Lesson Learned the Hard Way

[Mr. Limpid]

The sad truth to this lesson is that 3 Naso Tangs have died, I feel terrible. My first attempted fish was eating but not swimming around kinda just hanging in one spot and color was faded. Second a 5" eating good swimming good and looking good. The third a 3"+ eating good swimming good and looking good. The problem is all were QT in a 20gal long tank and all died in the third week due to stress and complications. Lesson Learned no Naso should be QT in a small tank, even for quarantine they need a large tank. I hope others read this so no more tangs die from small QT's.

 

[rkpetersen]

I hear you. I only have a tiny QT set up right now. I don't keep any large fish, and I only QT 1 or 2 fish at a time, but I have had fish die in QT that I am sure would have done quite well if I'd just put them in the DT straight off. QT is important to fight disease, but sometimes (too often) it stresses fish in and of itself, to the point of death, especially if you plan to keep them there for as long as the 'experts' recommend.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Also make sure you are getting your fish from a reputable source.

 

[Mr. Limpid]

The three Heniochus in my avatar where my last addition and came from two of LFS I bought Naso at. The Heniochus did great in QT only ran Prazi just as a precaution and in three weeks they went into DT. I still believe its the Naso, they need a large QT. Other thought are welcome.

 

[Halal Hotdog]

The 3" one I would have expected to be fine in a 20 gallon long. A lot of us (me included) keep the QT tank bare bones due to using copper and different medications. This may not be the issue with your setup, but making it look as much as a DT the better for the fish. Rock and sand go a long way to make these guys feel comfortable. Adequate flow also helps. I have definitely seen small tanks with fish that are way too big for it, but they have been kept like that for over a year(s). I those situations the small tank is their DT.

 

[nereefpat]

I think there is something other than tank size going on here.

Collection, disease, acclimation, ammonia, etc. TTM with prazi, then into the display, might be something to try next time (if you try again).

To be clear, which Naso sp tang are we talking about?

 

[Mr. Limpid]

I only keep a 4" piece of PVC for hiding in and bare bottom. I have a built in over flow in the tank which take up 6" of tank with a return pump and have additional power head in the tank side. Al my prams are 0 except nitrites are high due to setup. PH is 8.2. I have QT all my fish this way from a powder blue tang to a cream angle, never had this many of the same specie die.

 

[Mr. Limpid]

nereefpat, what is TTM? Naso lituratus is the specie.

 

[ca1ore]

I think there is something other than tank size going on here.

I concur. I've put 5" fish through a 20L QT on countless occasions. FWIW, the naso (assuming the regular one, not the bigger species) is not a particularly easy fish to acclimate. They often refuse to eat and waste away. I think the QT 'flaw' here was in trying to do three at the same time in a common body of water.

 

[Mr. Limpid]

Not three at same time three different times and from different LFS.

 

[nereefpat]

nereefpat, what is TTM? Naso lituratus is the specie.

Tank Transfer Method is a process for treating ich. It is performed by transferring fish (no water) to new sterile tanks every 72 hrs for a total of 12 days. If done correctly, it's as close to a 100% success that we can get in this hobby.

 

[User1]

I believe they meant three different fish at different times. In any case this has been one of the reasons I'm always hesitant to introduce new fish. I personally have no room for a large QT and have wondering how am I going to QT larger fish on my list. So far all the Millesteed butterfly and Lt. Tangs I've seen are all medium to large sadly and I've not seen any on Divers Den. In any case I do agree that a small tank with multiple fish (not in your case) is a bad idea just like I think size matters in some cases.

 

[ca1ore]

Not three at same time three different times and from different LFS.

Ah, I apparently misunderstood ..... or read your post too quickly LOL. I'll reiterate though that the Naso is not an easy fish to acclimate. You may have done nothing wrong.