Yellow tang not eating.

[Medmondsii]

hello all,
I have a yellow tang in qt. Copper at about 1.67 ppm. I also had a salfin tang in the same qt but i passed away today. I don't want to raise the copper level any more until he starts eating. I have a video hopefully it will play for you. Is there any advice on getting him to eat? I just got him last week.

 

[Fish Think Pink]

hello all,
I have a yellow tang in qt. Copper at about 1.67 ppm. I also had a salfin tang in the same qt but i passed away today. I don't want to raise the copper level any more until he starts eating. I have a video hopefully it will play for you. Is there any advice on getting him to eat? I just got him last week.

Sorry for your loss.

Can you find out what it was eating before you bought it? Did you see it eat before you bought it? Was it eating for you before copper? What are you treating it for with copper? Is it more important to treat that or eat?

Tempt your yellow tang with different foods.

If you aren't at recommended copper levels, then you might be doing nothing but stressing fish. Have heard must be at recommended copper levels. Have also heard tangs do poorly to medications. Have heard yellow tangs are to reef tanks what canaries are to coal mines. My experience supports that: my yellow tang nearly died during a Reef Flux treatment so went to QT 3week vacation - all other tangs, fish, inverts & corals were fine during display tank treatment. Had to use acclimation box to reintroduce from QT back home to main display tank at end of treatment (sailfin wanted to kill yellow (again)). My sailfin and yellow always fought daily and sailfin was recently rehomed (due to CBB and not due to yellow). Suspect the similar sizes and similar nose shape contributed.

My yellow tang was slow to take to nori sheets and Reef Frenzy, but tore up Red Ogo from @AlgaeBarn and live black worms - but mine came from the wild right end of last year before Hawaii ban so those are things it was probably already familiar or similiar. I'm currently growing live red ogo in a 5g PetSmart tank with airstone, dosing bit of nitrate, bit of phosphate and drops of chaeto grow each week - has a 5k LED lightbulb sitting over its eggcrate top. It L.O.V.E.S red ogo and now will eat nori

I always feel fish in QT needs a friend. My go-to fish for QT friend is a neon blue goby because they are small - my QT is small - and they have lots of personality and don't get lost in my 180g once both fish out of QT (and I can have multiple blue gobies; zero aggression).

When it comes to picky eaters - try everything and try it repeatedly. These were left overs from a recent fish introduction:

 

[Medmondsii]

Sorry for your loss.

Can you find out what it was eating before you bought it? Did you see it eat before you bought it? Was it eating for you before copper? What are you treating it for with copper? Is it more important to treat that or eat?

Tempt your yellow tang with different foods.

If you aren't at recommended copper levels, then you might be doing nothing but stressing fish. Have heard must be at recommended copper levels. Have also heard tangs do poorly to medications. Have heard yellow tangs are to reef tanks what canaries are to coal mines. My experience supports that: my yellow tang nearly died during a Reef Flux treatment so went to QT 3week vacation - all other tangs, fish, inverts & corals were fine during display tank treatment. Had to use acclimation box to reintroduce from QT back home to main display tank at end of treatment (sailfin wanted to kill yellow (again)). My sailfin and yellow always fought daily and sailfin was recently rehomed (due to CBB and not due to yellow). Suspect the similar sizes and similar nose shape contributed.

My yellow tang was slow to take to nori sheets and Reef Frenzy, but tore up Red Ogo from @AlgaeBarn and live black worms - but mine came from the wild right end of last year before Hawaii ban so those are things it was probably already familiar or similiar. I'm currently growing live red ogo in a 5g PetSmart tank with airstone, dosing bit of nitrate, bit of phosphate and drops of chaeto grow each week - has a 5k LED lightbulb sitting over its eggcrate top. It L.O.V.E.S red ogo and now will eat nori

I always feel fish in QT needs a friend. My go-to fish for QT friend is a neon blue goby because they are small - my QT is small - and they have lots of personality and don't get lost in my 180g once both fish out of QT (and I can have multiple blue gobies; zero aggression).

