Convict tang acting strange!

[stefan09w]

Good afternoon,

I have a 150 gallon mixed reef. That has been set up for 5 months. I have had some of the fish for a few years and the convict tang I've had for 3 months. He started in a Red sea reefer 170 for 6 weeks under observation before I moved him to the 150. I did put him through two rounds of prazipro before moving him.

He appears to have some sort of wound on his left side. He acting strange and swimming weird. I have attached a picture and will try to attach the video I took as well. Everyone else in the tank is acting normal. Looking for advice.#fishmedic

Tank parameter:
pH: 8.1
Salinity: 1.025
Ammonia: haven't tested in awhile after initial cycle
Nitrite: same as ammonia
Nitrate: 8
Phos:.05

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Wow! The wound looks like a scalpel wound from another tang, but the behavior in the video doesn’t align with that! Do you think they are strongly linked cause & effect? If so, I can only wonder if the scalpel wound unluckily pierced the fish’s body cavity (it is right about where the swim bladder would be).
Jay

 

[stefan09w]

It could be complete coincidence. I have witnessed him swimming in a similar fashion before the wound. But when I saw this before it was momentarily and then he went back to grazing on the glass and rocks. I would watch for awhile and never see it again. Now he is continuously doing it. He is still eating nori, but whatever is going on is slowing him down.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Wow! The wound looks like a scalpel wound from another tang, but the behavior in the video doesn’t align with that! Do you think they are strongly linked cause & effect? If so, I can only wonder if the scalpel wound unluckily pierced the fish’s body cavity (it is right about where the swim bladder would be).
Jay

jay - this is the same behavior I referred to a few weeks back and what ive been seeing with various size convicts. The bumps start, appetite decreases then the erratic swimming
I dont get it

 

[stefan09w]

Wow! The wound looks like a scalpel wound from another tang, but the behavior in the video doesn’t align with that! Do you think they are strongly linked cause & effect? If so, I can only wonder if the scalpel wound unluckily pierced the fish’s body cavity (it is right about where the swim bladder would be).
Jay

It might also be worth noting that I rarely see any aggression between the tangs. But I agree after looking it up it does look like a scalpel wound from another tang!

 

[stefan09w]

jay - this is the same behavior I referred to a few weeks back and what ive been seeing with various size convicts. The bumps start, appetite decreases then the erratic swimming
I dont get it

Weird. If I can mange it I might remove him tonight during a routine water change. The question is (if I can catch him) do I put him back in the reefer 170. Or setup another QT and prepare to treat?

 

[threebuoys]

Wow! The wound looks like a scalpel wound from another tang, but the behavior in the video doesn’t align with that! Do you think they are strongly linked cause & effect? If so, I can only wonder if the scalpel wound unluckily pierced the fish’s body cavity (it is right about where the swim bladder would be).
Jay

@Jay Hemdal , I think i'm going blind! Can you circle the wound you see? Maybe I need to adjust my PC, but I can't see anything unusual in the still photo.

 

[Thomas Jedlicka]

It can't be a swim bladder issue, can it? That is a very irregular swim pattern for a tang, I think jay might be right. I don't know of anything that would cause a fish to change swim patterns like that without being a swim bladder-related issue.

 

[stefan09w]

So I did my normal 10% water change and he acted “normal” the entire time. But it did observe the convict tang being kind of a bully to both the yellow and tomini tangs. The Tomini being much bigger. He would swim next to them and kind of flutter his tail at them. I think this might be where the injury is from. Still not sure about the weird occasional swimming.

 

[Thomas Jedlicka]

maybe it is bloat?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

@Jay Hemdal , I think i'm going blind! Can you circle the wound you see? Maybe I need to adjust my PC, but I can't see anything unusual in the still photo.

Between the second and third stripe, just above the insertion of the pectoral fin.

Jay