Yellow tang not doing well....

[Reedman]

Need help trying to find the source of the problem.

This is in my 75 gallon reef that's been setup almost a year now with that fish, a pari of false percs, and a 6-line wrasse in it. I bought the tank used and the tang came with it. I believe he was in the previous owners setup for two years. Was doing great until yesterday when my Azoo powerhead went crazy and burnt out . He then started hiding out and staying still. I have since taken out the powerhead (I have two maxijet1200s in there still until my AM3000 comes back ).

Please give me your ideas on what might be the cause of...well, by this afternoon it will probably be death.

Thank in advance,
-Reed

[Mrs Smith]

Is he freaking out? Breathing heavy?

Is anything else in the tank acting weird? Tangs are neurotic to begin with - he could just be flipping out over whatever happened, and snap out of it. Did the powerhead spew anything when it died?

And how does this vary from his normal behavior?

Hope he pulls through,
Danielle

[tdwyatt]

Originally posted by Reedman
... I bought the tank used and the tang came with it. I believe he was in the previous owners setup for two years. Was doing great until yesterday when my Azoo powerhead went crazy and burnt out...

This could be anything at this point. Things that come to mind are

• electrocution
• stress (from stray voltage)
• PCB poisoning (from the burnt wiring)
• "scared to death"

The fish may just be recovering from the sudden changes associated from removing the pump, but I would tend tothink more along the lines of PCB or related toxins from the windings in the pump "burning up". An immediate big (50%) water change, the use of Carbon, skimming like crazy (thin wet foam), adjusting the salinity daily while running the skimmer like this, and a big water change (another 50%) in about 3 days are all in order.

Good luck, hope this helps.

[Reedman]

Nothing visible was released into the water. The pump has no visible damage, just would stop pumping and overheat.

All other fish and inverts show no signs of anything wrong. The tang is not psycho swimming, just very lethargic.

Thanks for the ideas Danielle and Tom. I appreciate it.

Hate it when I don't know what is going on.

[grazhopr]

Will he come out and eat?
If he freaked out - how about turning off lights and leaving some nori for him. He may need some motivation.

[Reedman]

graz,

I tried the Nori thing last night when the actinics were on. He didn't take a bite. Very strange, because usually he'll come flying out to get the nori. I don't hold much hope for a recoivery, just am hoping to prevent a repeat.

Thanks

[binylee]

He might get sick... Watch it and other tankmates closely for possible ich...
Sorry if it breaks your heart...

[Reedman]

No signs of ich at all. I always watch for that since I've been through it before and really did not enjoy it.

Thanks Binylee.

[grazhopr]

Does it look skinny? I had a yellow tang that suddenly stopped eating, got very skinny and died. I was told that it had died of a internal infection. Maybe you should move it to a quarantine tank in case you need to give him some medical treatment.
I recently read (I think on Tullock's natural reef) that ich is not necessarily too obvious in the early stage. So maybe you should treat as a prevention anyway.

[Reedman]

Thanks Graz. I'll take a look at him when I get home from work. I have a bad feeling he'll be setting on the bottom, but I can hope.

Here's my thought. He was spooked real bad and possibly injured by electrical leakage from that stupid powerhead. At this point, since tangs are overly sensitive anyway, he was suseptible to whatever parisites were in the tank (I'm sure there are always some kind of nasties even in the cleanest tanks).

Thanks again everyone. If you have more ideas, I welcome them. I will let you know how it's going later tonight or tomarow.

-Reed

[Reedman]

Well, the poor guy passed while I was at work. I'm bummed, but I think it was electricity passing in the tank that got him. The rest of the fish look fine and the corals are all fine. I guess that's the way it goes sometimes.

Thanks everyone.

[Geoff]

sorry to hear the yellow guy did not make it.

G~