When it comes to picky eaters - try everything and try it repeatedly. These were left overs from a recent fish introduction:

Thanks for the reply..
Right now all my fish are in qt. Due to an out break in my 280 gal Dt. I have a powder blue, fox face,flame angel, blue hippo yellow Belly tang, and ,2 black clown fish in a 30 gal qt. The yellow tang is by him self in the 10 gal qt. I wanted to make sure all fish are qt before putting them back in the Dt.

So far I have tried sea weed soak with garlic, pellets, mysis. And I have not seen him eat yet.
Should i begin taking the copper out? I'm using copper power for both qt tanks.
Keep putting seaweed on a clip until he eats it?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hard to tell anything from picture but some possibilities are:
- Low salinity
- Low temperature
- Flukes
- Velvet although you cant yet see it
- Intimidation by another fish
- High Ammonia

First recourse- Give it a freshwater dip using same temperature as display tank and a pinch of baking soda for 5 mins. Return fish to display tank. Look at bottom of container used for dip and see if you notice what looks like sesame seeds or fish scales- If so Flukes. If not- Ruled out. If no irritation/parasites- try water change in the event you are getting false test results.
What test kits are you using ?

Diet:

-Spirulina brine shrimp
- LRS Herbivore diet
- mysis shrimp
- small plankton
- Nori seaweed basted with garlic extract
- Hikari Marine cuisine
- Formula 2 flake and frozen
- Hikari veggie marine

Add selcon vitamins to the foods 2-3X per week and on alternating days, garlic extract for stamina and immunity health

 

[Medmondsii]

Low salinity @1.024
- Low temperature @ 77 F
- High Ammonia @ 0 according to ammonia badge (secheam)


i will do a fresh water dip tomorrow morning on the yellow tang. After the fresh water dip i will wait 3 days to see if he starts eating.
i will keep the copper in the qt for now. But if he dont start eating i will do a 100 % change. And start prazi treatment.

I dont think i have ammonia in the tank. Im using API test kits. I think they are not that accurate with copper in the water. But the ammonia badge seem to be reading 0.

 

[Medmondsii]

i did a fresh water dip saturday morning. The yellow tang seems to be swimming around. Today i did a 90% water change. I think i will do a prazipro treament now. But do you think i should wait until i get him to eat first?

 

[Fish Think Pink]

i did a fresh water dip saturday morning. The yellow tang seems to be swimming around. Today i did a 90% water change. I think i will do a prazipro treament now. But do you think i should wait until i get him to eat first?

I'd get yellow tang eating first, because think an eating fish handles stress better than starving fish

 

[Medmondsii]

I'd get yellow tang eating first, because think an eating fish handles stress better than starving fish

ok well said... lol...
I keep putting nori on a clip soaked in garlic and he still hasn't eaten it. I will continue to watch and swapping out nori and i will update.

 

[Fish Think Pink]

ok well said... lol...
I keep putting nori on a clip soaked in garlic and he still hasn't eaten it. I will continue to watch and swapping out nori and i will update.

Also keep trying at same time with other foods. With nori, try fraying edge little bit so it wiggles in current.

Good thing about QT with no meds is frequent water changes from overfeeding/tempting multiple foods will not cause med ratio fluctuations...

Sending warm wishes your way!

 

[Medmondsii]

Good news...
The yellow tang is eating mysis shrimp.. doesnt touch the nori tho. But none the less, he is eat something. I will continue to feed for 2 more days and then start medications. parizpro and the copper power.

 

[Medmondsii]

please new thread about the yellow tang here:

Yellow tang is hoovering over air stone please help!!!

I have a yellow tang and a 10 gallon quarantine tank. The fish has not eaten anything. Or I haven't seen it eat anything for about a week. I dosed prazipro today and did a water change yesterday. I checked for ammonia as I write this post and it appears to be 0ppm. Can some tell me what going...

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