Tomini Tang - Swollen Abdomen

[TwinReefDad]

I have had this Tomini tang for almost a month. I got it from a local fish store that had it for around 2 weeks before I bought it. It was in QT for the first 3 weeks going through preventative treatment with copper and some other medications for parasites. I moved the fish to my display 7 days ago, and it has been eating everything I feed the tank except nori. However, it will eat algae pellets off the sand and frequently picks at the rocks, glass, and sand when it is not hiding in its cave. The fish has never shown any signs of disease and looked perfectly normal up until around 3 days ago when it started showing a bloated belly. I would say the belly has gotten larger over the last 3 days and seems abnormal. The fish doesn't seem to be struggling to swim and is acting normal. Is this something to be concerned about? Or is the tang finally comfortable and starting to fatten up?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Wow- is fish still eating?
Is breathing normal or labored?
This is not typical constipation and suggests an infection or this may be what is referred to as edema where the fish has a hard time maintaining its bodily fluids with the current tank water related to kidney or liver failure.
If you see rapid breathing , it may involve the fish's entire body. often feeding brine shrimp IF eating may help any stuck foods pass as prolapse may be developing.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I have had this Tomini tang for almost a month. I got it from a local fish store that had it for around 2 weeks before I bought it. It was in QT for the first 3 weeks going through preventative treatment with copper and some other medications for parasites. I moved the fish to my display 7 days ago, and it has been eating everything I feed the tank except nori. However, it will eat algae pellets off the sand and frequently picks at the rocks, glass, and sand when it is not hiding in its cave. The fish has never shown any signs of disease and looked perfectly normal up until around 3 days ago when it started showing a bloated belly. I would say the belly has gotten larger over the last 3 days and seems abnormal. The fish doesn't seem to be struggling to swim and is acting normal. Is this something to be concerned about? Or is the tang finally comfortable and starting to fatten up?

That is more swollen that a tang should look, even one that is feeding well. It isn't an air bladder issue since, as you8 noted, the fish isn't struggling to swim. That leaves two possible issues that I know of; an intestinal blockage or ascites (fluid in the abdomen). Ascites can't be treated, so you should probably focus on a possible blockage.

One thing you could try is to mix up some gelatin food (or focus+food) along with Epsom salts at 3% by weight, and then feed that to the fish. This will have a purgative effect.

Jay

 

[TwinReefDad]

Wow- is fish still eating?
Is breathing normal or labored?
This is not typical constipation and suggests an infection or this may be what is referred to as edema where the fish has a hard time maintaining its bodily fluids with the current tank water related to kidney or liver failure.
If you see rapid breathing , it may involve the fish's entire body. often feeding brine shrimp IF eating may help any stuck foods pass as prolapse may be developing.

The fish ate earlier today. The breathing rate may be a little fast. I hope it is just stuck food. I'll try to feed some brine shrimp when the lights come back on in the morning. I tried to drop some food in a few minutes ago, but no one was interested this late at night. Thanks!

 

[TwinReefDad]

That is more swollen that a tang should look, even one that is feeding well. It isn't an air bladder issue since, as you8 noted, the fish isn't struggling to swim. That leaves two possible issues that I know of; an intestinal blockage or ascites (fluid in the abdomen). Ascites can't be treated, so you should probably focus on a possible blockage.

One thing you could try is to mix up some gelatin food (or focus+food) along with Epsom salts at 3% by weight, and then feed that to the fish. This will have a purgative effect.

Jay

I mixed up some food with Epsom salt and focus per your suggestion. I will try to feed them first thing in the morning once the lights come back on. All the fish, the Tomini included, are hunkered down for the night. Hopefully the Tomini is still wanting to eat tomorrow like it did today. Thanks!

 

[TwinReefDad]

Update: I have been feeding the Tomini a mix of Mysis/Brine shrimp, algae pucks, and some flake, all soaked in 3% Epsom salt with focus. It continues to eat well and seems to happily swim around the tank when it is not hiding in its cave. I have seen it poop three times where it seemed to blast out a cloud of brown. It likes to go to a specific corner of the tank to do this. No change in bloating, however, but no progression either.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Update: I have been feeding the Tomini a mix of Mysis/Brine shrimp, algae pucks, and some flake, all soaked in 3% Epsom salt with focus. It continues to eat well and seems to happily swim around the tank when it is not hiding in its cave. I have seen it poop three times where it seemed to blast out a cloud of brown. It likes to go to a specific corner of the tank to do this. No change in bloating, however, but no progression either.

Did you see poop before the Epsom salts? If so, it isn’t likely to help much. If the poop started after the Epsom salts, try another day of it.
Jay

 

[TwinReefDad]

Update: I have been feeding the Tomini a mix of Mysis/Brine shrimp, algae pucks, and some flake, all soaked in 3% Epsom salt with focus. It continues to eat well and seems to happily swim around the tank when it is not hiding in its cave. I have seen it poop three times where it seemed to blast out a cloud of brown. It likes to go to a specific corner of the tank to do this. No change in bloating, however, but no progression either.

Did you see poop before the Epsom salts? If so, it isn’t likely to help much. If the poop started after the Epsom salts, try another day of it.
Jay

I don't remember seeing it poop before the Epsom salts, so I will keep at it for another day.

 

[TwinReefDad]

Update: I had to head into the office early today and got home super late, so I did not get a chance to feed the tang the Epsom food. The tang still looks the same but doesn't show any other symptoms of distress. I'll try another round of Epsom food tomorrow, but if this was bloating from constipation, I feel like something should have happened by now. For the other potential conditions such as ascites, or liver/kidney failure, how long would the tang be able to keep up normal behavior (swimming, feeding, etc.) without showing some sort of sign of distress?

 

[Pod_01]

Just for reference I have Tomini tang and he/she was bloated twice. Did the Epson trick and it went away, but no idea if it helped or not. I used to feed nori and I suspect it was the cause or contributing factor. Since I have algae in the tank and he eats it I now feed him Fauna Marin pellets (he loves them) and they have high protein level no bread or other fillers. No bloating in over 1.5 years and he really coloured up.
Good luck,

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Update: I had to head into the office early today and got home super late, so I did not get a chance to feed the tang the Epsom food. The tang still looks the same but doesn't show any other symptoms of distress. I'll try another round of Epsom food tomorrow, but if this was bloating from constipation, I feel like something should have happened by now. For the other potential conditions such as ascites, or liver/kidney failure, how long would the tang be able to keep up normal behavior (swimming, feeding, etc.) without showing some sort of sign of distress?

Ascites from organ failure usually doesn't persist for long - the fish typically get sick and die. Your fish isn't showing any secondary signs, and the Epsom salts didn't seem to work, so I'm at a loss as to what is going on.....

Jay