Yellow tang

[Matthew40]

I’ve had this tang for about 2 months now. He is growing like crazy. He’s probably 3.5”…it was really small when I got it. I’m feeding him all the right things but around his eyes are white. It’s not hlle…is this normal?

 

[Jekyl]

White light pic and even a short video can help

 

[Create New]

Looks like HLLE to me, a picture without blue lights would help, also what are you feeding?

 

[Steve H]

It is HLLE as well as an associated condition called scalloped fins. Are you using activated carbon? What is its diet? Is this fish captive raised?

 

[Rmckoy]

@vetteguy53081

 

[vetteguy53081]

Looks like this guy has endured aggression and stress.
reagarding question, head erosion and likely stemmed from both stress and even improper diet.
While carbon can be a contributor, the heavy erosion suggests vitamin deficiency , not from vitamins but types of food lacking vitamins, fats and aminos. Assure you are maintaining good water quality. Feed at minimum :

-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

 

[Steve H]

What do you mean by heavy erosion suggests a vitamin deficiency? Activated carbon is the only thing experimentally proven to cause HLLE, and can repeatedly produce severe cases acutely both in real world aquarium and laboratory settings. However, I do agree that nutrition could be a factor, and early nutrition during developmental stages could be at play in captive raised offerings.

 

[Matthew40]

Looks like this guy has endured aggression and stress.
reagarding question, head erosion and likely stemmed from both stress and even improper diet.
While carbon can be a contributor, the heavy erosion suggests vitamin deficiency , not from vitamins but types of food lacking vitamins, fats and aminos. Assure you are maintaining good water quality. Feed at minimum :

-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

Thank you for all of the information. There has been no aggression since i received him. I’ve fed him almost everything you listed except for the brine shrimp and I didn’t baste the nori with garlic, also I just ordered the selcon vitamins. I guess I’m going to try to remove the carbon? I really didn’t think this was hlle but I guess I was wrong…all the coral are doing well and my water quality is good.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Thank you for all of the information. There has been no aggression since i received him. I’ve fed him almost everything you listed except for the brine shrimp and I didn’t baste the nori with garlic, also I just ordered the selcon vitamins. I guess I’m going to try to remove the carbon? I really didn’t think this was hlle but I guess I was wrong…all the coral are doing well and my water quality is good.

Water quality-
What test kits are you using ?
What is your :
Ammonia
Nitrate
Ph
Salinity
Water Temp

 

[EakTheFreak]

If its captive bred they come in with this pre-existing and it is super common. I feed my Yellow Tang Nori soaked in selcon daily, spectrum pellets, clams, LRS Fish Frenzy, live white worms and much more.

My fish still has the white existing around its head because its a Captive bred yellow tang and that is how it arrived to me at a tiny size.

 

[Matthew40]

Water quality-
What test kits are you using ?
What is your :
Ammonia
Nitrate
Ph
Salinity
Water Temp

Hanna

ammonia 0
Nitrate <25
Ph 8.2-8.3
1.024
77 degrees

 

[Steve H]

Considering these particular fish eat almost exclusively algae in nature (95%ish) many of the meaty food items are unnecessary. Though I do like to mix in various frozen food items, a lot of people feed pellets, flakes, and nori almost exclusively without issue. What type of carbon are you running and how do you use it? Not all carbon will do it and many people including myself use it without issue (when done properly to avoid dust). I am going to go out on a limb and guess that you don’t use ozone?

 

[Matthew40]

If its captive bred they come in with this pre-existing and it is super common. I feed my Yellow Tang Nori soaked in selcon daily, spectrum pellets, clams, LRS Fish Frenzy, live white worms and much more.

My fish still has the white existing around its head because its a Captive bred yellow tang and that is how it arrived to me at a tiny size.

Ya mine is the same way and that’s why I didn’t think it was hlle. It arrived this way but just stayed the same as he grew…

 

[Steve H]

I agree with Eak as well, if this was a captive raised individual it may have came in with the start of HLLE. They will almost always have some level of scarring regardless of correcting course.

 

[Matthew40]

Considering these particular fish eat almost exclusively algae in nature (95%ish) many of the meaty food items are unnecessary. Though I do like to mix in various frozen food items, a lot of people feed pellets, flakes, and nori almost exclusively without issue. What type of carbon are you running and how do you use it? Not all carbon will do it and many people including myself use it without issue (when done properly to avoid dust). I am going to go out on a limb and guess that you don’t use ozone?

This is the carbon I use and I just have it in a mesh bag in the sump…I don’t use ozone. Maybe I should get a carbon reactor?

 

[Steve H]

The way that you are doing it should be fine, just ensure that it is well rinsed. I would not use it in a reactor, and just keep passively running it in your sump. You don’t want it tumbling or breaking down into dust. If your psk skimmate turns black that is a bad sign. I find the higher quality pellet carbons are the lowest risk (I think Rowa Carbon is a hobbyist example, I use a commercial bulk pellet). Your issue seems to be inherited, I have seen dozens of the Biota yellows and they all came in with some degree of HLLE. The scarring, even when healed, is particularly pronounced under blue spectrum lighting.

 

[Steve H]

Running ozone excessively may also cause HLLE which is why I asked. Uncommon for people to do in home aquariums but very common in public displays.

The fin shape (scalloped fins) is found in conjunction with the HLLE in severe cases. It is not from tankmate aggression and is a deterioration of fin tissue that coincides with the deterioration in the sensitive lateral line cells. They can get so severe that they look like they were “bitten in half”. This will also not resolve in time even when given optimal conditions.