Convict tang won’t eat

Shawna Solomon · Mar 14, 2019

Hello all,
We bought this convict tang 7 days ago and the only thing he has ate is seaweed. The first 4 days he attacked the seaweed like he was starving and wouldn’t eat any other food but now he’s also not eating seaweed and moving lethargically. He’s super skinny or she. I’ve tried pellets, flakes, mysis shrimp, brine shrimp, krill, emerald entree frozen food, and regular shrimp. Also clam strips. I haven’t been successful in anything. He lets the food hit him right on the face. I haven’t noticed any white poop that people have said to watch out for but I was wondering if anyone had any advice.

P.s we also bought a lavender tang at the same store from the same tank that is thriving. And by that I mean he’s very active and is eating anything I put in there. And has even stood his ground to my yellow tang lol

Thank you in advance.

Frtdrmrose7 · Mar 14, 2019

Any spots on him?, flashing, lethargic? Swimming into a powerhead, twitching? Can you upload a pic with just white light?

HotRocks · Mar 14, 2019

Did you QT these fish? I'm assuming not since it looks like they are in your display?

Acanthurus tangs are very prone to parasites, even without parasites they can be very finicky eaters to get started off.

My recommendation would be to see if a LFS sells live brine and or blackworms and offer up some live food to see if you can get the fish kick started and then transition to frozen food.

ca1ore · Mar 14, 2019

The convict tang is harder than many folks think. For reasons that are unclear to me, they almost always come in very thin and can be touch and go for a while as you try to fatten them up. Hard to tell for sure from the picture angles, but it looks like it may be ‘pinched’ behind the head. If so, this is advanced weight loss and not usually recoverable. Agree that live brine would be a good thing to try as its almost irresistible.

IME with the convict, QT is highly advisable - and not even for disease. You’ve got to feed them mulitple times a day if you’re going to get weight on them. This is best done in a QT tank. I have a 1” convict in my frag tank that spent 6 weeks in QT getting fed 10x a day. Finally started putting on weight.

FishTruck · Mar 14, 2019

That's frustrating. You can culture live brine, try garlic, Nori - in addition to the other good recommendations. I bought a trio of squareback anthias six months ago. Watched them eat (I thought they all ate). The healthiest looking one of the bunch, the male, would not eat in my tank. He looked great, swam around, seemed alert, just would not eat. I tried everything - he wasted away and died after a month. The other two females were perfectly fine, and one morphed into a male later. I never found any evidence of disease. Sometimes, they just won't eat.

If you don't quarantine, one thing you might try is to see if your LFS will let you buy a fish, then pick it up a week or two later. Better to die in their tank than yours - if there is something off.

Shawna Solomon · Mar 14, 2019

Frtdrmrose7 said:
Any spots on him?, flashing, lethargic? Swimming into a powerhead, twitching? Can you upload a pic with just white light?

Very lethargic. No spots. And okay i will upload another pic with the whites on in a few minutes.

Shawna Solomon · Mar 14, 2019

HotRocks said:
Did you QT these fish? I'm assuming not since it looks like they are in your display?

Acanthurus tangs are very prone to parasites, even without parasites they can be very finicky eaters to get started off.

My recommendation would be to see if a LFS sells live brine and or blackworms and offer up some live food to see if you can get the fish kick started and then transition to frozen food.

Okay I can check my local fish store tomorrow but it’s pretty tiny I don’t know if they will have the live brine. I drove 75 miles to get this fish. I have the food that says it has garlic in it for finicky eaters but he’s not touching it.

Shawna Solomon · Mar 14, 2019

ca1ore said:
The convict tang is harder than many folks think. For reasons that are unclear to me, they almost always come in very thin and can be touch and go for a while as you try to fatten them up. Hard to tell for sure from the picture angles, but it looks like it may be ‘pinched’ behind the head. If so, this is advanced weight loss and not usually recoverable. Agree that live brine would be a good thing to try as its almost irresistible.

IME with the convict, QT is highly advisable - and not even for disease. You’ve got to feed them mulitple times a day if you’re going to get weight on them. This is best done in a QT tank. I have a 1” convict in my frag tank that spent 6 weeks in QT getting fed 10x a day. Finally started putting on weight.

