Strange Behavior/Damage to Blonde Naso Tang

[LikeRichMahogany]

My Blonde Naso tang was added alongside a handful of other fish approximately 2 weeks ago. All the fish are getting in fine at this point, however I’m still seeing some strange behavior from my Naso tang. He will not eat prepared food. I’ve tried pe pellets, ocean nutrition pellets and flake foods, frozen mysis, brine, angelfish preparation, green and purple nori, the two little fishies red seaweed, and no dice whatsoever. He does occasionally pick at the rocks, but very little. He has been showing his stress colorations pretty consistently since I brought him home. He doesn’t swim around the tank much like other fish, he essentially stays in one place and just kind of hovers there. Yesterday I pulled some hair algae out of the tank and he looks super beat up today. He actually was in my acclimation box of his own accord(the lid was off), and his just sitting there, vertically position with his nose down, breathing slowly. Guessing he got into it with the other fish while he was hiding and I was pulling out algae. His fins are a little torn up, and there are multiple bites taken out of his tail. He’s still alive, but unmoving unless I move the acclimation box or physically touch him. What can I do to get this fish healthy and eating? It feels like a lost cause. I do have some saltwater I’m making if he makes it to morning, as well as a hospital tank. Photo is from yesterday. I’ll comment with a link to the video

 

[LikeRichMahogany]

View attachment 20251229_202921_43828F26-1BCD-4A71-953F-6F01E6D59E8F.mov

 

[ndrwater]

My first guess is the Gem tang... Zebrasoma sp can be pretty aggressive sometimes.
I would leave the Naso in the acclimation box for a while to make aure any aggression doesn't kill the Naso. With less stress of being beaten/chased, hopefully he/she will get back to eating.
You can try live brine if you have access.
Live food often gets finicky fish eating

 

[vetteguy53081]

My Blonde Naso tang was added alongside a handful of other fish approximately 2 weeks ago. All the fish are getting in fine at this point, however I’m still seeing some strange behavior from my Naso tang. He will not eat prepared food. I’ve tried pe pellets, ocean nutrition pellets and flake foods, frozen mysis, brine, angelfish preparation, green and purple nori, the two little fishies red seaweed, and no dice whatsoever. He does occasionally pick at the rocks, but very little. He has been showing his stress colorations pretty consistently since I brought him home. He doesn’t swim around the tank much like other fish, he essentially stays in one place and just kind of hovers there. Yesterday I pulled some hair algae out of the tank and he looks super beat up today. He actually was in my acclimation box of his own accord(the lid was off), and his just sitting there, vertically position with his nose down, breathing slowly. Guessing he got into it with the other fish while he was hiding and I was pulling out algae. His fins are a little torn up, and there are multiple bites taken out of his tail. He’s still alive, but unmoving unless I move the acclimation box or physically touch him. What can I do to get this fish healthy and eating? It feels like a lost cause. I do have some saltwater I’m making if he makes it to morning, as well as a hospital tank. Photo is from yesterday. I’ll comment with a link to the video

I doubt its the gem and intimidation. Unfortunately, seeing the fish looking thin, this may be the case of another blonde naso and wish I was posting something cheery but in reality and I dont like being the one to disclose this but over the last 22 months or more, there has been an influx of these fish are coming from Sri Lanka and it is suspected that a method of capture is contributing to this trend in which the fish appears healthy the first few days and then weakens quickly with loss of appetite and strength and then found laying on its side, thin body and breathing heavy until death. It may be due to cyanide capture but unconfirmed.

