10+ years Old tang skinny

[Miami Reef]

He never looked like this skinny before. I can see his ribs. He is over 10+ years old now. Is he going to die soon?

 

[Humblefish]

Have you seen any white stringy poop come out of him recently?

 

[Big G]

Any new "wet" additions to the tang's tank in the last few weeks or months?

 

[theMeat]

Have you seen any white stringy poop come out of him recently?

That would be my first guess too. Two rounds of prazipro would certainly help.
What do you feed?

 

[Miami Reef]

Well, actually there was a new addition to the tank...the tank itself!

We remodeled the entire tank. We took out fish, rocks, and corals and put them in a bucket with oxygen for a week. They have new sand, but the rocks are the same. Nevertheless, the tank should be cycling again (test kits coming soon)

But this fish was looking like this before the big move, but not this bad. I can’t tell you about the poop, because I never catch him pooping.

 

[Big G]

Not uncommon for a well-cared for tang to live 15+ years. When a fish gets to looking that thin, we lean towards internal parasites. The easiest treatment would be a QT and treat with General Cure. The praziquantel dose is lower than Prazipro and yet gets the job done. Plus it also contains Metro. That along with high quality foods + vitamins would surely help the tang. Has it been eating nori? The darker purple has a higher vitamin and essential mineral content.

 

[ca1ore]

No way of knowing how old it was when you got it .... unless it was really tiny. How big is it now? You say you never see it poop; does it eat? Just seems highly unlikely that an established fish would suddenly get worms; those typically come in from its food. I’ve never had that happen with an established fish. Weight loss in the face does not a good prognosis make.

 

[Miami Reef]

Yes. He eats, but a little slower than usual.

I feed him pellets and haven’tt fed frozen in almost a year.

 

[Katrina71]

Is it possible he's stressed from the recent changes? Elderly humans absolutely do. Just a thought.

 

[ngoodermuth]

Maybe since he is “slowing down” try to boost his calories by soaking anything he eats in selcon or vitachem. Also, try adding some high-quality frozen, doesn’t have to be a ton at a time but if it might help him regain some energy. I’d definitely be trying something besides just pellets at this point...

 

[Maritimer]

Do you feed nori at all? Seaweeds and algaes are a pretty important part of a tang's natural diet.

~Bruce

 

[Miami Reef]

Thank you everyone! I started feeding nori with mysis. He is still alive and eating.

 

[Miami Reef]

Yesterday he was lay on the ground not really active. I put a net in the tank to reduce aggression from the new tangs and I found him laying in the net. He didn’t make it. He was alive in the picture, but he is not alive right now.

 

[IslandLifeReef]

So sorry for your loss!