Problem with my powder blue tang

[Hilltop Aquariums]

i have a powder blue tang that I’ve had for at least 3 years and it’s getting very skinny. It’s only eating small bits of nori, it won’t eat any frozen foods which I’ve tried 2 different kinds of mysis, rods food, a homemade mixture of everything or pellets which I’ve tried 2 different kinds. It used to chow anything that I put in the tank. I cant see any thing that looks like parasites or anything that looks abnormal on it. My paramaters are spot on and all the other fish are happy and healthy. Any ideas on what I can do???

 

[Zack K]

Any new additions to the tank recently? Any flashing or scratching on the rocks? White stringy poo? Have you tried live foods such as blackworms/whiteworms/clams?
-Zack

 

[Hilltop Aquariums]

No new additions and I haven’t seen any weird behavior. I haven’t really seen him poo in a while. I don’t believe I have any local options for live food in my area. I’ll call a couple of Lfs to see if they have anything. I have asked before and they don’t usually stock that stuff

 

[eatbreakfast]

He is very skinny. If he is eating nori I would increase how much is available to him. I would think internal parasites are probable based on how skinny he is. Internal parasites can suppress appetites too.

 

[Hilltop Aquariums]

Is there a medicine I could give him? Would I have to catch him and put him in Qt?

 

[eatbreakfast]

If he isn't eating anything but nori, then you will need to dose prazi. Prazi is reef safe except for dusters, but you will need to follow the instructions and be sure to do the second dose.

 

[Hilltop Aquariums]

Does that have any effect on inverts? I have a bunch of shrimp and 2 good size clams

 

[eatbreakfast]

Only decorative worms, such as feather duster and Coco worms.

 

[Hilltop Aquariums]

So that’s something that I would dose the whole tank? I’ve never used it before. When I stalked the tank all the fish were transferred from my old 125 to the new tank and haven’t added any fish since I started the big tank about 3 years ago.

 

[eatbreakfast]

You could dose the whole tank or catch out the powder blue and dose separately. But the powder blue looks in sore straits and removing him would be stressful and the parasites would still be in the dt. So I would dose the whole tank. However, prazi can also kill bristleworms too, so if you have a lot of bristleworms their die-off could be problematic.

As long as there are fish hosts aquarium parasites can just continue their life cycle. Healthy fish can handle parasites and keep them from overwhelming them. But if they get stressed or their immune system gets compromised, then parasites can get the upper hand.

 

[Hilltop Aquariums]

I have a blue throat trigger that loves bristleworms so I’m not to worried about that. I haven’t seen one in a very long time. I’ll have to order a bottle of prazi I guess and hope for the best for powder blue. Will it have any effects on coral?

 

[eatbreakfast]

I've dosed it in a mixed reef without issues.

 

[Hilltop Aquariums]

Ok... thanks for all the info!! I’ll get a bottle coming