Hippo tang
- Thread starter cidermaster
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What is the diet like? Was the tang fed seaweed I suspect HILLE but I have no clue what else it could be???Anyone know what’s going on with him ? Is he just banged up from being moved or something else ?
Jay Hemdal
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There are two things that hepatus tangs can get: Head and Lateral Line Erosion(HLLE) and something else, termed "epithelial thinning". This appears to be the latter. Did it come on suddenly, or has it had it for awhile?
Nobody really knows what causes the epithelial thinning - I've had a shoal of these tangs in a system for 5+ years, and just a few months ago, in the right light, you can start see this on them as well. Go with maintaining the best water quality and diet that you can.
HLLE is another matter - those lesions are deeper, and tend to run down the fish's lateral line. Activated carbon and its dust is the prime culprit, and the only cause that has been proven.
Jay
Nobody really knows what causes the epithelial thinning - I've had a shoal of these tangs in a system for 5+ years, and just a few months ago, in the right light, you can start see this on them as well. Go with maintaining the best water quality and diet that you can.
HLLE is another matter - those lesions are deeper, and tend to run down the fish's lateral line. Activated carbon and its dust is the prime culprit, and the only cause that has been proven.
Jay
Acros
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Are fish kept in captivity more susceptible to these issues compared to fish in the wild? I am curious.
Jay Hemdal
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Yes - I've only been able to find cases of two fish in the wild that showed signs of HLLE, a black tang (notorious for this) and a baby emperor angelfish (living above black lava sand, so maybe the carbon connection ties in there).
Other than that, it is totally a disease of captives fishes, and then, only certain species.
Jay
