Help with Tangs please

[Warlord of The Sea]

Hello again r2r community, my tangs are in trouble I believe. Both were fine yesterday but this morning my yellow was lying on the substrate breathing rather fast. I moved my finger near the glass and he swam away so he's responsive. My blue hippo tang is hidden away in her rock(She was in that little cove but now she has seemingly hid, you can see her tail) This is unusual as both fish are normally very active around me and swim laps around the tank but now they are just sat there breathing rather heavily. I don't believe they have any parasites and I read somewhere that it could be that they ate too much and simply upset their stomachs. I do see them constantly feeding on the algae in the tank so I am hoping its that. I haven't tested params yet as I just saw them but my goby, clown, gramma and anemone seem to be fine (active but not agitated, breathing normally). Will do a test as this goes up. Please do ask any questions if you need more info and I will be checking this. I just don't want £100 worth of fish to die

 

[Jon Fishman]

I can easily see the back, with what appears to be an end-wall of your tank...... what size is it? You have a yellow and a hippo tang, in what looks like a pretty small tank..... My guess is they are stressed to near death.

 

[Warlord of The Sea]

I can easily see the back, with what appears to be an end-wall of your tank...... what size is it? You have a yellow and a hippo tang, in what looks like a pretty small tank..... My guess is they are stressed to near death.

Its a 100l tank but we have had them for over 3 weeks now and the most recent addition to the tank was over a week ago, and before this they did not appear to be agitated but I will heed that in mind when I talk to my dad later today thank you

 

[Jon Fishman]

Its a 100l tank but we have had them for over 3 weeks now and the most recent addition to the tank was over a week ago, and before this they did not appear to be agitated but I will heed that in mind when I talk to my dad later today thank you

Yeah, sorry, but a 100L tank is about 26-27 gallons? You should have closer to 1,000L tank for those two..... or maybe 750 or so.... either way, a LOT bigger. It's not just their 'current size' these are fish that are accustomed to being in an ocean.... any tank is a shock to them..... what you basically have, is a person living in the trunk of a car for 3+ weeks now......

You need to take them back to the store unless you have plans for a MUCH larger tank in the near future.

 

[Warlord of The Sea]

Yeah, sorry, but a 100L tank is about 26-27 gallons? You should have closer to 1,000L tank for those two..... or maybe 750 or so.... either way, a LOT bigger. It's not just their 'current size' these are fish that are accustomed to being in an ocean.... any tank is a shock to them..... what you basically have, is a person living in the trunk of a car for 3+ weeks now......

You need to take them back to the store unless you have plans for a MUCH larger tank in the near future.

Ah ok thanks a lot. My dad was talking about upgrading but I don't think soon. I will talk to him and then we might go to the lfs and see what they have to say as well.

 

[Paul B]

I don't believe they have any parasites and I read somewhere that it could be that they ate too much and simply upset their stomachs.

No, they don't get upset stomachs that makes them breathe fast. Stress, from being in a too small tank does that as well as make them very susceptible to gill parasites which I believe your fish have.
I can't tell from here but yellow tangs are long range swimmers, Hippo's don't swim as much and can be kept in a smaller tank, but not as small as that one. Both those fish also get about 9" long and should live for about 15 years.
I can't give you any advice because as I said, I believe they are stressed.

How long has the tank been set up and what do you normally feed. I don't care about the parameters, they won't cause that.
Anemones are very sensitive to metals in the water so I am also sure that is fine.
What else is in the tank?

 

[Jon Fishman]

Hippo's don't swim as much and can be kept in a smaller tank, but not as small as that one. Both those fish also get about 9" long

My local shop has probably a dozen that are all pushing a foot long...... I thought they got closer to 14" or so..... either way, I put a Powder Blue in a 75 while my new tank is being built (hopefully done this week, going to store today to check status) and after only a few weeks, it is visibly stressed...... and it's one of 2 fish in the entire tank!

 

[Warlord of The Sea]

Update 1
My hippo has just decided to dart out. I think she looks lighter in colour than before. I'm really sad that this could have happened in just a day, such a drastic change in behaviour. Might have to wake my dad up early so we can save them

 

[Jon Fishman]

How long has the tank been setup? What is the salinity?

 

[Warlord of The Sea]

No, they don't get upset stomachs that makes them breathe fast. Stress, from being in a too small tank does that as well as make them very susceptible to gill parasites which I believe your fish have.
I can't tell from here but yellow tangs are long range swimmers, Hippo's don't swim as much and can be kept in a smaller tank, but not as small as that one. Both those fish also get about 9" long and should live for about 15 years.
I can't give you any advice because as I said, I believe they are stressed.

How long has the tank been set up and what do you normally feed. I don't care about the parameters, they won't cause that.
Anemones are very sensitive to metals in the water so I am also sure that is fine.
What else is in the tank?

Its been running for at least 2 months and a half. I told my dad we should wait before getting tangs but he wanted some cool fish. We got both tangs from the same seller, acclimated and added them. The hippo seemed stressed for the first few hours(constantly scratching) but then relaxed, and up until today they were swimming, interacting with other tankmates and even had a night routine( Yellow would retire to the front corner and hippo would lie in her alcove). The seller asked us our tank size and sold us both tangs so I feel played now.

 

[Warlord of The Sea]

How long has the tank been setup? What is the salinity?

