Poor Purple Tang.....what do I do??

Chris Harbaugh

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Well from the pictures you can see thus Purple Tang has issues.. I 1st saw this Tang in the Petco over 3 months ago. When I 1st seen him he was obviously starving and the color around his face was all that was missing. I suspected HLLE disease I think. But as time went on he started to fatten up, but he has lost more scales and color along the mid section of his body on both sides.
Well, I couldn't stand it any longer and I bought him for $49. Just couldn't stand seeing him in those 10 gallon holding tanks anymore looking more color. I have him in my 180g and the animal seems very happy. Swimming his butt off, eating very well. I have no fear of him dying since he was in the Petco for over 3, maybe 4 months, but I would like to get a little advice from anyone about, if possible, reversing his lost scales and color. I place nori sheets and sea veggies that I soak Selco and Super Selco in, but I would like to know if there is anything else I should do??
Any help would be appreciated..
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nautical_nathaniel

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nautical_nathaniel

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Petco needs to just stop selling marine livestock. :(
Not all stores are bad, the supplier is to blame as well. My Petco in Pensacola has been doing a much better job with their marine fish, I just wish they would quit with corals if they aren't going to put them under proper lighting.
 

Mike N

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Not all stores are bad, the supplier is to blame as well. My Petco in Pensacola has been doing a much better job with their marine fish, I just wish they would quit with corals if they aren't going to put them under proper lighting.
I imagine they're much better in Florida. Here in Houston, all petco locations I have visited were really bad except for one (katy).
It probably comes down to their hiring practices.
Job requirements: Have a vehicle. That is all.
 
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Chris Harbaugh

Chris Harbaugh

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this Petco here in lake Jackson texas used to be terrible.. then about a month ago a new manager came in and stopped selling fish period. for 2 weeks they refused to sell and openly admitted they had a huge ich problem and all animals then in stock were under quarantine. they cleaned up the tanks also, I was really surprised. I wish they would have gotten ride of the sand an rock for a while, but doing something was better than before. way better.
 

nautical_nathaniel

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I imagine they're much better in Florida.
Here in Houston, all petco locations I have visited were really bad except for one.
It probably comes down to their hiring practices.
Job requirements: Have a vehicle. That is all.
You better believe it has a lot to do with the employees, the ones at the Petco in Pensacola are pretty good and the fish manager does her best to take care of the marine fish. She often asks me a lot of questions about their care when I come it, I guess I've sort of built up a reputation about knowing stuff in our Petco because she asks me something new every time I go in there to take a look around and/or get my cat's food.

Our main aquarium hobby LFS is quickly starting to get on my nerves because they're all the time saying they're "the best aquarium store in town" but when you go in there's ich on a lot of the fish, rampant cyano and dinoflaggelates in a lot of the tanks, and not a bit of good customer service unless it's convenient for the employees to show off. Our Petco easily has healthier fish most of the time and won't sell any if they do come in sick. The one thing that still kinda bugs me is that they aren't all that good at catching fish, but oh well haha
 

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this Petco here in lake Jackson texas used to be terrible.. then about a month ago a new manager came in and stopped selling fish period. for 2 weeks they refused to sell and openly admitted they had a huge ich problem and all animals then in stock were under quarantine. they cleaned up the tanks also, I was really surprised. I wish they would have gotten ride of the sand an rock for a while, but doing something was better than before. way better.
Thats good to hear.
 

Gweeds1980

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Well from the pictures you can see thus Purple Tang has issues.. I 1st saw this Tang in the Petco over 3 months ago. When I 1st seen him he was obviously starving and the color around his face was all that was missing. I suspected HLLE disease I think. But as time went on he started to fatten up, but he has lost more scales and color along the mid section of his body on both sides.
Well, I couldn't stand it any longer and I bought him for $49. Just couldn't stand seeing him in those 10 gallon holding tanks anymore looking more color. I have him in my 180g and the animal seems very happy. Swimming his butt off, eating very well. I have no fear of him dying since he was in the Petco for over 3, maybe 4 months, but I would like to get a little advice from anyone about, if possible, reversing his lost scales and color. I place nori sheets and sea veggies that I soak Selco and Super Selco in, but I would like to know if there is anything else I should do??
Any help would be appreciated..
20171010_144542.jpg
20171010_144532.jpg
20171010_144522.jpg
Looks like textbook HLLE. As per the post about @Humblefish great thread on potential treatment, do all those things!

