Mp40 & juvenile naso encounter...

[Buddy08]

Like title says, my juvenile naso (about 4 inches long) had an encounter with the mo40. This is not the first time this has happened. It happened the first night I got him (2 months ago) and again today. By encounter, I mean he got a little close and was pulled against the wet side guard. The first time it happened I noticed it shortly after it happened, unplugged the mp40, and away the naso swam unharmed. Today however, I came home and found him stuck to the side again but am unaware how long he was stuck as I was running errands, if I had to guess 3 hours give or take. I freaked out and unplugged the mp40 and again, off the fish swam; however, this time he suffered some damage. His left side literally has the guard imprinted into his body and his left side gills seem bruised with a dark grayish color. Most noticeable is his eye, it is swollen out of the socket similar to pop eye but without the "bubbled" look. I threw in some nori to see of he would eat and he did but his swimming is slow and lethargic with any left movements. I have turned the powerheads down for now to assist him in strength recovery but am worried about him in general. Has this happened to anyone else? If so, what were the outcomes and what would you recommend I do? I will install the foam guards once I see him recover (if he does).

 

[Buddy08]

In addition, should I move him to a hospital tank until he heals? My coral beauty is attempting to pick on him as I speak and the naso is defending himself but he's already hurt

 

[ohio reefer]

I would move him over. Especially with the other fish picking at him.

 

[birdsnest]

I lost a 2" yellow tang to a koralia once. The first time it happened I was able to free it but the color looked like it got sucked outta the side that was stuck. It healed after a few weeks but had to make sure that it was eating. The second time it swam to close it was dead by the time I found it. If you run your vortec in a pulse mode you may not have that issue being the fish could free itself during the intermittent flow.

 

[Buddy08]

Luckily for me, this guy made a healthy recovery. I decided to leave him in the tank as the only fish that attempted to pick on him was the CB Angel (which is no match for a tang anyways) plus he was able to defend himself so the "bullying" for the angel lasted maybe 30 seconds before everything went back to norm. The naso was eating, and remained very interested in food. Within a few hours, the guard indention's on his side filled out and his eye began to reduce in swelling. By the following morning, his body and and grayish gill had returned to normal and the eye was completely back to normal with a little white haze. The haze is now gone today and he is swimming normally so needless to say, he's doing well!