At least 2 months and a half and I will do a salinity check but yesterday it was at 1.025 I think(if its horribly off i must've forgot or added a number). My dad was wanted 'cooler' fish so we went to the fish store to get tangs and told them how old it was (At the time it was something like 1 month and a half) and they had no problems with it.

 

[Warlord of The Sea]

My local shop has probably a dozen that are all pushing a foot long...... I thought they got closer to 14" or so..... either way, I put a Powder Blue in a 75 while my new tank is being built (hopefully done this week, going to store today to check status) and after only a few weeks, it is visibly stressed...... and it's one of 2 fish in the entire tank!

We did see some very large specimens at the store but we aren't planning on keeping them if it gets that big. Our original plan was once they got too big, take them to a friend who had very large tanks.

 

[hdsoftail1065]

Sorry to hear about your troubles. You might consider taking them the your friend with the larger tanks and rehoming them if it isn't to late or at least holding them until the upgrade happens. It does sound like you received some bad advice from your lfs and I would be surprised if they would take them back being in the condition they are in but you could try. I would probably look for another store. There are some incredible people on this forum that will be more than happy to help with your stocking plans or provide feedback on the fish you would like to go with. I wish you luck and I hope those little guys pull through. Keep us posted.

 

[Warlord of The Sea]

Sorry to hear about your troubles. You might consider taking them the your friend with the larger tanks and rehoming them if it isn't to late or at least holding them until the upgrade happens. It does sound like you received some bad advice from your lfs and I would be surprised if they would take them back being in the condition they are in but you could try. I would probably look for another store. There are some incredible people on this forum that will be more than happy to help with your stocking plans or provide feedback on the fish you would like to go with. I wish you luck and I hope those little guys pull through. Keep us posted.

The hippo is gone sadly, it checked out in only three hours. My dad both were fine this morning so I'm shocked at how fast it died. Our yellow is still hanging in there. We went to the lfs(not the ones who sold us the tangs, they didnt have any when we went to check) and they told us to do a freshwater bath to try and kill any parasites. We've just done that and we are also gonna do a small water change in case it is anything in the water itself. We are going to pick up some RODI water right now. Wish Bubbles luck

 

[kiMxD]

From what you said so far, looks like you and your dad may be fairly new to the hobby? I feel like you should test your tank for nitrate and ammonia, just in case. Although the tank was extremely small for such fish, the death happened rather too quick IMO.
Sorry for your loss, we all killed some fish at some point in this hobby, try to learn from this experience and please, research a lot before you make a decision.

 

[Warlord of The Sea]

From what you said so far, looks like you and your dad may be fairly new to the hobby? I feel like you should test your tank for nitrate and ammonia, just in case. Although the tank was extremely small for such fish, the death happened rather too quick IMO.
Sorry for your loss, we all killed some fish at some point in this hobby, try to learn from this experience and please, research a lot before you make a decision.

Yeah, i told my dad that we should wait off from tangs but he is kind of impulsive so he went and bought it. I didnt worry because as I said they were fine but now in literally a couple of hours hell has broken loose. First thing we did was check params and it looks like that GH is too high so we have the RODI water and are gonna do an immediate water change. Everything else is at the correct levels especially nitrates, nitrites and ammonia.

 

[hdsoftail1065]

The hippo is gone sadly, it checked out in only three hours. My dad both were fine this morning so I'm shocked at how fast it died. Our yellow is still hanging in there. We went to the lfs(not the ones who sold us the tangs, they didnt have any when we went to check) and they told us to do a freshwater bath to try and kill any parasites. We've just done that and we are also gonna do a small water change in case it is anything in the water itself. We are going to pick up some RODI water right now. Wish Bubbles luck

. Sorry to hear...

 

[Warlord of The Sea]

Also all the other fish were fine including our anemone

 

[kiMxD]

Yeah, i told my dad that we should wait off from tangs but he is kind of impulsive so he went and bought it. I didnt worry because as I said they were fine but now in literally a couple of hours hell has broken loose. First thing we did was check params and it looks like that GH is too high so we have the RODI water and are gonna do an immediate water change. Everything else is at the correct levels especially nitrates, nitrites and ammonia.

When you say "correct levels" in this forum, it means nothing to most of us. Would you be able to tell us what the levels are/were last time you checked? And what do you mean "GH is too high"? What is "GH"?

 

[Rover]

You need to find a new LFS my friend.

A 25 gallon tank is not suitable for any tangs, let alone a hippo tang.

My tang (Kole tang in a 75 gallon tank) did the same thing when placed in a 30 gallon quarantine tank; Fell like a leaf and laid on her side breathing heavily. Its stress, and it is 100% caused by being placed in a cramped, new home. I'm sorry that you lost the hippo tang.

Please post the below.:

Temperature.: (in celcius or fahrenheit)
Salinity.: (in ppt or specific gravity)
Ammonia.: (in ppm)
Nitrite.: (in ppm)
Nitrate.: (in ppm)
What livestock do you have? Every other fish in the tank.


pH, Calcium, alkalinity, and other things are important for corals/inverts, but I don't think GH is the reason your hippo tang passed on. It is more then likely one of the above, that is what affects fish the most.


Your tank is still going through the ugly phases, based on your sand bed. I doubt it has fully finished cycling. I understand your dad is impulsive, but in the saltwater hobby time and patience is key to happy fish and happy owners, because nobody likes to see their fish suffering or die.... Or lose $100's of dollars in fish!