New tang behavior-stress?

[citymouse]

I got a new yellow tang Friday, I acclimated as directed and put in the 20g quarantine tank. I also got a yellow eyed Kole tang who seems to be doing fine. The yellow tank freaked out when I moved him, so I left the light off and covered the tank with towels, just leave a small opening so I could see them. This morning I turned the light on the in the room and he freaked again, he was crashing into the sides of the tank, frantic, but it's not like a lot of light was let into the tank, it's still covered and the room wasn't that dark to begin with.

Earlier he was laying beside a pvc pipe, looking half dead, but when I got closer, he started swimming around. He still has a white stripe on his side, I assume from stress. Right now he is swimming quickly back and forth for the last hour, is this normal??
I put some construction paper on the back and sides of the tank so he'd stop seeing his own reflection, I think he was fighting himself for a while there... he's swimming right up the glass, stopping and swimming back, he looks like he's doing laps.

The Kole tang is small, maybe 2" and the Yellow tang is bigger, 3 1/2" I think, maybe a bit bigger. Hoping there are no issues with that as well. I ordered 2 medium sized, I got a small and a medium, big size difference!

 

[BestMomEver]

Fish are strange. Keep in mind that not too long ago they we’re out in the giant ocean with no walls. I’m thinking just keeping everything dark and quiet for a while might help. At some point you can start letting in a little light at a time but don’t wait too long. They’re eventually going to have to adjust. My only fear is that she’s gonna bang herself up. Either that or just get so wound up that she won’t eat.

Fish are hardier than we give them credit for. If you consider how they get from the ocean to your tank, it’s actually pretty amazing that they make it at all. Keep your fingers crossed and see if you can get her to eat.

Good luck!

 

[citymouse]

I fed them last night, the little Kole tang ate, but I'm not sure if the Yellow ate, he/she was picking at the bottom, but also, was banging into the glass until I put the paper around the tank, now the fish seems to be stopping and turning around, barely touching the glass.

I'm not sure how long this one has lived in a tank, but they've been in stock continuously at Live Aquaria, the Kole tangs just came in, so I assume that one is possibly newer to a tank than the yellow..I really have no wy of know though.

Is there a way to tell if the Yellow is male or female? It's still swimming back and forth. I'm going to shut the light off in this room, let the sunlight gradually come in as the sun rises, hopefully that calms him down for a bit.

But yeah, I also was thinking I shouldn't leave it in the dark too long, so I left enough space for me to see and natural light to seep in before I turn on the room light, but even then, there wasn't much for the fish, so it wasn't that bright. I'll toss a towel over it now, like putting a bird to bed, lol

 

[citymouse]

Also, I think I'll need to do a water change later, there is a bit of poop in there..and food, I fed frozen and tried to cut it up small, but it's never small enough for so few fish! But I'm afraid the water change is going to stress the fish even more...however, so will an ammonia spike..ugh

 

[reef lover]

Id agree let the natural light brighten the tank slowly and i would rubberband some algae sheets to rocks ans drop them in something more natural to pick at. And lastly is the qt bare? I find if you add some artificial plants and some rock they feel a little more secure....

 

[mahindra.dev]

That’s typical behaviors of the yellow tang. They freak out and a lot more than the other tangs I believe.

I had mine do this pacing back and forth for a 5 days or so before it calmed down. I had pvc pipes too for calming it. To be honest I wasn’t happy with it in QT. After 1 week I just moved it to the display and even there it was pacing around for 2-3 days. For it to get used to me, it took a few weeks. It would see me and just go bonkers, But slowly the tang settled down and used to eat off of my fingers.

So give it sometime. Nori and Garlic oil did the trick to let it eat. I fed it Nori 3 Times a week.

 

[citymouse]

Id agree let the natural light brighten the tank slowly and i would rubberband some algae sheets to rocks ans drop them in something more natural to pick at. And lastly is the qt bare? I find if you add some artificial plants and some rock they feel a little more secure....

Yeah, the QT only has a little bit of sand and a couple 1" pvc pipes, they were for the previous Goby who has now moved to my big tank. The little Kole tang fits inside the pipes but the Yellow is way too big. I don't have anything around that I can put in there right now.

 

[reef lover]

Even a couple rocks you could spare from the main tank...not to go back in...might help him relax....

 

[Dr. Reef Verified Sponsor]

i would start with no lights on the tank and just ambient light around in the room and then slowly start with tank light for 1 hr daily and increase daily.
If you put a cam on it you will see it will only freak out when there is human presence and not while lights are on and no one around.
You need a slow and steady exposure, must be a wild caught.

 

[citymouse]

i would start with no lights on the tank and just ambient light around in the room and then slowly start with tank light for 1 hr daily and increase daily.
If you put a cam on it you will see it will only freak out when there is human presence and not while lights are on and no one around.
You need a slow and steady exposure, must be a wild caught.

The tank is in the TV room, so I can see it from across the room, I'm thinking the fish isn't bothered by me this far away, this is when it's swimming laps quickly from side to side, it's not bumping into the glass anymore, but it does this for over an hour. I did a water change today, the fish seemed a little freaked out at first but then just stayed to the side with the little one until I was done, no frantic crashing into the side or anything, then it went back to pacing later. At least for now it doesn't look like it's fighting it's reflection or crashing into walls anymore.

At night, I shut off the light and put a towl mostly over the front, just while the kids are coming and going from this room.

 

[TheHarold]

What tank are they for? I thought you had a bio cube?

 

[citymouse]

What tank are they for? I thought you had a bio cube?

They're going into a 215g tank. I do also have a biocube with 2 black and white clowns and a fire shrimp

The 215 only has 2 clowns, a Goby a few hermit crabs, 1 snail (had him forever) and a conch that has vanished into the sand since day 1. The Tangs are the next step to stocking that tank.

 

[citymouse]

i would start with no lights on the tank and just ambient light around in the room and then slowly start with tank light for 1 hr daily and increase daily.
If you put a cam on it you will see it will only freak out when there is human presence and not while lights are on and no one around.
You need a slow and steady exposure, must be a wild caught.

Also feeling bad if this is wild caught fish who is now stuck in a 20 tank until he's cleared for the bigger tank

 

[mcbride069]

i would start with no lights on the tank and just ambient light around in the room and then slowly start with tank light for 1 hr daily and increase daily.
If you put a cam on it you will see it will only freak out when there is human presence and not while lights are on and no one around.
You need a slow and steady exposure, must be a wild caught.

What would cause my tang to do this?

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

What would cause my tang to do this?

Did my phone glitch or is that thing pulling a neo from the matrix?