Purple tang turned white?

[merlberg]

So i purchased a purple tang frm ny aquatic and it came looking white, very pale n im sure thts not normal. For 1 there was some kind of delay on the fed ex truck so I got him later than expected so idk if he is just stressed! Can someone let me knw pleas, it would suck to loose him.

And he will not move from the filter sock tht I put in the qt, should i move the sock?

 

[LiveWire]

IME I would say that he wants to hide. He looks to be very stressed out and needs time to relax. Its best to keep the lighting very low so he can chill. It looks like you have him in a QT setup. Hopefully it is established so he will not stress further.

 

[Waters]

I agree....most fish will lose or change their color when stressed (Foxface being a perfect example). Darken the QT and give him a couple of days....assuming he is healthy his colors will return.

 

[merlberg]

IME I would say that he wants to hide. He looks to be very stressed out and needs time to relax. Its best to keep the lighting very low so he can chill. It looks like you have him in QT?

Yes I have him in a qt now n for the most part no lights are on. I tried feeding him nori yesterday but he disnt take it so im going to try feeding him again before i leave for the day or should I try later this evening?

 

[Brian Kim]

They turn white, lose color when under extreme stress, he will get back to normal

 

[LiveWire]

He will be fine for a day or two without eating. He will eat when he is relaxed. I would wait till this evening and just place a small amount of nori on a clip for when he is ready for it.

 

[merlberg]

Should i bother trying to feed him some mysis or nori? Or should i just let him be now n leave him alone

 

[merlberg]

He will be fine for a day or two without eating. He will eat when he is relaxed. I would wait till this evening and just place a small amount of nori on a clip for when he is ready for it.

Ok thanks

 

[merlberg]

So this morning he is even whiter than the pics i took yesterday. I wasnt able to see him so i had to turn my lights on to make sure he was still in there. I get this only his 2nd night but what could be still stressing him if he is alone? Im worried bcuz i really dnt want to lose him?

Ive been waiting so long to get a purple tang n finally purchased it as a xmas gift for myself n now this

 

[Brian Kim]

Check your temperature, salinity, ammonia, nitrate, nitrite and PH. Something can be off, making it difficult for him to get established
How did you acclimate him by the way?

 

[Wolff92]

They do this when they are stressed. A lot of fish can change colors when they are stressed. When I acclimated mine he did the same thing and I was scared it was sick. I put it in the tank in with the lights off for about an hour. Turned them on color back to normal. Sometimes they do this at night to I believe to aviod predators.

 

[merlberg]

Check your temperature, salinity, ammonia, nitrate, nitrite and PH. Something can be off, making it difficult for him to get established
How did you acclimate him by the way?

I thought in a qt the only thing to worry about was the ammonia? I have a badge n it says the ammonia is ok, the salinity i always try to keep at 1.023,
temp- 80 as far as ph goes i thought as long as I use rodi water the ph would always be on point? I did drip acclimation for about 2 hrs. I stated he is alone in the tank but i meant on that side, i put a splitter bt. him and a flagfin angel. But the angel seems to be doing fine n has eating seaweed here n there so idk

 

[merlberg]

They do this when they are stressed. A lot of fish can change colors when they are stressed. When I acclimated mine he did the same thing and I was scared it was sick. I put it in the tank in with the lights off for about an hour. Turned them on color back to normal. Sometimes they do this at night to I believe to aviod predators.

Ok tht makes alot of sense, as I look now he has changed back to his normal color.

 

[merlberg]

I have a huge pvc pipe tht he was going in n out of yesterday but for the most part he stays underneath a filter sock i have in the tank n doesnt explore the tank much at all. Im worried about when its time to try to feed him he will not move frm underneath there. I knw its a comfortability thing but should i move the sock since there is a pipe in there for him or he will figure it out once he is hungry n there food in the tank?

I tried to put a nori clip right next to the sock yesterday but he ignored it.

 

[Brian Kim]

I thought in a qt the only thing to worry about was the ammonia? I have a badge n it says the ammonia is ok, the salinity i always try to keep at 1.023,
temp- 80 as far as ph goes i thought as long as I use rodi water the ph would always be on point? I did drip acclimation for about 2 hrs. I stated he is alone in the tank but i meant on that side, i put a splitter bt. him and a flagfin angel. But the angel seems to be doing fine n has eating seaweed here n there so idk

You should check for nitrates as it could kill your fish. I also have those badges so never check for ammonia, it's an indication for me to do W/C when my nitrites & nitrates gets high in my QT tank.
I also purchase a purple tang along with an achilles 2 days ago, they both turned white while I was drip acclimating them but they got their color back within minutes once I put them in my tank. I was worried that you mentioned this yesterday and you just said it got worse this morning.
edit: I am glad he is doing better now

 

[merlberg]

You should check for nitrates as it could kill your fish. I also have those badges so never check for ammonia, it's an indication for me to do W/C when my nitrites & nitrates gets high in my QT tank.
I also purchase a purple tang along with an achilles 2 days ago, they both turned white while I was drip acclimating them but they got their color back within minutes once I put them in my tank. I was worried that you mentioned this yesterday and you just said it got worse this morning.
edit: I am glad he is doing better now

Ok i will check both things right now to see if I have to do a w/c n will get back to u if everything seems fine. N yes it was worse than the picture, it was so white i couldnt find it in the tank, I never knew they could change so light, but im glad he is back to normal. Thanks!

 

[4FordFamily]

Yup keep your water parameters ideal and keep the lights off and he will color up. Zebrasoma in particular change color when sleeping and stressed. (Zebrasoma include purple tangs)

 

[Brian Kim]

one of the achilles in my LFS had a seizure while the guy was trying to grab mine...turned white and then he was laying down on his side without breathing, he had to grab him and direct him towards the powerhead to revive him.
You said you drip acclimated him for 2 hours...did you have a heater, airstone in there? I am used to (after floating the bag for temp) removing half of the water from lfs and add 1/4 cup of my water then let it drip until it reaches the original level, then I repeat the process 3 times before ending the acclimation. It normally takes me 30 to 40 min max.

 

[merlberg]

both readings are fine so idk what else it can be :/

 

[merlberg]

one of the achilles in my LFS had a seizure while the guy was trying to grab mine...turned white and then he was laying down on his side without breathing, he had to grab him and direct him towards the powerhead to revive him.
You said you drip acclimated him for 2 hours...did you have a heater, airstone in there? I am used to (after floating the bag for temp) removing half of the water from lfs and add 1/4 cup of my water then let it drip until it reaches the original level, then I repeat the process 3 times before ending the acclimation. It normally takes me 30 to 40 min max.

No I didn't have niether in there. I thought the longer drip for them the better, was I wrong? And what else can i try feeding it besides nori? Can i try the live shrimp?