The only thing I have to add is to feed natural foods... make your own by blending whole fish (and I mean WHOLE fish, eyes, skin, guts and bone), shellfish and nori along with omega 3 oil capsules. I have a bad tang addiction (yellow, Sailfin, vlamingi, orange shoulder and hippo at the moment, had powder blue too but became a bully)... never had any HLLE... I use cheap carbon, have stray voltage, don't feed nori sheets and don't even know what selcon is... but I feed homemade, whole fish food, high in omega 3 with seaweed mixed up. No scientific evidence, but it seems to work. I hasten to add that this feed has only been happening since about May this year, current tank was 12 months old at that point.

I have a theory that it's caused by a diet low in omega 3... we know that's responsible for a lot of the fatty tissue under the skin. My theory is that any fish which has a diet deficient in omega 3 will ultimately use up its omega 3 reserves, then it can't maintain the fatty layer, that goes and the rest of the flesh falls in on itself... tangs are more prone as their diets are naturally relatively low in omega 3, being mostly herbivorous and thus they reach the critical threshold quicker than other fish... I would suggest angels fall into that category too, with most being partly herbivorous and also sponge eaters, which again is low in omega 3. We see more cases of HLLE in tangs and angels than any other fish.

As I say, just a theory and I can't back it up, but I'll never feed food low in omega 3 again...
 
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Chris Harbaugh

Chris Harbaugh

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Looks like textbook HLLE. As per the post about @Humblefish great thread on potential treatment, do all those things!

The only thing I have to add is to feed natural foods... make your own by blending whole fish (and I mean WHOLE fish, eyes, skin, guts and bone), shellfish and nori along with omega 3 oil capsules. I have a bad tang addiction (yellow, Sailfin, vlamingi, orange shoulder and hippo at the moment, had powder blue too but became a bully)... never had any HLLE... I use cheap carbon, have stray voltage, don't feed nori sheets and don't even know what selcon is... but I feed homemade, whole fish food, high in omega 3 with seaweed mixed up. No scientific evidence, but it seems to work. I hasten to add that this feed has only been happening since about May this year, current tank was 12 months old at that point.

I have a theory that it's caused by a diet low in omega 3... we know that's responsible for a lot of the fatty tissue under the skin. My theory is that any fish which has a diet deficient in omega 3 will ultimately use up its omega 3 reserves, then it can't maintain the fatty layer, that goes and the rest of the flesh falls in on itself... tangs are more prone as their diets are naturally relatively low in omega 3, being mostly herbivorous and thus they reach the critical threshold quicker than other fish... I would suggest angels fall into that category too, with most being partly herbivorous and also sponge eaters, which again is low in omega 3. We see more cases of HLLE in tangs and angels than any other fish.

As I say, just a theory and I can't back it up, but I'll never feed food low in omega 3 again...
I made a batch of natural food. I have been feeding mainly just flakes. I didn't use a whole fish though, only a fillet. I admit it didn't come out all that good. Too big pieces. I added vitamins though. I put brightwell multi vitamin in it..i also put garlic in it.. it only made enough for me too feed for 2 weeks and I'll make another batch. I will see to it that I put omega 3 tabs in.. thanks.
 
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Chris Harbaugh

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should have QT'd him and babied him
Like I said, he was in the Petco for so long I didn't see much need to keep it in a small tank Any longer. It seems to 've happy. Picking at all the rock, nori sheets, and even pecks at the homemade fish food I made, although not alot.. I am thinking that maybe being in a 10g display tanks for so long had it constantly stressed, that and having new tankmates every week or more and being chased around a small tank so much while other fish were sold.. it gets along real well with my Naso, Foxface, and yellow eye tangs. Even the large Domino Damsels leave it alone.
 
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Chris Harbaugh

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Like I said, he was in the Petco for so long I didn't see much need to keep it in a small tank Any longer. It seems to 've happy. Picking at all the rock, nori sheets, and even pecks at the homemade fish food I made, although not alot.. I am thinking that maybe being in a 10g display tanks for so long had it constantly stressed, that and having new tankmates every week or more and being chased around a small tank so much while other fish were sold.. it gets along real well with my Naso, Foxface, and yellow eye tangs. Even the large Domino Damsels leave it alone.
Plus I'm sure the Petco didn't add anything to it's food
 

jeff williams

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If you read up on Selcon or vitachem they suggest soaking the food but also dumping the vitamins in the tank with the food I'm guessing the fish will possibly absorb the vitamins along with drinking the water.
 
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