After 3 weeks Gem Tang stopped eating

[editour2]

I purchased a nice sized Gem Tang about 3 weeks and 3 days ago, about 5 inches long. I placed him in my 30 gal QT. He didnt eat for the first couple of days but then starting munching on nori soaked in garlic and vitamins. The next day he ate like a pig....mysis, brine, blood worms and days after that even pellets and flake. This went on for about 3 weeks. I normally wait about 4 weeks before transferring to my 215 gal DT so all was going well. On this past Sunday he stopped eating agressively. He picked on the nori one day but ate nothing else. Now eats nothing, that I can see or detect. I did two 10% water changes over a 2 day period, 1st to further acclimate him to my DT water, (I used display tank water for the water changes), and secondly in case there was an amonia build up which I highly doubt. I added another air stone to the QT to add more oxygen. There are 3 powerheads in the QT so plenty of flow...I have a hang on filter in the QT so that provides oxygen, circulation and filtration. I tried feeding fresh clams, fresh mussels, fish eggs, baby brine, mysis, chaeto, nori and he's not interested. He doesnt seem to be laboring in breathing and there are no observable markings on his body other than the typical gem tang dots. I am perplexed and frustrated.

 

[Uncle99]

could something have come in from the DT water?
Maybe he snacks when your not watching.
Just watch him, seems like a risk to put him in the DT until you get him eating regularly.

 

[editour2]

He stopped eating before I did the water changes. I hope he's snacking while I'm not watching. My DT parameters are on spot.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Having a very large Gem this fish does not snack. If it eats anything, consider adding Seachem Metroplex to foods to alleviate anything internal. Bloodworms are known to foul tank water, so Verify ammonia and Nitrate.
Foods- I feed mine at minimum:
-Spirulina brine shrimp
- LRS Herbivore diet
- mysis shrimp
- small plankton
- Nori seaweed basted with garlic extract
- Hikari Marine cuisine
- Formula 2 flake and frozen
- Hikari veggie marine

Add selcon vitamins to the foods 2-3X per week and on alternating days, garlic extract for stamina and immunity health

Is its poop normal or White & Stringy?
Has salinity and /or temperature increased in tank?
How is its' breathing ( normal or Labored?)
Any head twiching or yawning behavior? )

 

[editour2]

Temp has increased since this tank only has a heater...no chiller and it has been getting hot here in NY...but at night temp is around 78 degrees. Salinity has been pretty stable but perhaps a slight change when I added DT tank water, but they are both 1.025. I havent seen his poop. No twitching or yawning nor laboring to breathe YET. I have been soaking food and nori in selcon and garlic. Ill pickup some of the other foods you mentioned tomorrow.

 

[Steph72]

I hope this little guy starts eating for you. I’m also in the process of quarantining a gem so I’m following …QT makes me extremely nervous but it’s necessary to avoid the risk introducing illness to all the other inhabitants. Sending you lots of good vibes!

 

[editour2]

Thanks...what's puzzling me is after I got him to eat....he continued to do so for around 3 weeks which led me to believe he was over the hump. However all of a sudden he decided to stop. I just changed out another 5 gallons in the 30 gal QT.....I'm giving it my best shot and hoping he starts to eat again.

I hope this little guy starts eating for you. I’m also in the process of quarantining a gem so I’m following …QT makes me extremely nervous but it’s necessary to avoid the risk introducing illness to all the other inhabitants. Sending you lots of good vibes!

 

[TerraFerma]

He has internal parasites, which are very common the last quite a few years. Get the seachem stuff to mix their meds in mysis and hopefully he eats a few and turns the corner. It's tough once they stop eating - always best to do the deworming feeding when you first get them in. Once it's a problem its kind of too late to deal with. Fingers crossed.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I purchased a nice sized Gem Tang about 3 weeks and 3 days ago, about 5 inches long. I placed him in my 30 gal QT. He didnt eat for the first couple of days but then starting munching on nori soaked in garlic and vitamins. The next day he ate like a pig....mysis, brine, blood worms and days after that even pellets and flake. This went on for about 3 weeks. I normally wait about 4 weeks before transferring to my 215 gal DT so all was going well. On this past Sunday he stopped eating agressively. He picked on the nori one day but ate nothing else. Now eats nothing, that I can see or detect. I did two 10% water changes over a 2 day period, 1st to further acclimate him to my DT water, (I used display tank water for the water changes), and secondly in case there was an amonia build up which I highly doubt. I added another air stone to the QT to add more oxygen. There are 3 powerheads in the QT so plenty of flow...I have a hang on filter in the QT so that provides oxygen, circulation and filtration. I tried feeding fresh clams, fresh mussels, fish eggs, baby brine, mysis, chaeto, nori and he's not interested. He doesnt seem to be laboring in breathing and there are no observable markings on his body other than the typical gem tang dots. I am perplexed and frustrated.

Are there any other fish in the same tank with it? I ask because they could serve as a "canary in the coal mine" - if there are other fish, and they are still eating fine, you could concentrate more on an individual issue with the fish, while if all fish in the tank are impacted, it points to a water quality issue.

That is a big, expensive fish to have in a 30 gal. Have you treated it for protozoans yet? If so, you might want to make a judgement call as to the value of this fish versus the risk of just moving it to your DT. I normally never suggest adding a new fish to a DT like that, but when a fish stops feeding like that, you need to fix things some how.

