Yellow Tang Problem

[fishguy_8]

I have a yellow tang that has been doing really well and then about a week ago started struggling to swim it looked like it was bobbing in the water and stayed in a small area not swimming back and forth like normal tangs do. Breathing normally, eating, water tested fine Nitrites were on the high side so I did 2 water changes last week getting the water quality back in check. I went down there today and its laying flat on the bottom of the tank, thinking its dead, i net it up then it starts swimming in the net. So I let it loose and its just swimming in a circle. All other fish in the tank are acting perfectly normal. Any ideas whats going on?

[leebca]

If you had this fish for a while, then I would suspect either water quality or diet being the main source of the problem(s). Third would be environment (that is, the tank mates are wrong, or the tank size is too small, etc.).

If the fish was acquired just recently, then the top of the list would be an acclimation problem that either it wasn't done the best OR it's just that the fish will not acclimate to captivity.

Without additional informaton, it is hard to say much more.

[fishguy_8]

Well....salinity 1.020 nitrates not even registering ammonia 0 tank size 125g tank mates 1 firefish 1 perc clown 1 flame angel 1 coral beauty. Had the fish almost a month now. I've never seen a fish chase it, even as its lying on the ground its not breathing heavy.

[twisted]

Well....salinity 1.020 nitrates not even registering ammonia 0 tank size 125g tank mates 1 firefish 1 perc clown 1 flame angel 1 coral beauty. Had the fish almost a month now. I've never seen a fish chase it, even as its lying on the ground its not breathing heavy.

if thats the salinity, that could be the problem. i think .024 to .026 is recommended. but then again, i would think alll the fish would react to it. are you testing with a hydrometer or a good meter?

[leebca]

Still short on info to provide much help. You didn't mention diet, and the info you have about water quality is the tip of the water quality 'iceberg.' What is:

phosphate
alkalinity
calcium
magnesium
pH
temp range

Why were there nitrites there? When did the tank cycle?

Any source of poisons? What do you use for the chemical filter? Is your skimmer sized properly and being maintained? What is your source water? Have you tested it lately? been testing regularly?

You might want to go through this post on other water quality considerations:
What is Water Quality

How was the fish acclimated? Where did the fish come from (LFS, friend, online, ?). What's the size of the fish? If you got it from an LFS, how long did the LFS have it in their tank/system?

This is a list of questions, some of which you've answered, some of which I've asked above, but nonetheless a more complete list of things needed to know/understand:
How old is your tank? When did it originally cycle?
What is the size (dimensions and gallonage) of your aquarium? Does the gallonage include the volume from the sump and any refugium?
Do you use carbon, skimmer, mechanical or other chemical filtration?.
List all specimens & sizes in the tank (fish, inverts, corals, clams, snails, crabs, shrimp, etc.).
Do you use a quarantine tank and procedure?
Foods you use and feeding schedules.
How long have you had this fish? If the fish was recently acquired (6 weeks or less), two more questions: Did you treat it or give it a dip before it went into the aquarium? How did you acclimate it – what procedure?
Do you use any vitamins? Fat additives? Any elemental or other additives? Please list all.
Chemistries – you gave some. Do you test for Phosphate, alkalinity, calcium and magnesium? Please give actual current numbers for everything. Have these numbers been changing lately?
Water parameters – please give actual numbers (pH and your pH range, salinity or sp. gr. & range, temperature range)
Do you see any of the following in your system: hair algae; micro algae; cyanobacteria growths (red slime algae); dinoflagellate (zooxanthellae) growths; brown algae; diatom growth; slimes; off-colored patches on rock or substrate that are not coralline; etc.?
Water changes (how much and how often).
What is your source water? (Tap water, RO water, DI water, RO/DI, distilled, etc.)
List what you added or taken out of your aquarium system (living, decorations, and equipment) during the past 6 weeks.
Maintenance schedule. What have you done lately?

I can best help when I have ALL the information.