Wow, I didn’t know that. I wish I had done more research but he was irresistible! I did not QT him. I currently don’t have another tank set up for quarantine it was kind of an impulse buy. I know I should have QT’d him but I didn’t have a light for my 10 gallon and he was acting normal at the store so I thought why not! I now know not to do this anymore. Thank you for your help.

Shawna Solomon · Mar 14, 2019

FishTruck said:
That's frustrating. You can culture live brine, try garlic, Nori - in addition to the other good recommendations. I bought a trio of squareback anthias six months ago. Watched them eat (I thought they all ate). The healthiest looking one of the bunch, the male, would not eat in my tank. He looked great, swam around, seemed alert, just would not eat. I tried everything - he wasted away and died after a month. The other two females were perfectly fine, and one morphed into a male later. I never found any evidence of disease. Sometimes, they just won't eat.

If you don't quarantine, one thing you might try is to see if your LFS will let you buy a fish, then pick it up a week or two later. Better to die in their tank than yours - if there is something off.

I will be making sure I QT from now on. I’ve just been lucky this far and didn’t have a light for my 10 gallon so I put him in the display. Now I know better. Thank you for your help.

Shawna Solomon · Mar 14, 2019

I don’t think he’s going to make it through the night. He was floating vertically in the tank and slowly drifted to the bottom and is now laying on my lobo.

Frtdrmrose7 · Mar 14, 2019

Shawna Solomon said:
I don’t think he’s going to make it through the night. He was floating vertically in the tank and slowly drifted to the bottom and is now laying on my lobo.

He is severely malnourished and unfortunately as you are witnessing it usually doesn’t end well when they get this far along. Honestly it probably started off with internal parasites long before you got the fish.

Shawna Solomon · Mar 15, 2019

Frtdrmrose7 said:
He is severely malnourished and unfortunately as you are witnessing it usually doesn’t end well when they get this far along. Honestly it probably started off with internal parasites long before you got the fish.

Awe, man

I was really hoping for a comeback. Next time I know to QT first and get him eating. He’s moved but still laying down and his breaths are getting fewer and further in between. I’ve tried shutting off the gyre and allowing the food to drop directly on him with pellets, algae pellets, and mysis shrimp and he didn’t care about the food at all. So, I don’t expect him to be alive in the morning. Thank you all for your help. Ive learned a lot in case I come across another one in the future.

dugthefish · Mar 15, 2019

I posted in your other thread, having a similar issue with my new convict. He'll devour nori, eating multiple sheets per day, but won't touch anything else. Luckily mine came in fat and healthy, you probably got a doomed fish to start with. Thanks for sharing.

ca1ore · Mar 15, 2019

If it's eating nori then I see no reason for concern. Assuming it does well, it'll move onto other foods.

dansreef · Mar 15, 2019

So sorry for your troubles with your convict. I got one a couple of years ago from Live Aquaria. He came in fat and happy. He took to nori right away...as well as other foods. Then he stopped as well. I think it had a lot to do with his tank mates who were not picking on him but were more aggressive at eating than he was. As a result, he was losing out on good quality food. So, I overfed the tank to get him enough.. I fed often...and in quantity. Fortunately for me it worked.

Today he is healthy and vibrant... Maybe one of my favorites. The trick is still making sure he gets enough food...

I hope he turns the corner for you.

FishTruck · Mar 16, 2019

That fish is a goner. It happens. Fish can live for 20 years in a well run system - but getting them acclimated in the first place is the biggest challenge. Making SURE you have seen them eat the food that you will feed is the minimum test for health. I am guilty of getting fooled by a fat looking fish that appears to be bullet proof, and getting disappointed later.

There are pros and cons to QT at home - so don't beat yourself up for not doing it.

The pro is protecting your tank and being able to pre-treat with antiparasitic meds like copper and praziquantel etc... under your own control.

The con - is that some people find the overall death rate for the NEW fish is actually worse in QT - especially when people set up a really bare bones QT, with just a heater and a power head. It's like a jail cell. This is why I advocate the QT at the LFS - if they have a good setup and will let you do it. Even if they keep your money for a fish that bonks - it is still cheaper than setting up your own QT and protects your big tank.