Yellow tang cannot eat (Literally)

[pookie]

Videos and pictures below.
Ive had this yellow tang since he was the size of between half dollar and quarter which is about 1.5 years now. He is the first of many fish in my new 150. He has been in there for about a month now. Looking closely as we just got back from vacation He is severely thin. We had someone feeding nori everyday and af4 feeding mysis while we were gone. At a closer look I can see is beak/mouth is pretty red and damaged somehow. Ive never seen this happen to a fish. He will go for food but keep spitting back out 15-30 times until he gives up on all foods including tdo pellets, generic flakes, hikari mysis, pe mysis, blackworms, whiteworms, live brine, and nori. Looking for someone who knows zebrasoma very well and can tell me what the heck is going on with his beak as it looks chipped or broken... he was eating great for the first 2 weeks being in here... now looks like I might loose him... ill have video links to YouTube since they dont upload properly on here.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Videos and pictures below.
Ive had this yellow tang since he was the size of between half dollar and quarter which is about 1.5 years now. He is the first of many fish in my new 150. He has been in there for about a month now. Looking closely as we just got back from vacation He is severely thin. We had someone feeding nori everyday and af4 feeding mysis while we were gone. At a closer look I can see is beak/mouth is pretty red and damaged somehow. Ive never seen this happen to a fish. He will go for food but keep spitting back out 15-30 times until he gives up on all foods including tdo pellets, generic flakes, hikari mysis, pe mysis, blackworms, whiteworms, live brine, and nori. Looking for someone who knows zebrasoma very well and can tell me what the heck is going on with his beak as it looks chipped or broken... he was eating great for the first 2 weeks being in here... now looks like I might loose him... ill have video links to YouTube since they dont upload properly on here.

This fish is very thin and one of several I have seen recently with poor diet and likely vitamin deficiency. This fish cannot thrive on Mysis shrimp alone and needs more foods such as LRS Herbivore or fish Frenzy, plankton, brine shrimp, Prime Reef, Formula 2 or hikari veggie diet and chopped krill as examples. Lack of feeding may be due in part to damage and at minimum, you can safely add Ruby Rally pro , or in a separate tank, Seachem Neoplex

 

[pookie]

This fish is very thin and one of several I have seen recently with poor diet and likely vitamin deficiency. This fish cannot thrive on Mysis shrimp alone and needs more foods such as LRS Herbivore or fish Frenzy, plankton, brine shrimp, Prime Reef, Formula 2 or hikari veggie diet and chopped krill as examples. Lack of feeding may be due in part to damage and at minimum, you can safely add Ruby Rally pro , or in a separate tank, Seachem Neoplex

I 100% agree with you. Everything i have listed in the post is what he gets on rotation. He also has had some macro algae (ulva) but he gets nori nearly everyday, spurlina brine, fish eggs/roe and all foods are soaked with selcon and garlic and every now and then with some beta glucan. He was very fat and happy not too long ago but he literally cannot eat and that is the problem now. He has a very healthy diet and all other tangs ive had and have are also very fat. This isnt a simple case of diet. There is something physically wrong with him and I feel horrible for him as I dont want him to be this emaciated.

 

[pookie]

Here are the videos I can get of him trying to eat. I also just put another sheet of nori in and looked at it and picked it but didnt eat any and swam away.

Forgot to mention he also is the only one in the 150 until the rest of my fish are out of their preventative qt.

 

[W31Olds]

How long were you on Vacation? I'm asking because it looks like something else going on here besides starvation.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Here are the videos I can get of him trying to eat. I also just put another sheet of nori in and looked at it and picked it but didnt eat any and swam away.

Forgot to mention he also is the only one in the 150 until the rest of my fish are out of their preventative qt.

This fish seems to have impact or other mouth damage preventing it from, eating and is likely a cause as I see the interest he had in floating particle of brine shrimp. He may have gotten startled and I suggest lowering the lights a little and again treating the mouth using Seachem Neoplex

 

[pookie]

How long were you on Vacation? I'm asking because it looks like something else going on here besides starvation.

15 days on a cruise, im guessing either shortly before or after he hasnt eaten since. I managed to get him to swallow 2 small tdo pellets with some kanaplex with focus and I will look into neoplex Thanks

 

[W31Olds]

Do you have any recent pics before your Vacation? A heathy fat Tang cannot possible lose that much weight in 15 Days.

