Tang flashing…..

[winxp_man]

Do tangs have other reasons to flash aside from disease or parasites? Didn’t want to post in the fish disease being it’s just a question about nothing in particular. Saw a fish in my brothers tank flash today. These fish have been QT’ed and the whole works. They have been in the tank for about 2 months with no connection to new tank mates or anything from any other tank.

The reason I’m asking if a tang will flash, as I have seen clowns do and no issues with them. But then yawning when a known disease set in, is a telltale sign.

 

[W31Olds]

If Scratching of Flashing occurs multiple times over an hour or so I would be concerned. I would also observe respiration rate. If elevated, then also a concern. Many Times Water Quality can also cause that. I would advise your Brother to keep a close eye on them for now.

 

[winxp_man]

If Scratching of Flashing occurs multiple times over an hour or so I would be concerned. I would also observe respiration rate. If elevated, then also a concern. Many Times Water Quality can also cause that. I would advise your Brother to keep a close eye on them for now.

It’s the first time i saw the fish do it. And nothing prior that i have seen. And i have watched this tank for a while since we for the tank running a three months ago plus minus.

Breathing is normal, eating is normal, swimming is normal. If anything the fish is too fat haha.

The only pic i have for now. Been watching for ich or anything else for a few weeks now.

Maybe just a random fish thing for now. All five fish in this tank have been through copper, prazi, and Metro and kana plex when the clown got a bacterial growth.

 

[obanarama]

I don't know much, and have only been reefing for about 1.5 years, but in that time I've had a Mimic Tang that seems to scratch his gills on the sand once every half hour or so. He's otherwise 100% fine and eats great, swims great, doesn't breath fast, and is nice and chunky. I will say that I was dosing ammonium+urea for a few weeks to raise my tanks nitrates and stopped because his gill scratching increased and I noticed his breathing speed up one morning. So I stopped that dosing.

 

[Marco_99]

Yes they can flash to show dominance of territory. My two tangs do it all the time. They will also pick up sand sand and spit it out as they are doing it sometimes

 

[JumboShrimp]

I had a QT'd Butterfly flash once or twice 'out of the blue', and the first time the paranoia just about stopped my heart. That was about two weeks ago-- turned out to be nothing. (By the way, it only happened in the evening, as the lights dimmed.) Just keep an eye on things, but I bet you're good.

 

[obanarama]

Yes they can flash to show dominance of territory. My two tangs do it all the time. They will also pick up sand sand and spit it out as they are doing it sometimes

Really interesting!

 

[sgdnycct]

Do tangs have other reasons to flash aside from disease or parasites? Didn’t want to post in the fish disease being it’s just a question about nothing in particular. Saw a fish in my brothers tank flash today. These fish have been QT’ed and the whole works. They have been in the tank for about 2 months with no connection to new tank mates or anything from any other tank.

The reason I’m asking if a tang will flash, as I have seen clowns do and no issues with them. But then yawning when a known disease set in, is a telltale sign.

By flashing do you mean they expand their fins to look bigger at another fish? Or do you meaning scratching against rocks?

Flashing is a territorial thing where they are protecting their area or shooing away a potential competitor.

Scratching could be due to disease or irritation if some kind. Although I’ve noticed my fish do that at some point on and off without showing any other symptoms, so it could be nothing.

 

[JumboShrimp]

(I was using "flashing" interchangeably with "scratching", as some people tend to do-- but @sgdnycct is certainly correct in using the appropriate terminology. My bad.)

 

[slingfox]

Yes they can flash to show dominance of territory. My two tangs do it all the time. They will also pick up sand sand and spit it out as they are doing it sometimes

Yes, I just saw my Convict tang scratch twice against the sand to provoke my Yellow Tang. The Yellow Tang promptly chased the Convict away.

 

[winxp_man]

So yes flashing as in scratching in the sand. It’s the only time I have seen this act since in the new temp tank.

