Purple tang in QT.

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I have had a large size Purple Tang in QT for a little over two weeks now. He hasn't eaten anything I put in there for him. Swims very little and seems lethargic to me. Color, fins, breathing all look good. Just not as active as a tang should be. I can almost reach in and touch him without him swimming away.

Couple of questions are should i be treating the QT with some medication? If so not sure what. And any ideas how to get him to eat? He doesn't look skinny but how long can he go without eating? Ive tried, PE Mysis, smaller Mysis, Brine, Pellets, Flakes, Nori, and even soaked his food in Selcon. Not sure what else to try. At my LFS he was swimming and came right up to the front of the tank when I was standing there watching him for 20 minutes.
 
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What are the water parameters like in the tank?

Does the tang show any other symptoms of disease? Head-shaking? Flashing or fin-flicking? Fast or heavy breathing? Swimming into the flow of a powerhead? Is he hiding, or staying in the open? Does he _have_ places to hide when he wants to?

Have you tried rubber-banding nori to a rock? Perhaps a nori "burrito", with a little high-quality frozen food inside, strapped to a rock and left for a while (several hours)? Garlic is supposed to be an appetite enhancer - this might be a situation where it would help.

Perhaps @4FordFamily, our resident tang whisperer, can offer more insight . . .

~Bruce
 
^ all good suggestions, also you can try live black worms and/or littleneck clams.

If he isn't showing any signs of disease, I would probably wait until he's eating to start prophylactic treatments.
 
Deltec
Maritimer said:
What are the water parameters like in the tank?

Does the tang show any other symptoms of disease? Head-shaking? Flashing or fin-flicking? Fast or heavy breathing? Swimming into the flow of a powerhead? Is he hiding, or staying in the open? Does he _have_ places to hide when he wants to?
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I'd like the answer to these as well. Especially check the ammonia in the tank. Also how did you acclimate him to the QT?
 
Great advice thus far, I too am curious about ammonia? It's a primary killer in QT.

Any spots or dusting on the fish?

For food - red nori (rock rubber band great idea)), live brine, live blackworms. Trifecta. Find all three, buy online if you have to.
 
Top Shelf Aquatics
He's not breathing fast, not near a powerhead, and no head shaking. I don't know what fin-flicking is so I'll have to look that up and maybe look for a video so I know what it looks like. He pretty much stays in one spot in the lower corner of the tank. There is some PVC pipe in there but he doesn't seem to care at all. Like I said pretty much stays in one spot. I have not tried putting Nori on a rock only on a clip. Thanks I'll try this today.

For QT I acclimated like all my others with a slow drip in a bucket. The QT water gets changed 50% a week while it setup. Water parameters are Ammonia - 0, Calc 460, Nitrates - 2, Phos - 0.04, Alk -8, Nitrites - 0.

I see spots or dusting on the fish. Just weird. Never had a fish that wouldn't eat before. Especially a tang. I'll have to go later today after work and try to find live food. Wasn't successful last time I looked in our area. Poor area for the hobby. Thanks everyone for the ideas so far. Hate to lose this guy, he's gorgeous and was to be my last prize fish for the tank.
 
Sharkz said:
He's not breathing fast, not near a powerhead, and no head shaking. I don't know what fin-flicking is so I'll have to look that up and maybe look for a video so I know what it looks like. He pretty much stays in one spot in the lower corner of the tank. There is some PVC pipe in there but he doesn't seem to care at all. Like I said pretty much stays in one spot. I have not tried putting Nori on a rock only on a clip. Thanks I'll try this today.

For QT I acclimated like all my others with a slow drip in a bucket. The QT water gets changed 50% a week while it setup. Water parameters are Ammonia - 0, Calc 460, Nitrates - 2, Phos - 0.04, Alk -8, Nitrites - 0.

I see spots or dusting on the fish. Just weird. Never had a fish that wouldn't eat before. Especially a tang. I'll have to go later today after work and try to find live food. Wasn't successful last time I looked in our area. Poor area for the hobby. Thanks everyone for the ideas so far. Hate to lose this guy, he's gorgeous and was to be my last prize fish for the tank.
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The trifecta food I mentioned gives you the best chance possible. Trust me on that! :)

The longer it goes without eating the less your chances of success, so I would try those foods asap fish cannot resist. Most zebrasoma don't hesitate to feed, time isn't your friend.

Goood luck! :)
 
Sharkz said:
I see spots or dusting on the fish. Just weird
Click to expand...

This tends to point to velvet and would explain why he wont eat. check the link Brew provided for more information and ask any questions it leaves you with.
 
