Sailfin Tang Advice

[Reefman603]

Okay before I start this post I know the Sailfin Tang in my 65 gallon reef should be in a bigger aquarium, but he came with the tank and I just got the tank about 3 weeks ago. I want to re home him to a larger proper home, but didn’t know if there was something I could do to help get his fins growing and looking the way they should in the mean time? He is very active and eats great and acts perfectly healthy just his fins are almost non existent compared to how they should be? Any advice on how to rehab his fins?

 

[Saveafish]

He has fin rot, flukes, I think I also see ick on him.
@Humblefish

 

[Skynyrd Fish]

Your tank looks great. I for sure would consider a qt for that tang and treat for flukes. He may also have a diet issue, and a bacterial infection. Let’s call in a pro or two. @ngoodermuth, @HotRocks , @4FordFamily . They helped me through a successful qt.

Tell us about the tank and fish. How long you’ve had it, how long has the fish looked like this, ro/di water, that sort of stuff.

 

[Reefman603]

He has fin rot, flukes, I think I also see ick on him.
@Humblefish

No Ick on him just the lighting or way the photo looks but I agree with the fin rot, never heard of flukes what is that ?

 

[Reefman603]

Your tank looks great. I for sure would consider a qt for that tang and treat for flukes. He may also have a diet issue, and a bacterial infection. Let’s call in a pro or two. @ngoodermuth, @HotRocks , @4FordFamily . They helped me through a successful qt.

Tell us about the tank and fish. How long you’ve had it, how long has the fish looked like this, ro/di water, that sort of stuff.

Thanks! And this setup has been running for 5 years and previous owner has had this tang since day one I guess, not sure how long his fins have looked this way but I do know at least for the last year or two, and tank has always been topped off/ water changed with ro/di water. His diet consists of veggie pellets, the veggie sheets you can put in a veggie clip, marine formula pellets and San Francisco Bay frozen carnivore/omnivore diet, he also picks at at algea on the rocks. Other fish in the tank are two black frostbite clowns, a red hawk fish, and two green chromis, which all these fish are perfectly healthy

 

[4FordFamily]

Fin rot can be caused by harmful bacteria (which does go waterborne) eating away at the fins/tail: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/bacterial-infections.191511/

Or it can be caused by skin flukes: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/flukes-–-general-guidelines.224423/

I’d dip the fish to look for flukes first. Use a dark, temp- matched bucket. Look for small sesame seed things at the bottom at the conclusion. This would mean flukes.

 

[Xanthurum]

Those fins will never grow back. The good news is you said it was eating and getting around ok. Unfortunately I dont think there is anything you can do for it

 

[ngoodermuth]

Fin rot can be caused by harmful bacteria (which does go waterborne) eating away at the fins/tail: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/bacterial-infections.191511/

Or it can be caused by skin flukes: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/flukes-–-general-guidelines.224423/

I’d dip the fish to look for flukes first. Use a dark, temp- matched bucket. Look for small sesame seed things at the bottom at the conclusion. This would mean flukes.

+1

 

[HotRocks]

+1

+2

 

[Reefman603]

+2

Is this bacteria something that could’ve been in the tank years ago and effected him, and he just never got the proper treatment to fix his fins so now he is the way he is? Every other fish in my tank is in excellent shape and my corals are doing great also

 

[ngoodermuth]

Is this bacteria something that could’ve been in the tank years ago and effected him, and he just never got the proper treatment to fix his fins so now he is the way he is? Every other fish in my tank is in excellent shape and my corals are doing great also

It could have been, did the previous owner say how long he’s been like that?

 

[Reefman603]

It could have been, did the previous owner say how long he’s been like that?

He’s had the fun damage for longer then 2 years I know that so quite some time and previous owner has had this tang in the tank since day 1 so probably something that happened at the beginning stages of the tank being setup id assume which was 5 or 6 years ago

 

[ngoodermuth]

You could still check for flukes, but chances are that it was an infection or aggression that unfortunately ran it’s course... if the fins haven’t grown back in 2 years, they likely won’t. Once the spines are gone they usually don’t grow back.

 

[Reefman603]

You could still check for flukes, but chances are that it was an infection or aggression that unfortunately ran it’s course... if the fins haven’t grown back in 2 years, they likely won’t. Once the spines are gone they usually don’t grow back.

Okay thank you