Quote:
Originally Posted by mandi
I bought a 50 gallon tank from a women who posted it on craigslist... ...know this poor thing needs a bigger tank cause he's a bigger fish he's probably at least 3-3.5 inches long and he's pretty thick too. I just bought him w/ the tank I would have never added him myself knowing he's to big for this set up
|
This is most likely a combination of malnourishment and inappropriate feeding regimen: it is most likely to blame for this. If the fish has ulcerations, it could be due to some type of trauma or possibly some type of infection (either fungal or bacterial) resulting from handling that has caused a loss of a section of the slime coat or possibly due to the fish rapidly swimming without regard for its surroundings. Feeding the fish a fortified diet of a good protein source and the base marine macroalgae that are a normal portion of the Blue Hippo Tang's diet ([/i]Paracanthurus hepatus[/i], also called the Hippo Tang, Regal Tang, Regal Blue Tang, Hepatus Tang, Palette Tang, Yellow Tail Blue Tang, Pacific Blue Tang) will most likely bring the fish back to good appearance and health. These Surgeonfishes are zooplankton feeders that consume pelagic plankters from the water column, and as such must eat both a good NUTRITIOUS protein source like krill, mysiids, frozen zooplankters (NOT BRINE SHRIMP) fortified with Selcon in addition to a regular source of nori or similar sheet algae (which may also be soaked in Selcon prior to feeding). Many cases of malnutrition of this spp. of tang occur due to inappropriate blends of terrestrial vegetables and poor quality zooplankton and/or failure to utilize Selcon HUFA blends, often appearing initially as either skin lesions, ulcerations, or lateral line erosions (Hole-in-head disease).
Quote:
Originally Posted by mandi
likes to when swimming glide his body across the LR I don't know if he's itching or if he's playing around.
|
These Tangs often display this behavior, or occasionally even lie on the substrate or near rock when initially introduced to aquarium systems due to their shy nature. It is shy, especially when first introduced to the aquarium, and should be provided with adequately sized 75 USG or larger systems with branching corals, rocks with caves or passages, or some other suitable temporary hiding sites. Empty tanks should be either partially blocked with opaque panels or have 4” dia. PVC sections placed in the water horizontally with easy specimen access to the ends. This tang may go so far as to lie on its side for extended periods if it cannot find a suitable hiding place, especially when moved and/or first introduced into an aquarium. It is a very calm and reclusive specie, much more docile than other Tangs, tending to be a community fish in mixed fish systems. They will definitely display this gliding and hiding behavior when first introduced to a new setup.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mandi
This guy certainetly has a hardy appetite cause he eats everyones share of food including his own.
|
Feed it an appropriate mix of wet and fortified diet, otherwise this fish will tend to get bloat (too much and too dry a feed leading to over-expansion of the stomach and gut as the food pick up gut lumen moisture).
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by J-LUIS
Soak their food in a few drops of Kent Marine Garlic, Selcon and Kent Marine Phytoplex Phytoplankton. 2 drops of each, Let the food soak for about 3 minutes and feed it to your fish. I do this to pellets and frozen brine shrimp. In about a week of doing this you will see your tang get better. Plus this keeps your fish real healthy.
|
AMEN, but skip the brine shrimp if it is a major portion of the food you use. An often-used analogy is that brine shrimp are to zooplankton feeders what popcorn is to us: tastes good, and filling if you eat enough, but not much nutritional bang-for-the-buck. Phytoplankton by itself as a algal source is not enough, consider something with more material fiber like Julian’s macroalgae sheets or Oriental Nori sheets (cheap in the oriental section of many supermarkets, presoak w/ Selcon). Feed in small amounts two or three times a day (only in very small amounts , do not overfeed the tank for the sake of the fish). Remember that hungry surgeonfishes are the ones that will clean rock of microalgae...
HTH
