Help my Tangs!

[jbicb3]

I noticed 2 days ago my yellow tang has some brown discoloration on the leading edge of his dorsal fin. Then last night I noticed a cloudy haze on the tail and pectorial fins.
I don't have a real good digital camera, but you can see a little in these pictures.

What is it, and how do I need to treat it?

I mixed up some salt water in a 10 gallon tank last night, but haven't moved them to that tank yet.

I got these two tangs about 10 days ago.

Thanks for your help.

[salttanker]

What are you feeding them? How long has your tank been setup? What are your water parameters? What size is your tank? If you can supply this information, we can probably help you determine what is going on with your tank. Thanks


Mike

[jbicb3]

What are you feeding them? How long has your tank been setup? What are your water parameters? What size is your tank? If you can supply this information, we can probably help you determine what is going on with your tank. Thanks


Mike

Tank is 75 gal. I've had it setup for about 1 month. Tank was setup 2 years prior to me buying it, and came with live sand, snowflake eel, blue & pink goby, and hermit crab. I've been feeding the eel & goby Scallops from the grocery store seafood shop.

temp = 79
ammonia = 0
nitrate = 0
nitrite = 5
pH = 8.2

I use a Fluval 404 canister filter, and a couple of airstones in the tank. Just did a 15 gallon water change Saturday, and cleaned the filter floss, and carbon packs, but didn't mess with the bio material.

Got the tangs a little over a week ago, and have been feeding them nori from the grocery store, and they eat the algae in the tank all the time. They act normal (for a tang), but I just noticed the items mentioned above the last couple of days. The YT also has a rip in the back of his dorsal fin. The goby may have nipped him, but I've never seen him make contact. The YT does like brushing up against the goby.

Hope this helps, and again, thanks for the help.

[Ninong]

Tank is 75 gal. I've had it setup for about 1 month. Tank was setup 2 years prior to me buying it, and came with live sand, snowflake eel, blue & pink goby, and hermit crab. I've been feeding the eel & goby Scallops from the grocery store seafood shop.

temp = 79
ammonia = 0
nitrate = 0
nitrite = 5
pH = 8.2

I use a Fluval 404 canister filter, and a couple of airstones in the tank. Just did a 15 gallon water change Saturday, and cleaned the filter floss, and carbon packs, but didn't mess with the bio material.

Got the tangs a little over a week ago, and have been feeding them nori from the grocery store, and they eat the algae in the tank all the time. They act normal (for a tang), but I just noticed the items mentioned above the last couple of days. The YT also has a rip in the back of his dorsal fin. The goby may have nipped him, but I've never seen him make contact. The YT does like brushing up against the goby.

Hope this helps, and again, thanks for the help.

Jerry,

See my detailed reply here: Methylene Blue

IF you actually have 5 ppm nitrite, then you have a major problem on your hands. Nitrite is highly toxic at that concentration and you should do an immediate 50% water change. HOWEVER, I doubt that your test numbers are correct. It is highly unlikely that you would have 5 ppm NO2 with zero NO3 in a tank that has been set up for four weeks.

Chances are that your nitrates are NOT zero and chances are that your nitrites are NOT actually 5 ppm. In fact, I would say that it is virtually impossible for you to have zero nitrates in this tank at this time.

[Poseidon]

I would think your tank is to small for 2 tangs that are so similar in size and shape... I 'll bet the yellows injuries may be coming from either the sailfin or your goby...

I have 2 tangs in my tank, but they are a Yellow and a Naso, very different colors and shapes, so they don't feel threatened by one another. Frankly I am surprised your LFS sold you both fish knowing they would go in the same tank, that is asking for trouble!

[salttanker]

To help treat infection or wounds, I like to soak the food (nori) in selcon, which is vitamin enriched. This will help the Tangs build up immunity to help fight diseases. As Ninong said, Nitrites are very toxic. A major water change should be done.
Mix the water ahead of time (24hrs) and throw a powerhead in there so it can aerate. Good luck to you.