Sharkz said:
He's not breathing fast, not near a powerhead, and no head shaking. I don't know what fin-flicking is so I'll have to look that up and maybe look for a video so I know what it looks like. He pretty much stays in one spot in the lower corner of the tank. There is some PVC pipe in there but he doesn't seem to care at all. Like I said pretty much stays in one spot. I have not tried putting Nori on a rock only on a clip. Thanks I'll try this today.

For QT I acclimated like all my others with a slow drip in a bucket. The QT water gets changed 50% a week while it setup. Water parameters are Ammonia - 0, Calc 460, Nitrates - 2, Phos - 0.04, Alk -8, Nitrites - 0.

I see spots or dusting on the fish. Just weird. Never had a fish that wouldn't eat before. Especially a tang. I'll have to go later today after work and try to find live food. Wasn't successful last time I looked in our area. Poor area for the hobby. Thanks everyone for the ideas so far. Hate to lose this guy, he's gorgeous and was to be my last prize fish for the tank.
Click to expand...
My Kole Tang wouldn't eat for 6 days after putting him in QT and treating with CP. He had lost his color and was scratching on the rocks (other fish were showing velvet).

After that he's eating well and has his color back. Don't wait too long to treat him.
 
Nutramar Foods
I have read the Link Brew provided. I see nothing like that on my purple at all. If he has/had velvet wouldn't I have seen the results from those pictures by now. Been a little over 2 weeks and he still looks good. Can't really get a nice picture unless I take him out of QT and don't really want to stress him even more.

I'll be heading to our local pet store after work to see if I can find trifecta food. Doubt they will carry it. They have pretty limited dry goods. Last question would it hurt the Tang to just treat him with some form of antibiotics? If so what would you recommend before i go to the Pet store. Maybe they will it there.

Thanks everyone for the help.
 
Sharkz said:
Last question would it hurt the Tang to just treat him with some form of antibiotics?
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I wouldn't treat with antibiotics unless you are fairly certain he has an infection and NOT velvet. Having kanaplex or furan2 on hand is good to do anyway, but unless there is a need for it, don't just treat him with them.
 
melypr1985 said:
I wouldn't treat with antibiotics unless you are fairly certain he has an infection and NOT velvet. Having kanaplex or furan2 on hand is good to do anyway, but unless there is a need for it, don't just treat him with them.
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Glad I asked. And of course my local shop didn't carry the suggested food he never heard of it. Is there a good place you can recommend to purchase online to get it here asap?
 
WWC
You can get the black worms here: http://aquaticfoods.com/LiveBlackwormsM.html - though I don't see any "trial sizes" among their offerings . . . (The good news is that virtually all fish love blackworms, and they're good for virtually all fish!)

I picked up red nori at my local Petco - Omega One brand. I'd be surprised if their online store - or Dr. Foster & Smith's - didn't carry it as well. More locally, do you have any Asian markets nearby that might have it on offer?

Whole littleneck clams and mussels (not in the trifecta, but often enjoyed), I get at my local supermarket, in the seafood department.

"Fin-flicking" is my name for a behaviour I've seen in some of my fish - they rapidly and repeatedly open and close their fins, as though trying to dislodge something stuck to them. (Which is exactly what they're trying to do.) When you see it, it's pretty obvious.

~Bruce
 
Sharkz said:
Glad I asked. And of course my local shop didn't carry the suggested food he never heard of it. Is there a good place you can recommend to purchase online to get it here asap?
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I'm sorry for confusing you - trifecta of foods is what I call live blackworms, live brine, and red nori. There's not a type of food called trifecta, rather that's what I call that combination. I'm sorry for confusing you!
 
Top Shelf Aquatics
4FordFamily said:
I'm sorry for confusing you - trifecta of foods is what I call live blackworms, live brine, and red nori. There's not a type of food called trifecta, rather that's what I call that combination. I'm sorry for confusing you!
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I'm so embarrassed after re-reading your statement about the food I took that wrong LOL. No wonder the guy at the LFS looked at me funny o_O. Have to place an order for live worms and live brine. I'll grab red Nori today. Hopefully he hangs on. Still looks good so fingers crossed.
 
Sharkz said:
I'm so embarrassed after re-reading your statement about the food I took that wrong LOL. No wonder the guy at the LFS looked at me funny o_O. Have to place an order for live worms and live brine. I'll grab red Nori today. Hopefully he hangs on. Still looks good so fingers crossed.
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Don't worry about it! It was a bit confusing when I re-read! :)
 

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