I should have worded my post better. The question should have been asked if this is a dominance thing. And it’s funny because he was going it at with the gem. They don’t get to the slice you up mode as my other tangs have. But they flare up and slap tails. And this took place now that I think about it, after they had a little raff minutes before. I watched them do another 30 min +- today after that flash/scratch and nothing else. Saw the CB Angle do some funny stuff being the gem gives it some head butts. This tank is small. It’s a m70 eshopps. The hybrid is about 3.5”-3.75 and gem is not far off. The CB is about 3.25 and the maroon female is about the same. The male maroon is the smallest in the tank. But this is my brothers tank and only temp for a few more weeks. They will be going into a 8’ 312 gal setup in about 4-5 weeks.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I don't know much, and have only been reefing for about 1.5 years, but in that time I've had a Mimic Tang that seems to scratch his gills on the sand once every half hour or so. He's otherwise 100% fine and eats great, swims great, doesn't breath fast, and is nice and chunky. I will say that I was dosing ammonium+urea for a few weeks to raise my tanks nitrates and stopped because his gill scratching increased and I noticed his breathing speed up one morning. So I stopped that dosing.

This may be a sign of flukes but log the frequency of flashing per hour for at least 2 hours. Irritants are another reason they do this and tangs in nature tend t do this with Infrequency.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Do tangs have other reasons to flash aside from disease or parasites? Didn’t want to post in the fish disease being it’s just a question about nothing in particular. Saw a fish in my brothers tank flash today. These fish have been QT’ed and the whole works. They have been in the tank for about 2 months with no connection to new tank mates or anything from any other tank.

The reason I’m asking if a tang will flash, as I have seen clowns do and no issues with them. But then yawning when a known disease set in, is a telltale sign.

I've seen wrasses "flash" or dive against the substrate for feeding responses and possibly behavioral responses based on that.

I've not seen tangs flash unless there was a disease (flukes) or particulates in the water that make the fish "feel" they have parasites.

Of course, the flashing rate is important; people watch their fish for differing amounts of time. As an aquarium curator, I had mere seconds to observe any one fish - if I saw flashing in that time, it was almost always due to flukes. A person who watches their fish longer may see a random scratch here and there and it may not be flukes.

Other signs to watch for in regards to flukes are rapid breathing, "rocking" front to back, head shaking and coughing.

 

[winxp_man]

I've seen wrasses "flash" or dive against the substrate for feeding responses and possibly behavioral responses based on that.

I've not seen tangs flash unless there was a disease (flukes) or particulates in the water that make the fish "feel" they have parasites.

Of course, the flashing rate is important; people watch their fish for differing amounts of time. As an aquarium curator, I had mere seconds to observe any one fish - if I saw flashing in that time, it was almost always due to flukes. A person who watches their fish longer may see a random scratch here and there and it may not be flukes.

Other signs to watch for in regards to flukes are rapid breathing, "rocking" front to back, head shaking and coughing.

Watched the tank today again for about 40 min. Nothing. And I do peak here and there at it to see if I'm seeing anything.

I do recall once a while ago. Did some feeding and sand came up and it got into the gills of one of the tangs. Next thing I know the tang was going to town in the sand till whatever was in the gills got out. My maroon clown female I have in that tank with her mate does the tail swipe at the sand all the time and particles come up like crazy. Yea she's nuts about her tail swipes haha. Maybe something went into the powders gills.

I will get a video soon. The breathing looks normal on all the fish. Only when they decide to jet across the tank, or when the maroon female decides she needs to fight herself in the glass reflection.

After what I have been through with disease and how much I have learned in the year + of doing qt non stop will many fish I have a sense of things before they even take place at times haha. Over all learning everyday though.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Watched the tank today again for about 40 min. Nothing. And I do peak here and there at it to see if I'm seeing anything.

I do recall once a while ago. Did some feeding and sand came up and it got into the gills of one of the tangs. Next thing I know the tang was going to town in the sand till whatever was in the gills got out. My maroon clown female I have in that tank with her mate does the tail swipe at the sand all the time and particles come up like crazy. Yea she's nuts about her tail swipes haha. Maybe something went into the powders gills.

I will get a video soon. The breathing looks normal on all the fish. Only when they decide to jet across the tank, or when the maroon female decides she needs to fight herself in the glass reflection.

After what I have been through with disease and how much I have learned in the year + of doing qt non stop will many fish I have a sense of things before they even take place at times haha. Over all learning everyday though.

If there is no scratching in 40 minutes, that is well below the threshold where I would be thinking of flukes.....