Help My Tang Has Red Veins Is He Going To Die

[damsel]

what is wrong with my tang? why does he have blood showing through the skin, it's only on one side, he is still swimming around and does not seem stressed, I gave my tank some brine shrimp last night for the first time, any help please

[Brooke]

I've never heard of red veins showing in a fish. Is the tang eating? If he's eating and swimming and looking ok I wouldn't worry too much. It could just be a scrape.

You might try feeding mysis shrimp instead of brine. Brine shrimp has very little nutritional value unless it has been enriched. Remember that tangs need a diet rich in nori and spirulina as well.

[MontanaRocknReefer]

How big is your tank? Tangs need alot of swim space or they do get stressed. Like Brook said, maybe it is a scrape!

[dark horge]

First of all, be careful.

Always wash your hands/arms thoroughly after exposure to the tankwater and any implemements that have been exposed to it.

Maybe your tang is merely bruised, but...
One of the few diseases that can affect humans and be transmitted tfrom fish to humans is 'fish tuberculosis' caused by Mycobacterium marinum, which can manifest as subdermal to dermal bleeding, on to internal abcesses, and ulceration of the skin of fishes.

Should you become infected, it can result in disfiguring melanomas to your skin ...or worse. I can show you my scars from such an infection, which took three and a half years to cure completely (beginning with Rifampicin and PZA). The scars may never go away.

Keep in mind...
We DON'T know that this is what your tang has
But it is best to play it safe.

It could just as easily be a bruise, like Brooke says.
In which case, good food and sufficient living space will do wonders.



hth,
horge

[damsel]

Thanks for the info, I guess I will wash my hands really good from now on. I will post some pictures of the tang as soon as my hubby gets home tonight I can't figure out how to do it.

my tank is 125 gal and very few fish, and one rock

[aquaticsdeptleader]

tnaks big enough if it has cycled and you have had the fish for a while my odds on favroite is nutrition

[TerryB10]

I don't think that you mentioned what species of tang that you have. If it is a yellow they often will begin to turn red when stressed. Check your pH. Since the redness is just on one side I suspect a wound. Has the fish been netted recently? I beleive the redness often seen in yellow tangs kept in less that ideal conditions may be a bacterial (vibrio) infection that some call the "red pest". This will often clear up with just a LARGE water change with well aged and aerated saltwater. Then take a good look at the variety and type of foods in the diet.
Terry B

[Casey]

I agree with Terry proabaly a yellow tang with secondary bacterial infection very common Casey

[dark horge]

Good point.
A bruise seems the most likely explication.

Thanks for the input, Terry & Casey.

[snazlord]

i have a yellow tang in my FO tank, and once it too turned red. In mine, it was around the face and gills, occured in streaks, and looked sort of like you could see blood or blood vessels through his skin. Mine was more or less symmetric, on both sides of his face (although i think one side was worse than the other).

I did some research on the web, (various "fish vet" sites; didn't know about TRT back then) and it seemed that it was a bacterial infection. They (several random websites) recommended using a fish antibiotic sold in pet stores. I found the stuff at the LFS (can't remeber the exact name, sorry) and the active ingredient was a tetracycline-like compound.

I had some left over doxycycline at home in capsules. I used the same dosing as was suggested on the label of the fish antibiotic, which worked out to 2 capsules of doxycycline on day one, then one capsule every other day for a total of 5-7 days. (My doxy capsules were 100mg each). I removed the carbon from my filter. Basically, I just took some tank water, emptied the contents of the doxy capsule into it (a slightly yellowish poweder which after a few doses with no carbon filter turned the water slightly brownish in my 38 gal tank), and poured it back in the tank. After 6-7days, I added the carbon filter back and did several large vol water changes over the next few days.

After approx 2-3 days of treatment the tang definitely had improved (much less redness), and by the end was competely back to normal! It didn't seem to harm anything else in the tank. That was a few months ago, and all is fine today.

BUT (HUGE BUT), it was fish only tank; no live rock, no coral; basically sterile other than bacteria in the UGF and fish. I have no idea what the doxy would do in a reef tank.

You might try some water changes first as was mentioned. If that doesn't work or the redness gets worse you could put him in a quarantine tank and treat him there.

Good luck.

[oregon_gorge]

Our Jaw Fish and Yellow Tang did this when we first started out. I was told to vary the diet. I gave them fish, brine shrimp, flake, Nori and blender mush.

It went away after only a day and a half of the new diet. Just a coinkydink? Dunno? But it worked as we were told it would.

Good luck!

Chris

[damsel]

to late woke up next morning and mr crabs was having a suschi snack
Thanks for all your responses, all of you gave me some hope. No more fish for me for a while . Im going to look at everybody elces and read more, so keep posting the pictures of your beautiful tanks.

THANKS AGAIN

[Casey]

sorry for your loss Damsel Casey