 

[LikeRichMahogany]

My Blonde Naso tang was added alongside a handful of other fish approximately 2 weeks ago. All the fish are getting in fine at this point, however I’m still seeing some strange behavior from my Naso tang. He will not eat prepared food. I’ve tried pe pellets, ocean nutrition pellets and flake foods, frozen mysis, brine, angelfish preparation, green and purple nori, the two little fishies red seaweed, and no dice whatsoever. He does occasionally pick at the rocks, but very little. He has been showing his stress colorations pretty consistently since I brought him home. He doesn’t swim around the tank much like other fish, he essentially stays in one place and just kind of hovers there. Yesterday I pulled some hair algae out of the tank and he looks super beat up today. He actually was in my acclimation box of his own accord(the lid was off), and his just sitting there, vertically position with his nose down, breathing slowly. Guessing he got into it with the other fish while he was hiding and I was pulling out algae. His fins are a little torn up, and there are multiple bites taken out of his tail. He’s still alive, but unmoving unless I move the acclimation box or physically touch him. What can I do to get this fish healthy and eating? It feels like a lost cause. I do have some saltwater I’m making if he makes it to morning, as well as a hospital tank. Photo is from yesterday. I’ll comment with a link to the video

I doubt its the gem and intimidation. Unfortunately, seeing the fish looking thin, this may be the case of another blonde naso and wish I was posting something cheery but in reality and I dont like being the one to disclose this but over the last 22 months or more, there has been an influx of these fish are coming from Sri Lanka and it is suspected that a method of capture is contributing to this trend in which the fish appears healthy the first few days and then weakens quickly with loss of appetite and strength and then found laying on its side, thin body and breathing heavy until death. It may be due to cyanide capture but unconfirmed.

Is there a way to confirm cyanide poisoning, even if only post mortem? I’m not opposed to trying to find out. My friend just opened the newest local fish store here, and I would love to be able to help inform him. @Jay Hemdal id appreciate your input as a fellow local as well

 

[vetteguy53081]

Is there a way to confirm cyanide poisoning, even if only post mortem? I’m not opposed to trying to find out. My friend just opened the newest local fish store here, and I would love to be able to help inform him. @Jay Hemdal id appreciate your input as a fellow local as well

Often not other than signs and symptoms. I mentioned some signs, and see if fish falls into this behavior pattern

 

[LikeRichMahogany]

Is there a way to confirm cyanide poisoning, even if only post mortem? I’m not opposed to trying to find out. My friend just opened the newest local fish store here, and I would love to be able to help inform him. @Jay Hemdal id appreciate your input as a fellow local as well

Often not other than signs and symptoms. I mentioned some signs, and see if fish falls into this behavior pattern

I’ve read your response as well as a few other comments you’ve made on other people’s posts in 2024 and 2023 regarding the same issues, and each time, you describe the exact process of what my fish has done, and they provide photos that look just like mine. I’ve also seen that jay has the blonde naso on his fish to avoid list… it’s ghastly how consistently they go down this route.

 

[ndrwater]

I really hoped the days of Cyanide fishing were behind us....
Apparently not......

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Is there a way to confirm cyanide poisoning, even if only post mortem? I’m not opposed to trying to find out. My friend just opened the newest local fish store here, and I would love to be able to help inform him. @Jay Hemdal id appreciate your input as a fellow local as well

Sorry - I just woke up.

I can see severe tail damage on the tang, so some fish was going after it.

Indeed, blonde naso tangs have been showing a high mortality rate in recent years. I don’t think it is cyanide, as these fish rarely hole up in reefs, and typically flee when approached. Cyanide only works on fish that dive into the coral or rocks. Fish that swim away like this are caught in barrier nets.

I suspect there is some issue with these due to the long supply chain since Covid.

I’m really sorry, but with this fish not eating and then getting beat up, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to save it. The best option would be to move it to a hospital tank and dose with a broad spectrum antibiotic. The feeding issue would remain though….

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I really hoped the days of Cyanide fishing were behind us....
Apparently not......

No - it’s still prevalent in areas of SE Asia. If you can determine from the vendor where a fish was collected, you can use this article to try and weed out the bad sources:
https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/sourcing-marine-fishes-and-invertebrates.875/

 

[LikeRichMahogany]

Naso is in a hospital tank, and is still alive… but is breathing very hard and has a severe arch to his spin. The fish is currently crescent shaped.