While this won't solve your issue, this article I wrote some years ago discusses the topic of anorexia in fishes, and may give you some background info:

Chronic Anorexia in Aquarium Fishes

Don't fall into the trap of assuming the fish will begin feeding when it gets hungry enough, or conclude it must be eating something, just not when you are watching.

reefs.com

Jay

 

[editour2]

There were 2 female bellus angels in there with him who continued to eat and have since been moved to the display tank. They are fine and still eating. Today I did another water change, pulled the carbon and treated the tank with seachem Metroplex. Apparently that is an option to soaking the food in it. The 30 gal tank is a quarantine tank....my DT is 215 gallons. I have given some thought to transferring him to the DT but catching him and transferring him would add stress and furthermore he'd have alot of competition for the food. I hope that these measures will effectuate a positive change. Time will tell.....

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

There were 2 female bellus angels in there with him who continued to eat and have since been moved to the display tank. They are fine and still eating. Today I did another water change, pulled the carbon and treated the tank with seachem Metroplex. Apparently that is an option to soaking the food in it. The 30 gal tank is a quarantine tank....my DT is 215 gallons. I have given some thought to transferring him to the DT but catching him and transferring him would add stress and furthermore he'd have alot of competition for the food. I hope that these measures will effectuate a positive change. Time will tell.....

Metroplex in the water is actually much better than trying to add it to the food (since you have no real idea as to the dose that way).
Really though, if the salinity temperature and pH between the two tanks is the same, I’d move it to the DT. Anything it might be carrying has already been moved over with the angels.
Jay

 

[editour2]

You don't think that he'd have more of an issue eating in there due to the competition from the other fish? Also there's a possibility that my yellow tang or purple could harass him although I purposely purchased him bigger than both of those to try to avoid that.

 

[skiwez]

In my experience I find the LFS that maintain subtheraputic copper in their tanks often mask other fish issues. Its usually around the 3 to 4 week mark that fish start showing symptoms. I suspect you'll start seeing other symptoms shortly to get help diagnose the underlying problem

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

You don't think that he'd have more of an issue eating in there due to the competition from the other fish? Also there's a possibility that my yellow tang or purple could harass him although I purposely purchased him bigger than both of those to try to avoid that.

I bet the purple tang is going to cause issues, that is a variable I wasn't aware of. That is a potential issue whether the gem is feeding or not.

That said, given the circumstances I outlined, if the purple tang doesn't end up being the brat that they usually are, I don't see a downside to moving the gem. Something in the tank that it is in is suppressing its appetite. That could be a disease issue - but having moved the angels out of the tank already "opened the barn door" for your DT in that regard. If it is the small tank size or water quality issues, then moving it will help. In terms of out competing for food - unless the other fish beat it up, that isn't going to happen. Much more likely is that the gem will see the other fish feeding, and join in. You may need to add more food for it to get a fair share, but food competition is actually a good thing.

If there is some internal infection, specific to the gem, moving it won't help or hurt, you could still lose the fish to that.

Jay

 

[editour2]

He's still in the QT and seems more active today although I still have not seen him eat. I want to give him another couple of days treatment with the Seacham product and then maybe I'll move him to the DT, (given that opportunity). I'd still like to see him eating or picking on food. The bellus angels are doing fine in my DT...adapted easily and eating. My yellow tang has been more of a bully than the purple but I won't know until he's in there.

 

[matthew_coletta]

He's still in the QT and seems more active today although I still have not seen him eat. I want to give him another couple of days treatment with the Seacham product and then maybe I'll move him to the DT, (given that opportunity). I'd still like to see him eating or picking on food. The bellus angels are doing fine in my DT...adapted easily and eating. My yellow tang has been more of a bully than the purple but I won't know until he's in there.

I had the same thought about considering to move him into the main DT which may spur some interest in eating. Although it is a really expensive risk to take. Not to mention you have other tangs. Although if he continues not to eat it may be a last ditch effort. Hope this helps a bit

 

[editour2]

I had the same thought about considering to move him into the main DT which may spur some interest in eating. Although it is a really expensive risk to take. Not to mention you have other tangs. Although if he continues not to eat it may be a last ditch effort. Hope this helps a bit

Thanks....I will consider taking that risk after his 2nd treatment of the Secham Metroplex.....(treatment application will be tomorrow then I have to give him time in the solution). Of course everyday without eating is a risk. I am still trying different foods and tomorrow I will do another 5 gal water change b4 the new application of metroplex as well.

 

[lion king]

I concur with @TerraFerma, sounds like classic internal parasites. I would treat with general cure or paraguard to get the full coverage of parasites and worms. Once they stop eating all together the clock is ticking, I would not wait and treat immediately. This treatment is greatly tolerated by most.

 

[editour2]

So yesterday the tang didn't look so good so I performed another 5 gal water change. I then mashed some food together and decided to try and manually feed him. I gently scooped him with one hand and fed him with a syringe. Afterwards he looked worse and I thought that was it. But within an hour he was upright again and hiding behind a piece of pvc. In the morning, today, I thought it was 75% he'd be gone but low and behold he's still in his spot by the pvc piece. I still have not seen him eat. I am treating with metroplex and also prazipro. Tonight I attempted to feed again and noticed these white spots on him.....

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

So yesterday the tang didn't look so good so I performed another 5 gal water change. I then mashed some food together and decided to try and manually feed him. I gently scooped him with one hand and fed him with a syringe. Afterwards he looked worse and I thought that was it. But within an hour he was upright again and hiding behind a piece of pvc. In the morning, today, I thought it was 75% he'd be gone but low and behold he's still in his spot by the pvc piece. I still have not seen him eat. I am treating with metroplex and also prazipro. Tonight I attempted to feed again and noticed these white spots on him.....

That one bright spot behind the eye is worrisome. The other spots seem to be a mix of normal gem tang marks plus some handling damage.

Tube feeding is a process that works in last ditch cases, but as alluded to in the article, each time you do it, there is some handling issues, and you need to watch that.

Jay