Tang Behavior

[316Reef]

Just over a month ago i added a Gold Rim Tang and one of my dream fish, a Naso Tang. The Naso is maybe 3' and smaller than the Gold Rim.

Over the past few days i've noticed the Naso no longer going after any food when feeding the tank as he normally would nor has it been as active swimming around the tank as it was. The only food it really seem interested in was nori sheets and even then it only took a few bites. I tried everything i could do to get it eating to no avail.

This morning i noticed him just hanging low in the back of the tank mainly stationary and sometimes tipping sideways and righting itself up. It's dull in color and showing white spots which normally it only does at night while sleeping at night. There are no obvious signs of disease such as ich, etc... All water parameters are within range and no other fish are showing any signs of not eating or acting abnormal.

I came home this evening and the Naso was wrapped around the power head guard. Thinking he was a goner i got the net and started fishing him out and to my surprise he was still alive and swam to the bottom of the tank. I do not have high hopes of him surviving the night but what i found interesting was the Gold Rim's behavior towards the Naso. It will randomly swim up to it and flutter its tail against it. Im not sure if this is a sign of aggression or motivation to get moving or what it is, never seen it before. I've watched it happen at least a dozen times and sometimes the Naso will perk up, sometime nothing.

I guess i have two questions: Any ideas as to what may have caused the Naso to decline and wha the behavior is from the Gold Rim?

Thanks!

 

[mmorrison55]

#fishmedics

 

[Salman123]

Just over a month ago i added a Gold Rim Tang and one of my dream fish, a Naso Tang. The Naso is maybe 3' and smaller than the Gold Rim.

Over the past few days i've noticed the Naso no longer going after any food when feeding the tank as he normally would nor has it been as active swimming around the tank as it was. The only food it really seem interested in was nori sheets and even then it only took a few bites. I tried everything i could do to get it eating to no avail.

This morning i noticed him just hanging low in the back of the tank mainly stationary and sometimes tipping sideways and righting itself up. It's dull in color and showing white spots which normally it only does at night while sleeping at night. There are no obvious signs of disease such as ich, etc... All water parameters are within range and no other fish are showing any signs of not eating or acting abnormal.

I came home this evening and the Naso was wrapped around the power head guard. Thinking he was a goner i got the net and started fishing him out and to my surprise he was still alive and swam to the bottom of the tank. I do not have high hopes of him surviving the night but what i found interesting was the Gold Rim's behavior towards the Naso. It will randomly swim up to it and flutter its tail against it. Im not sure if this is a sign of aggression or motivation to get moving or what it is, never seen it before. I've watched it happen at least a dozen times and sometimes the Naso will perk up, sometime nothing.

I guess i have two questions: Any ideas as to what may have caused the Naso to decline and wha the behavior is from the Gold Rim?

Thanks!

What’s your tank size?

 

[Salman123]

Just over a month ago i added a Gold Rim Tang and one of my dream fish, a Naso Tang. The Naso is maybe 3' and smaller than the Gold Rim.

Over the past few days i've noticed the Naso no longer going after any food when feeding the tank as he normally would nor has it been as active swimming around the tank as it was. The only food it really seem interested in was nori sheets and even then it only took a few bites. I tried everything i could do to get it eating to no avail.

This morning i noticed him just hanging low in the back of the tank mainly stationary and sometimes tipping sideways and righting itself up. It's dull in color and showing white spots which normally it only does at night while sleeping at night. There are no obvious signs of disease such as ich, etc... All water parameters are within range and no other fish are showing any signs of not eating or acting abnormal.

I came home this evening and the Naso was wrapped around the power head guard. Thinking he was a goner i got the net and started fishing him out and to my surprise he was still alive and swam to the bottom of the tank. I do not have high hopes of him surviving the night but what i found interesting was the Gold Rim's behavior towards the Naso. It will randomly swim up to it and flutter its tail against it. Im not sure if this is a sign of aggression or motivation to get moving or what it is, never seen it before. I've watched it happen at least a dozen times and sometimes the Naso will perk up, sometime nothing.

I guess i have two questions: Any ideas as to what may have caused the Naso to decline and wha the behavior is from the Gold Rim?

Thanks!

What’s your tank size?

 

[316Reef]

Tank is 120 gallons. If you’re going to comment about tank size and tangs I have a plan in place to upgrade in the next year to 180 or 220 and if for whatever reason that fell through a friend of mine was going to take them for his 220 and the contingency for that is my LFS would take them in for credit.

 

[slingfox]

Tank is 120 gallons. If you’re going to comment about tank size and tangs I have a plan in place to upgrade in the next year to 180 or 220 and if for whatever reason that fell through a friend of mine was going to take them for his 220 and the contingency for that is my LFS would take them in for credit.

Sounds like current tank is too small for these fish. Usually the most straightforward answer is the right one.

The other high probability explanation is disease. If you put the fish through proper quarantine then that can be ruled out.

 

[Salman123]

How big is the tank?

Sorry just saw this

 

[W31Olds]

Your large Tang is showing aggression/ dominance over the smaller one with the Tail Slap behavior. If you see slash type wounds on the small Tang that could be the problem. Post some pics and Video under white light. We need to see if there is a Pathogen at play and evaluate to see how thin he is.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Just over a month ago i added a Gold Rim Tang and one of my dream fish, a Naso Tang. The Naso is maybe 3' and smaller than the Gold Rim.

