Blue hippo tang acting odd

[ZKAqua23]

Hi everyone,
We are new to the saltwater aquarium hobby, had ours about 3 months. We got a blue hippo tang about a week ago, she seems to be doing fine but today I've noticed her tilting to the side when she swims sometimes, and has also been kind of scraping or sliding against the rocks. Is this cause for concern and are there any causes/treatments you can recommend?

Thanks,
ZK

 

[nereefpat]

Rubbing against a rock is sometimes just scratching an itch. It can also be signs of a parasite, like marine ich. The fish looks pretty good, as in I don't see any spots and the fish has good weight. I would just keep observing for now. If you start to see spots or fast breathing or if the fish stops eating, then I would recommend some action.

Do you quarantine new fishes?

 

[smhray]

The scraping is a sign that she has a parasite such as ich or flukes. Hippo tangs have a thin slime coat so they are more prone to getting parasites compared to fish like clowns. The key will be to identify which parasite you have by examining the fish closely. Most common ones to look for are ich, velvet, and flukes but I doubt it is velvet since velvet is very fast killing.

Many people will say that QT is not necessary but I would personally treat with either chelated copper such as copper power, for ich and velvet, as tangs do not do great with copper typically but I have had lots of success using this form of copper over ionic. For flukes you can do hyposalinity, formalin, or prazi. Freshwater bath too but freshwater baths stress me out so I avoid them.

If it is just ich then some will say that there is no need for QT. A healthy diet and low stress will allow the fish to fight off the parasite itself but if the condition worsen, ie fish is full of spots, extremely heavy breathing and looks in really bad shape, then I would get a QT tank and treat. It is up to what you are willing to do but I personally QT all my fish just to be sure incase some small stress event takes place no parasites will take over. I healthy diet in my opinion would include nori seaweed, frozen mysis, and high quality pellets, fauna marin and new spectrum are my favourites. Using a vitamin supplement such as selcon, vitachem, or food energizer would be recommended as well.

If you choose to treat the parasite here is a link where you can find all the information you need. Humble fish has solid information and treatment plans that have worked for me in the past. https://humble.fish/

Do not rush or do anything too quickly. The tang is not in a horrible condition and whatever parasite it has is not too bad yet. Unless you see that it is velvet then treatment right away is necessary because of how fast velvet can act. If you have corals or plan to do corals in the future no medications can go in the display aquarium. That's where setting up a QT tank and having it cycled and ready would be crucial.

 

[LaloJ]

The fish looks good, fat and clean, surely as they already told you it can be scratched against the rocks for some sign of parasite, probably cryptocarion, I feed the fish more frequently to continue strengthening it, a big fish is a fish more resistant to diseases

 

[ZKAqua23]

We have not quarantined them, no. We have one clown and then the one blue tang. I have been researching all day and am finding dozens of things it could be. The only spot I see is at the yellow delta of the tailfin which I have uploaded a picture of. I vastly appreciate all the help you've been so far, as this is the first real potential problem we've dealt with.

 

[ZKAqua23]

The fish looks good, fat and clean, surely as they already told you it can be scratched against the rocks for some sign of parasite, probably cryptocarion, I feed the fish more frequently to continue strengthening it, a big fish is a fish more resistant to diseases

That's very helpful thank you, I've seen some forums where they say it may be fed too much and constipated but the same thread will say they have extremely high metabolisms and should be fed 4x a day smaller feedings. I've been doing a small assortment of flakes and pellets with nori sheets 3x daily

 

[nereefpat]

The only spot I see is at the yellow delta of the tailfin which I have uploaded a picture of.

That's likely just the caudal spine (the 'tang')

 

[smhray]

We have not quarantined them, no. We have one clown and then the one blue tang. I have been researching all day and am finding dozens of things it could be. The only spot I see is at the yellow delta of the tailfin which I have uploaded a picture of. I vastly appreciate all the help you've been so far, as this is the first real potential problem we've dealt with.

The little spine thing on the tail is normal all tangs have it. Look for white dots like little grains of salt. Parasites can infect a fish long before it shows actual spots, but when the spots show that means the infestation is getting to a worrying point. Scratching is a clear sign of a parasite like ich however. Fish do not scratch like that for no reason.

 

[ZKAqua23]

I'm not seeing any white spots, but my noob eyes aren't as keen as other experienced reefers on here. I've posted one more video so if anyone sees anything I'm not seeing that looks like an issue please let me know. Thank you!

 

[Manny D. Mandarin]

The fish looks good, fat and clean, surely as they already told you it can be scratched against the rocks for some sign of parasite, probably cryptocarion, I feed the fish more frequently to continue strengthening it, a big fish is a fish more resistant to diseases

@ZKAqua23 There is a lot of great suggestions on this thread and I came here to say this too! Make sure you are feeding your tang well because making sure they eat while treating them helps them recover tremendously!

 

[ZKAqua23]

@ZKAqua23 There is a lot of great suggestions on this thread and I came here to say this too! Make sure you are feeding your tang well because making sure they eat while treating them helps them recover tremendously!

Thanks a million I've gotten a lot of fantastic info from the very short time I've been a member so I will continue to observe until the weekend and then decide on next course of action