Yellow tank, not eating

[mac75]

My yellow tang from Biota won’t eat any pellets or fish food I put in. It only eat macro algae, any thing on a rock or anything that comes out of another fish’s butt. He’s fat and healthy. I’d try macro algae for sure. May need to overnight it at this point

I added macro algae today I’ll see what will happen

 

[mac75]

fish eggs next then!

I’ll try that and see what happens. the guy responded he just fed them. Frozen shrimp and flakes which I tried already.

 

[vetteguy53081]

No they didn’t
Yes the salinity is the same as his tank

With other tangs in the tank, they may be intimidated, Lower lights a little and allow them to adjust to the tank

 

[mac75]

With other tangs in the tank, they may be intimidated, Lower lights a little and allow them to adjust to the tank

Sounds good I’ll try that too

 

[W31Olds]

Those are large Tangs and if they were fat when you got them, they should have no problem going a week without feeding. You said the first one died but did not indicate what caused it. How many other yellows do you have and what size tank did the guy you got them from have?

 

[jonelder68]

Hopefully stressed and not suffering from a disease. Otherwise he’s a picky eater. It happens. Can’t find my foods photo but learned from @vetteguy53081 a variety of foods is good! My fish eat everything I feed but takes a bit sometimes.

 

[mac75]

Those are large Tangs and if they were fat when you got them, they should have no problem going a week without feeding. You said the first one died but did not indicate what caused it. How many other yellows do you have and what size tank did the guy you got them from have?

I have 2 smaller yellow tangs other then the one I got from the guy
The 2 I got from the guy they were both around 5’’-6’’ big
I really didn’t know how the other one died but they didn’t eat from the start
the tank size is 120g

 

[W31Olds]

If they were both filled out then I would suspect some aggression. The first one may have hit a rock during a chase. I would have to say the second one is highly stressed and probably off feed for that reason. Three yellows in a 120 is probably going to be a challenge. I have 3 tangs (all different) in my Tank and they squabble. You may need to separate the new one.

 

[mac75]

If they were both filled out then I would suspect some aggression. The first one may have hit a rock during a chase. I would have to say the second one is highly stressed and probably off feed for that reason. Three yellows in a 120 is probably going to be a challenge. I have 3 tangs (all different) in my Tank and they squabble. You may need to separate the new one.

I see most likely you are right. tbh I’ve been observing the whole day because the tank is in the family room and it doesn't seem like there is any aggression anymore I don’t know what happened but I haven’t seen any aggression the whole day

 

[mac75]

In addition to that, when I come close to the tank it goes behind the rocks hiding but today it seems like it’s getting a bit comfortable with me being close to the tank

 

[W31Olds]

My fish know seem to know me and I have very little commotion around the room where my Tank is located. If a stranger walks up they tend to hide. Watch your new Yellow from a distance for pecking at the Rockwork.

 

[jonelder68]

My fish know seem to know me and I have very little commotion around the room where my Tank is located. If a stranger walks up they tend to hide. Watch your new Yellow from a distance for pecking at the Rockwork.

Agree! Mine picked at rocks for weeks before eating. If in the room he would go to surface with the others like they’re hungry. Though he wouldn’t eat what I offered at first. A hungry fish will eat. He’s grazing to get by is my guess.

 

[mac75]

Agree! Mine picked at rocks for weeks before eating. If in the room he would go to surface with the others like they’re hungry. Though he wouldn’t eat what I offered at first. A hungry fish will eat. He’s grazing to get by is my guess.

I’m hoping it’s just that
I wish if it was picking on rocks

 

[winxp_man]

Nori and add some extra garlic possibly with selcon. I have had fish not eat for two three days. Then all of a sudden they started eating again. Hard to say at times. But I feel it can be stress related. Then out of nowhere they get comfy and start to eat.

 

[likemike99]

Hey reef fam,


I picked up 2 yellow tangs

Now one of them died and the other one I’ve got that’s still active and swimming, but its belly is sunken and it hasn’t been eating since I got it. The weird part is, it’s also the aggressive one chasing the others, even though it’s clearly losing weight.

So far I’ve tried:

• Nori on a clip (soaked in garlic/Selcon)
• Rubber banding nori to rock
• Frozen brine and mysis
• Spirulina pellets/flakes
• 
  
• Still no luck — it just won’t take food.

The parameters of the tank are all normal nothing out of wack

And the tank is 120g

cover the tank for a few days. the naso blonds I have gotten over the years with different tanks were very shy and only one survived when I covered the tank for a few days.

 

[mac75]

cover the tank for a few days. the naso blonds I have gotten over the years with different tanks were very shy and only one survived when I covered the tank for a few days.

I’ll try that too might as well try everything

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I have 2 smaller yellow tangs other then the one I got from the guy
The 2 I got from the guy they were both around 5’’-6’’ big
I really didn’t know how the other one died but they didn’t eat from the start
the tank size is 120g

These Long term captives were obviously eating well prior to the transfer. I don’t think this is a simple incorrect food issue, with one dying, something was wrong with the transport or with your tank.

If we can see a clear video of the remaining tang under white lights, we may see more clues.

 

[mac75]

Just a little update on the situation with yellow tang and why I think it wasn’t eating. This yellow tang came from a tank that only had two other fish and plenty of green algae covering the glass, which I think it didnt see anyone near the tank, so it was used to a quiet environment. When I introduced it into my tank, which has more fish and activity, it likely experienced a big shock from the sudden change in social dynamics. That’s probably why it seemed shy at first, often hiding whenever I got too close, and hesitated to eat. Over time, though, it’s been adjusting to the new environment and is finally starting to show interest in food, which is a really encouraging sign.

 

[mac75]

I really want to thank everyone that tried to help me solve this problem

 

[winxp_man]

Just a little update on the situation with yellow tang and why I think it wasn’t eating. This yellow tang came from a tank that only had two other fish and plenty of green algae covering the glass, which I think it didnt see anyone near the tank, so it was used to a quiet environment. When I introduced it into my tank, which has more fish and activity, it likely experienced a big shock from the sudden change in social dynamics. That’s probably why it seemed shy at first, often hiding whenever I got too close, and hesitated to eat. Over time, though, it’s been adjusting to the new environment and is finally starting to show interest in food, which is a really encouraging sign.

Have a white tail bristle Kole tang that did this. The minute I realized that he would only eat when I was not in direct view, I would move to the side. Took him a month to get comfy. But once he got comfy he would even fight and dominate my powder blue.