Yellow Tang Died

Warp_Asylum

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Hi there, I'm new to the forum...I had a yellow tang that just died suddenly yesterday morning and I'm at a loss as to what happened. He was eating and swimming with no issues for 3 weeks in my main display (32 gallon) with 2 PJ cardinals, 1 clown, and 1 flame angel (after 3 weeks in QT with the angel).

Parameters are all good, water change was done 3 days earlier (5 gallons). No visible signs of anything...he just started to swim close to the bottom the night before then was hiding behind some rock in the morning before he just died :(

Any ideas?
 

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Any pictures of it prior and after passing? The other fish showing no signs of anything?
 

LAReefer4Life

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Hard to say... It could have been many variables. Sorry for your loss.

My suggestion is to keep a close eye on your fishes behavior to ensure there isn't any disease or parasitic activity. Also make sure there aren't any predatory invert hiding out in your display.
 
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Any pictures of it prior and after passing? The other fish showing no signs of anything?
No I didnt take any, but my friend thought he looked like a darker yellow than the normal bright yellow. No so far (fingers crossed) the other fish look healthy and are not behaving differently.
 

Jesterrace

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Hi there, I'm new to the forum...I had a yellow tang that just died suddenly yesterday morning and I'm at a loss as to what happened. He was eating and swimming with no issues for 3 weeks in my main display (32 gallon) with 2 PJ cardinals, 1 clown, and 1 flame angel (after 3 weeks in QT with the angel).

Parameters are all good, water change was done 3 days earlier (5 gallons). No visible signs of anything...he just started to swim close to the bottom the night before then was hiding behind some rock in the morning before he just died :(

Any ideas?

Big combination of factors here:

1) Tangs are very prone to disease (ie ich) and honestly 3 weeks isn't enough to really root out something like ich, so that is entirely possible even if it isn't visible. Velvet is similar but a much quicker killer

2) I get that the YT may have been smaller but if that was a 32 gallon cube then it is way too small for the free roaming nature of a Tang like the Yellow (I had a 4 inch Yellow Tang that decided my 90 gallon wasn't big enough for him and 3 other fish after just a month).

3) Dwarf Angels and Tangs can be nasty to each other due to similar profile/shape. My Yellow Tang made life miserable for my Coral Beauty Dwarf Angel for about a month and it likely would have died had I not removed the Yellow Tang when I did. In your case the opposite may be true if the YT was smaller and the Flame Angel is a bit larger. Flame Angels are one of the more aggressive dwarfs (Had to boot one from my old tank as well). The point is that even though you may not have seen it the Flame Angel may have bullied the YT and stressed it out to the point where it died. Also FYI the 32 is going to be too small for that Flame Angel in the long run. Dwarf Angels really should have a 4 foot long tank, especially one that is more aggressive like the Flame.
 

moz71

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Very hard to say, sometimes it justs happens, coincidentally, i got a yellow tang a couple of months ago and three straight weeks in a QT with no issues at all then dead out of no where, no signs of anything. i chalked it up to one of those things
 

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Fish diseases don't always show physical manifestations. When they do show signs usually it is behavioral and physical markings can be very subtle. As Jesterrace states your tank is just way too small for any tang. I think your first step is to read up on QT tanks and how to set one up. Secondly doing research before buying a fish will significantly decrease your mortality rate.
 

vetteguy53081

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If no noticeable diseases or skin pigments, often i see with yellow tangs is their ability to startle easily and literally crash into a rock or glass and Knock themselves Out.
 

Jesterrace

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If no noticeable diseases or skin pigments, often i see with yellow tangs is their ability to startle easily and literally crash into a rock or glass and Knock themselves Out.

And here I was thinking that was a Foxface thing. My One Spot Foxface is a super spaz. I got him to replace my aggressive YT.
 
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Warp_Asylum

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Big combination of factors here:

1) Tangs are very prone to disease (ie ich) and honestly 3 weeks isn't enough to really root out something like ich, so that is entirely possible even if it isn't visible. Velvet is similar but a much quicker killer

2) I get that the YT may have been smaller but if that was a 32 gallon cube then it is way too small for the free roaming nature of a Tang like the Yellow (I had a 4 inch Yellow Tang that decided my 90 gallon wasn't big enough for him and 3 other fish after just a month).

3) Dwarf Angels and Tangs can be nasty to each other due to similar profile/shape. My Yellow Tang made life miserable for my Coral Beauty Dwarf Angel for about a month and it likely would have died had I not removed the Yellow Tang when I did. In your case the opposite may be true if the YT was smaller and the Flame Angel is a bit larger. Flame Angels are one of the more aggressive dwarfs (Had to boot one from my old tank as well). The point is that even though you may not have seen it the Flame Angel may have bullied the YT and stressed it out to the point where it died. Also FYI the 32 is going to be too small for that Flame Angel in the long run. Dwarf Angels really should have a 4 foot long tank, especially one that is more aggressive like the Flame.
Thank you for this detailed reply, yes the YT was smaller and I was hoping he would be ok in the 32 for a few months until my 200 is ready. What throws me off is the YT and Flame Angel were in QT together and I never noticed any aggression but once they moved into my 32 it's possible something was going on I didnt see.

How long do you QT your fish for?
 

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