Kole Tang injury?

[nkyreef]

After I fed everyone tonight I noticed the tang has what looks like a cut on his body towards the tail. The other odd thing is it looks like there's the exact same injury on the other side. He eats well and bullies the tank like normal. Does this look like more than an injury?

 

[m3rcfh]

It's pretty hard to tell from the picture as the Tang's blue kind of blends with the lighting, but it does look like it's coming from the lateral line (or am I seeing too much?). Can it be HLLE appearing towards the tail?

 

[Maritimer]

Honestly, the only thing I can see near the base of the tang's tail in these photos, is his "tang". At the base of their tails, these guys have a sort of jackknife blade. Most of the time, it lies flat in a groove alongside the tail, but when the tang's annoyed, that little blade sticks straight out, and can be used to slash another fish.

It's what gives these guys their other nickname; "surgeonfish". It's as sharp as a scalpel.

It does look as though someone's been nipping at the corners of his tail, though . . .

~Bruce

 

[reefndude]

Honestly, the only thing I can see near the base of the tang's tail in these photos, is his "tang". At the base of their tails, these guys have a sort of jackknife blade. Most of the time, it lies flat in a groove alongside the tail, but when the tang's annoyed, that little blade sticks straight out, and can be used to slash another fish.

It's what gives these guys their other nickname; "surgeonfish". It's as sharp as a scalpel.

It does look as though someone's been nipping at the corners of his tail, though . . .

~Bruce

That's what I am seeing

 

[Tahoe61]

Other tank mates please.

 

[nkyreef]

Honestly, the only thing I can see near the base of the tang's tail in these photos, is his "tang". At the base of their tails, these guys have a sort of jackknife blade. Most of the time, it lies flat in a groove alongside the tail, but when the tang's annoyed, that little blade sticks straight out, and can be used to slash another fish.

It's what gives these guys their other nickname; "surgeonfish". It's as sharp as a scalpel.

It does look as though someone's been nipping at the corners of his tail, though . . .

~Bruce

The blues are maxed at night so my pictures kinda suck. I didn't know about the blade the tangs have. I'm learning more day by day when it comes to these things. He has been doing these quick swimming bursts along the sides. I wonder if he's reacting to his reflection in the glass? Perhaps that's got his "dagger" out? I've never noticed it before. I circled what I thought was the problem. As far as the tail nips, I do have a couple of clowns in addition to a royal gramma and yellow goby. I wonder if the clowns could be harassing him.

 

[nkyreef]

The pictures look good on my phone. They must be losing some resolution once uploaded so it does make it hard to see.

 

[4FordFamily]

The blues are maxed at night so my pictures kinda suck. I didn't know about the blade the tangs have. I'm learning more day by day when it comes to these things. He has been doing these quick swimming bursts along the sides. I wonder if he's reacting to his reflection in the glass? Perhaps that's got his "dagger" out? I've never noticed it before. I circled what I thought was the problem. As far as the tail nips, I do have a couple of clowns in addition to a royal gramma and yellow goby. I wonder if the clowns could be harassing him.

What you’ve circled is in fact his “blade”. They use these to fiercely defend their territories from other marauding herbivores!

What you have is a perfectly normal, healthy fish. They have two blades, one on each side. In naso genus tangs, they have two on each side!

I do agree that something has picked at his tail, it appears.

 

[Big G]

I wonder if the clowns could be harassing him.

Just saw a yellow tang at Petco that had to be moved because of a clown nipping at all of his fins. Poor guy looked like a bat with scalloped wings.

 

[Maritimer]

The blues are maxed at night so my pictures kinda suck. I didn't know about the blade the tangs have. I'm learning more day by day when it comes to these things. He has been doing these quick swimming bursts along the sides. I wonder if he's reacting to his reflection in the glass? Perhaps that's got his "dagger" out? I've never noticed it before. I circled what I thought was the problem. As far as the tail nips, I do have a couple of clowns in addition to a royal gramma and yellow goby. I wonder if the clowns could be harassing him.

The unending learning's just about the best thing about this hobby - along with the beauty you can create, and the people you meet . . .

(Still looks like the blade at the base of the tang's tail.)

~Bruce

 

[4FordFamily]

Just saw a yellow tang at Petco that had to be moved because of a clown nipping at all of his fins. Poor guy looked like a bat with scalloped wings.

People underestimate a clownfish’s aggression a lot. Make no mistake about it, they mean business and can be exceedingly aggressive. They are a damsel, after all!

 

[nkyreef]

Just saw a yellow tang at Petco that had to be moved because of a clown nipping at all of his fins. Poor guy looked like a bat with scalloped wings.

I've always thought the tang was the most aggressive fish I had. Whenever I feed he's always zooming around grabbing food while the others hang back. I never see any fighting between them.

 

[Deinonych]

+1 on it being the scalpel, not an injury. Agree that a tank mate is snacking on his caudal fin.

 

[nkyreef]

Other tank mates please.

A royal gramma, yellow clown goby, 2 clowns, skunk cleaner shrimp, and an emerald crab. I've heard clowns can be jerks.

 

[4FordFamily]

A royal gramma, yellow clown goby, 2 clowns, skunk cleaner shrimp, and an emerald crab. I've heard clowns can be jerks.

My money is on the clowns. Are they spawning? This will lead to aggressive behavior. You tube some clown spawning behavior, see if it looks familiar.

Hopefully, the kole is paying attention to the true pecking order!

 

[nkyreef]

The unending learning's just about the best thing about this hobby - along with the beauty you can create, and the people you meet . . .

(Still looks like the blade at the base of the tang's tail.)

~Bruce

This is a great hobby and I'm glad I joined the fun. It is incredible that we can have a box of fascinating life right in the middle of our homes. [emoji1]

 

[Deinonych]

My money is on the clowns. Are they spawning? This will lead to aggressive behavior. You tube some clown spawning behavior, see if it looks familiar.

Hopefully, the kole is paying attention to the true pecking order!

This. I have a spawning pair of A. ocellaris and the female loves to take a bite out of unwary passers-by. Every now and then my Kole and my Foxface sport a nice round bite mark on their flanks. Always entertaining.