Over the past few days i've noticed the Naso no longer going after any food when feeding the tank as he normally would nor has it been as active swimming around the tank as it was. The only food it really seem interested in was nori sheets and even then it only took a few bites. I tried everything i could do to get it eating to no avail.

This morning i noticed him just hanging low in the back of the tank mainly stationary and sometimes tipping sideways and righting itself up. It's dull in color and showing white spots which normally it only does at night while sleeping at night. There are no obvious signs of disease such as ich, etc... All water parameters are within range and no other fish are showing any signs of not eating or acting abnormal.

I came home this evening and the Naso was wrapped around the power head guard. Thinking he was a goner i got the net and started fishing him out and to my surprise he was still alive and swam to the bottom of the tank. I do not have high hopes of him surviving the night but what i found interesting was the Gold Rim's behavior towards the Naso. It will randomly swim up to it and flutter its tail against it. Im not sure if this is a sign of aggression or motivation to get moving or what it is, never seen it before. I've watched it happen at least a dozen times and sometimes the Naso will perk up, sometime nothing.

I guess i have two questions: Any ideas as to what may have caused the Naso to decline and wha the behavior is from the Gold Rim?

Thanks!

How is the naso this morning? It looks pretty ill in the video.

This isn’t a tank size issue, the fish was eating well and suddenly it isn’t - too small of a tank doesn’t cause that to happen.

If the tang is still alive, can you post a video under white lights?

 

[316Reef]

Just over a month ago i added a Gold Rim Tang and one of my dream fish, a Naso Tang. The Naso is maybe 3' and smaller than the Gold Rim.

Over the past few days i've noticed the Naso no longer going after any food when feeding the tank as he normally would nor has it been as active swimming around the tank as it was. The only food it really seem interested in was nori sheets and even then it only took a few bites. I tried everything i could do to get it eating to no avail.

This morning i noticed him just hanging low in the back of the tank mainly stationary and sometimes tipping sideways and righting itself up. It's dull in color and showing white spots which normally it only does at night while sleeping at night. There are no obvious signs of disease such as ich, etc... All water parameters are within range and no other fish are showing any signs of not eating or acting abnormal.

I came home this evening and the Naso was wrapped around the power head guard. Thinking he was a goner i got the net and started fishing him out and to my surprise he was still alive and swam to the bottom of the tank. I do not have high hopes of him surviving the night but what i found interesting was the Gold Rim's behavior towards the Naso. It will randomly swim up to it and flutter its tail against it. Im not sure if this is a sign of aggression or motivation to get moving or what it is, never seen it before. I've watched it happen at least a dozen times and sometimes the Naso will perk up, sometime nothing.

I guess i have two questions: Any ideas as to what may have caused the Naso to decline and wha the behavior is from the Gold Rim?

Thanks!

How is the naso this morning? It looks pretty ill in the video.

This isn’t a tank size issue, the fish was eating well and suddenly it isn’t - too small of a tank doesn’t cause that to happen.

If the tang is still alive, can you post a video under white lights?

He was swimming erratically last night and kept getting pulled into the powerhead grate so I moved him to the sump where there was less flow and risk of getting pulled into the powerhead and he was swimming a little easier.

Woke up this morning and unfortunately he did not make it through the night.

 

[316Reef]

Your large Tang is showing aggression/ dominance over the smaller one with the Tail Slap behavior. If you see slash type wounds on the small Tang that could be the problem. Post some pics and Video under white light. We need to see if there is a Pathogen at play and evaluate to see how thin he is.

I was suspecting the behavior was aggression but wasn’t 100% sure. Prior to the Naso’s decline there was no aggression between the two, they were both introduced to the tank at the same time.

There were no physical injuries or wounds that I could see. He was appearing thin in the past week most likely due to the hunger strike but I tried everything I could think of to entice him.

 

[exnisstech]

@Jay Hemdal are we still having problems with the naso tangs coming in that stop eating and perish not too long being added?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

@Jay Hemdal are we still having problems with the naso tangs coming in that stop eating and perish not too long being added?

Yes - blonde nasos specifically. I couldn’t tell what species this was…..

Not sure what the issue is with them, something to do with a long supply chain, as the issue cropped up when Hawaii closed down and blonde nasos became sourced more often from Sri Lanka and Indonesia. Some people blame cyanide, but these tangs are typically caught in barrier nets, so it isn’t that.

 

[exnisstech]

Yes - blonde nasos specifically. I couldn’t tell what species this was…..

Not sure what the issue is with them, something to do with a long supply chain, as the issue cropped up when Hawaii closed down and blonde nasos became sourced more often from Sri Lanka and Indonesia. Some people blame cyanide, but these tangs are typically caught in barrier nets, so it isn’t that.

Thanks Jay. I couldn't remember if it was just blondes or both.

 

[allof fish]

I don’t think it’s necessary a tank size issue. Did you add the naso in after the other tang? The gold rim is definitely larger and will definitely show aggression at times. You can try the mirror trick or something similar to see if that helps. Or the naso is struggling with some and the other tang is taking advantage of that where the naso can’t defend itself