Mike

[jbicb3]

Jerry,

See my detailed reply here: Methylene Blue

IF you actually have 5 ppm nitrite, then you have a major problem on your hands. Nitrite is highly toxic at that concentration and you should do an immediate 50% water change. HOWEVER, I doubt that your test numbers are correct. It is highly unlikely that you would have 5 ppm NO2 with zero NO3 in a tank that has been set up for four weeks.

Chances are that your nitrates are NOT zero and chances are that your nitrites are NOT actually 5 ppm. In fact, I would say that it is virtually impossible for you to have zero nitrates in this tank at this time.

Sorry...NO2 = 0 and NO3 = 5
NO3 was 10 last week 10-11-04

Thank you for all the advise in your other post. I guess I was not patient enough when I got the new fish, but everything LOOKED alright, and the other fish were doing so well.

I don't have a protein skimmer. I guess that would help? I've seen some that are air driven, and some that have actual pumps. Is there a big difference other than the price?

[salttanker]

I would defnitely recommend a protein skimmer. Just visit one of the sponsors on this site and you can get pricing details from them. In my experience, Tangs in general are pretty delicate and demand better quality water than most fish do. Is it possible you can take 1 back? 75g is a little small for both of them. What kind of water are you using? Tap? RO?


Mike

[jbicb3]

I would defnitely recommend a protein skimmer. Just visit one of the sponsors on this site and you can get pricing details from them. In my experience, Tangs in general are pretty delicate and demand better quality water than most fish do. Is it possible you can take 1 back? 75g is a little small for both of them. What kind of water are you using? Tap? RO?


Mike

I use tap water from a well, filtered through a water filter like is used for ice makers.

The 2 tanks seem to get along great right now. The only fish I've seen being aggressive is the goby, and I've only seen him charge up within an inch or so of the YT, then back off.

[salttanker]

Tangs are especially sensitive to water quality and diet. You may want to consider getting an RO/DI unit instead. Ebay has one for $99.00 for a 100GPD RO/DI unit. This will help your water quality tremendously. I don't have well water here where I live, but I have heard it is pretty hard. Do you have to do anything special to it before you put it in?


Mike

[jbicb3]

Tangs are especially sensitive to water quality and diet. You may want to consider getting an RO/DI unit instead. Ebay has one for $99.00 for a 100GPD RO/DI unit. This will help your water quality tremendously. I don't have well water here where I live, but I have heard it is pretty hard. Do you have to do anything special to it before you put it in?


Mike

How does the RO unit work? 100GPD (gallons per day?) Does that mean it would take 18 hours to fill a 75gal tank? Is this something that is connected to the tank all the time, or do I just use it to fill my mixxing container (30 gal Rubbermaid tub) like I do with the ice maker filter now? BTW, the ice maker filter and airstone for at least 24 hours is all I do now as far as water prep. Of course I mix the Instant Ocean to the correct SG ~1.022 before I let it sit & bubble.

Do you know if the "Air driven" protein skimmer does a good job? I guess any would be better than none at this point.

Thanks,
Jerry

[salttanker]

RO/DI units are little slower for water changes. The model I have fits under my kitchen sink. It comes with its own faucet, and a 3 gallon tank. It is similar to the one on Ebay. Mine is only rated at 35g per day, so I am thinking about buying the model I saw on Ebay since it seems to be better. I would like to eventually connect one up to my laundry room water line since it is right behind my tank, but I don't have the specifications on how to make it work automatically for top-offs, and I can't afford water running over on my wood floors. I guess I will continue to do it the manual way. It is more work, but it is worth it to have the better quality of water for my friends.

One of the most popular models for skimmers I have seen people use here is a CPR backpak2. Get the biggest skimmer you can afford. It will make a big difference in maintaining healthy water. If you want to know more about some of the best skimmers people use, open a new thread and people will reply.

Mike