 

[pookie]

I dont know why I need to post a picture to prove im taking care of him... here's a Pic when I got him from my other tank in april when I was thinking about selling him. Other tang looks fat too!!!

 

[vetteguy53081]

I dont know why I need to post a picture to prove im taking care of him... here's a Pic when I got him from my other tank in april when I was thinking about selling him. Other tang looks fat too!!!

Nothing to prove and will need more info such as breathing rate and if you see n any scratching behavior

 

[pookie]

Nothing to prove and will need more info such as breathing rate and if you see n any scratching behavior

No scratching i dont think his respiration is more than normal? Around how many resperations per minute?

 

[vetteguy53081]

No scratching i dont think his respiration is more than normal? Around how many resperations per minute?

average is 100 and up to 120

 

[W31Olds]

Pookie, I did not mean to offend. Members sometimes don't realize that their fish are losing weight. From the Pics you just posted it is evident that your Yellow was at a good healthy weight. For a fish to lose that much weight in 15 Days is not normal. Jay and Vette are the experts, but a healthy fish can go much longer without eating and showing significant weight loss. That's why Vette is requesting additional info. In your second video, there appears to something on the front right fin and looks like some head shaking going on.

 

[pookie]

Pookie, I did not mean to offend. Members sometimes don't realize that their fish are losing weight. From the Pics you just posted it is evident that your Yellow was at a good healthy weight. For a fish to lose that much weight in 15 Days is not normal. Jay and Vette are the experts, but a healthy fish can go much longer without eating and showing significant weight loss. That's why Vette is requesting additional info. In your second video, there appears to something on the front right fin and looks like some head shaking going on.

Its all good! I didnt mean to act annoyed i just want to help it as much as I can. The thing on his fin is something he has had since the fish store his scales are a weird pattern on that side. I also thought he had something on that side when I got him

 

[strich]

dang, poor fella! I wonder if you can soak the pellets for 20 mins first and maybe squish a few too, then feed so he doesn't have to work the jaw to swallow?

I don't know how much mature media you have in this new tank, but might be worth going heavy on feeds every few hours to keep easy food options available in the water column.

 

[pookie]

dang, poor fella! I wonder if you can soak the pellets for 20 mins first and maybe squish a few too, then feed so he doesn't have to work the jaw to swallow?

I don't know how much mature media you have in this new tank, but might be worth going heavy on feeds every few hours to keep easy food options available in the water column.

I got him to swallow one, I think, doing this earlier, but he hasn't sensed :( I feel horrible for him. I spoke to Dr.Fish (Humblefish), and he gave me guidance on doing a sulfa+nitrofurazone baths for 7-14 days.

 

[JumboShrimp]

Sorry about all of this. I can tell he is a special fish to you. Hoping for a nice turn-around.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I got him to swallow one, I think, doing this earlier, but he hasn't sensed :( I feel horrible for him. I spoke to Dr.Fish (Humblefish), and he gave me guidance on doing a sulfa+nitrofurazone baths for 7-14 days.

I read through the thread - I also wonder if this is mechanical damage from a strike injury that is keeping the fish from feeding properly?

If so, the added physical stress from net capturing it to move it for the food might compound that injury. I don’t see any signs of external infection. Still, if you don’t do something, you will lose the fish.

One thing I would try is some live baby brine shrimp - if it is still attempting to feed, those might be small enough and soft enough for it to swallow more easily.

 

[W31Olds]

I read through the thread - I also wonder if this is mechanical damage from a strike injury that is keeping the fish from feeding properly?

If so, the added physical stress from net capturing it to move it for the food might compound that injury. I don’t see any signs of external infection. Still, if you don’t do something, you will lose the fish.

One thing I would try is some live baby brine shrimp - if it is still attempting to feed, those might be small enough and soft enough for it to swallow more easily.

Very possible, I'm ticked I lost my WT Bristletooth last night when transferring him to another Tank and he slipped out of my hands (gloved) and hit the floor. He seemed fine after but would not eat last night and was gone this morning. I suspect he had some internal bleeding.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Very possible, I'm ticked I lost my WT Bristletooth last night when transferring him to another Tank and he slipped out of my hands (gloved) and hit the floor. He seemed fine after but would not eat last night and was gone this morning. I suspect he had some internal bleeding.

Sorry to hear.