live rock or anything else in the tank…they had him 9 months with no issues.

Is he potentially afraid of all the stuff in our tank? Is this usual Sohal behavior? Could he have been stung by our Condy anemone?

Our tank is very well established but we recently had a major accident and lost all our fish (went out of town and accidentally left the filter off. Fish died by the next morning, it was devastating. We now have extensive alarms set so we can prevent this tragedy from ever occurring again.).

We’ve just been taking care of our invertebrates for a few weeks and are just now adding fish back. Water parameters are all normal.

We added this Sohal along with a wrasse, moorish idol, powder blue tang, & coral beauty. No bullies have been identified. All other fish doing great. Invertebrates still doing great as well.

We’re currently considering removing the condy and some of the rock to give him some more open space in the tank. He is quite larger than we expected him to be for our tank so, we need to make some adjustments for him. Upgrading to 400+ gal in the next 3-6 months.

Any feedback or help is appreciated.
I don’t want to lose him

Hi! Brand new member here.

I found a very active Sohal tang at our local aquarium store. They’ve had him 9 months. I brought him home because he was SUPER interactive through the glass, ate like a piggy, and just seemed like such an active and healthy guy.

We added him to our tank yesterday and he has been acting extremely weird. Swimming vertical, flapping his side fins and barely using his tail.

At the store, he was kept in a smaller aquarium but with no live rock or anything else in the tank…they had him 9 months with no issues.

Is he potentially afraid of all the stuff in our tank? Is this usual Sohal behavior? Could he have been stung by our Condy anemone?

Our tank is very well established but we recently had a major accident and lost all our fish (went out of town and accidentally left the filter off. Fish died by the next morning, it was devastating. We now have extensive alarms set so we can prevent this tragedy from ever occurring again.).

We’ve just been taking care of our invertebrates for a few weeks and are just now adding fish back. Water parameters are all normal.

We added this Sohal along with a wrasse, moorish idol, powder blue tang, & coral beauty. No bullies have been identified. All other fish doing great. Invertebrates still doing great as well.

We’re currently considering removing the condy and some of the rock to give him some more open space in the tank. He is quite larger than we expected him to be for our tank so, we need to make some adjustments for him. Upgrading to 400+ gal in the next 3-6 months.

Any feedback or help is appreciated.
I don’t want to lose him

UPDATE:

I’m starting to feel like my Sohal is paralyzed. He seems to be struggling to move his tail. He’s only swimming with pec fins. I remember the LFS struggling to catch him in his tank. I have a feeling he broke his spine or maybe got dropped into the bucket at a weird angle.

Nothing else makes sense. His tail is just dragging on the bottom while he struggles to remain upright.

I’m sad.

If anyone has any other suggestions to help him, please let me know.

 

[randiLee]

Did he fall or jump out of the tank at all? My sohal jumped after being chased by a clown trigger. He couldnt swim and his back end wasnt working like youre describing. Lost him unfortunately from the fall, too much damage

I remember them struggling to get him out of the tank at the fish store and I do feel like they dropped him from pretty far away from the bucket. But I was distracted talking to one of the other workers while he was being transferred into the bucket.

But I’m really starting to feel like he’s paralyzed. I feel so sad

 

[vetteguy53081]

I remember them struggling to get him out of the tank at the fish store and I do feel like they dropped him from pretty far away from the bucket. But I was distracted talking to one of the other workers while he was being transferred into the bucket.

But I’m really starting to feel like he’s paralyzed. I feel so sad

Which all amounts to stress. Consider quarantining especially tangs in the future as they are susceptible to stress, skin irritation, ich and velvet in many cases