So I come home from work and..

[Humblefish]

He would probably benefit from a MB bath en route to QT: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/methylene-blue.257467/

And then a 5 min FW dip so we can confirm/rule out flukes as a possibility: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/freshwater-dip.248898/

(The FW dip will also help dislodge trophonts IF this is velvet.)

 

[Daniel Waters]

Well I just witnessed what may be the problem. He just absolutely went berserk when the dog went by. He is crammed now on a crevice I cant fully see him and I doubt he would normally try to fit. He banged the rocks a half dozen times in 2 seconds. Very unusual behavior I must say. I am very concerned. Sudden onset of shyness? Just finished 20%wc

I doubt the dog is the problem. Most likely the fish is extremely stressed and likely to freak out with any sudden movement near the tank.

Purple tangs can be super aggressive. It doesn't matter that the purple is half the size of the other tang, and it doesn't matter if you've never seen them be aggressive to each other, and it doesn't matter that they look like they are getting along. The purple may have been fine for months, but it may be getting bigger and deciding it wants to assert its dominance. I'm not saying this is what has happened in this case, but it is definitely a high possibility. I'd try to remove one of the tangs to QT. Best way to catch a tang is late at night, lights out, and two nets near their cave area...use one net to get them to go out the other side into your awaiting net! Easier said than done, though!

 

[Taylor]

I'll try my fish trap. I actually don't own two nets now because my live rock reached out and grab them then riiiip.

I am going to dwindle my total stock. I hope he will make a recovery to see the back side of that.

 

[Daniel Waters]

I'll try my fish trap. I actually don't own two nets now because my live rock reached out and grab them then riiiip.

I am going to dwindle my total stock. I hope he will make a recovery to see the back side of that.

I've had to pull a lot of rock out before in an effort to trap a fish. I've used egg crate to partition off an area to try to make it easier to catch fish. It really depends on your rockwork.

I don't think you mentioned your tank size / dimensions. A cramped tank or overstocked tank can lead to more stress, which might have led the purple tang to act out. Just a theory. I have a 6 foot long tank and removed my purple tang. All my other inhabitants were so much happier after I did so. Even though he wasn't attacking fish, he kept everyone on edge and basically made some areas off limits so other fish weren't allowed to swim as freely as they do now.

 

[Taylor]

Yea. It's 4ft. It is stocked heavy. And I like the purple tang. I like the two tang thing I have going, but perhaps he is an *****

 

[HotRocks]

4ft is too small for tangs in general.

Also, having only 2 is likely part of the issue as well. 1 or 3 would probably be better. 1 or none with only 4ft of swimming room.

I have several in a 6' tank. I do however still have some bickering, and have had aggression damage once or twice. The thing is with more than one or two they forget the target by being distracted easily.

 

[Daniel Waters]

Yea. It's 4ft. It is stocked heavy. And I like the purple tang. I like the two tang thing I have going, but perhaps he is an *****

I loved my purple tang also. He was absolutely beautiful. I introduced him at the same time with a bigger hippo tang. The purple killed the hippo tang in less than two days. I eventually got a blonde naso tang, and they got along for the most part. The blonde naso was larger, but the purple was still the tank boss and kept everyone in the tank on edge. I just eventually settled on getting rid of the purple tang, and I have a 6 foot tank. I can't imagine trying to keep a purple with another tang in a 4 foot tank. I almost felt like I needed an 8 foot or 10 foot tank at times with the purple tang I had! As @HotRocks mentioned, though, I think I would have done better with an odd # of tangs versus just two.

Back to your original dilemma, it's hard to say if this is an infection or some sort or physical damage. I'm still leaning towards the purple tang. The fin damage on the tail certainly seems to me to be physical damage. I've definitely witnessed that sort of fin shredding from my purple tang on other fish (such as my regal angel). On the hippo tang he killed, I noticed damage around the face and other abrasions that made me think the hippo was getting cut up on the rocks. If it hadn't been for a longer more pronounced cut on the face and body, I might not have ever suspected the purple tang. However, witnessing his behavior weeks and months later, it was very clear to me that I just had an aggressive purple tang.

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

I can’t see the pics real well since I’m on my phone in the sun, but it really just looks like some physical damage. Every once in a while one of my fish will show up with tattered fins and/or body scrapes. I don’t know if two of them got into it or someone just ran into some rocks, but it usually goes away in a day or two.

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

I added a scopas tang and the next morning he was torn to bits like your tang. His fins were slashed up and they slashed his eye. It was cloudy and infection set it.. I thought he was going to loose it.

I scooped him out with my hand he was so beat up.

Put him in a 10 gallon with marine melafix. He was all better in 2 weeks.

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

and for what it is worth.. I always QT with copper and prazi. Ich typically starts in the gills because the free swimming cysts get sucked in while the fish are breathing.

I had a yellow tang that I didn't Qt "mysteriously" die. No spots, no marks... till I cut his gill plate off. COVERED in ich. Poor guy suffocated.

if you have some aversion to copper then just tank transfer.

 

[ca1ore]

No way to know for sure of course, but that looks more like a bacterial infection to me (cloudy eyes and tattered fins) than aggression.

 

[PhreeByrd]

I also suspect disease rather than physical damage. The damage is all over the fish, which points to a more generalized issue. I also don't see any missing portions of fins that look like the result of nipping, which is typical with fish who are fighting. Damage from scraping himself against rocks and other stuff in the tank is still a possibility, but seems unlikely to me. He may have also become very skittish because he feels sick from other causes (meaning that his frantic actions may be a symptom rather than a cause).

In either case, I'd say he needs to be removed from the display tank and treated ASAP. Whatever the cause, he is now at high risk of serious infection.

 

[Dburr1014]

My chocolate tang of over a year is beat all to hell. Like he just battled 14 other fish. Eye is cloudy, chin is marked up, fins extremely tattered all over. But, no other fish really has damage. The coral beauty has a little mark but that injury could not be all that come from a tang fight twice it's size. Now I'm worried that my favorite and most long awaited fish I've ever had is in deep crap and not going to eat. Does this look like fighting damage? Stuck in a crevice and panic injury? Or sudden onset of disease. He/she was fine 24 hours ago.

Mature tank with stable params.

I didn't read the whole thread but, do you have an anemome?
My purple tang always tried to slap my Condy. It always ended up with white marks on his body from the anemome stinging it.

Sorry if this is redundant.

 

[Taylor]

No anemone and he is all healed up. It was just physical damabe. He was extra stressed or whatever the cause. I've removed the coral beauty angel and 2 female anthias (which later died suddenly, another thread) and rearranged some rock and coral. He is back to normal it seems. He is being aggressive towards the yellow Coris wrasse now.

 

[Daniel Waters]

No anemone and he is all healed up. It was just physical damabe. He was extra stressed or whatever the cause. I've removed the coral beauty angel and 2 female anthias (which later died suddenly, another thread) and rearranged some rock and coral. He is back to normal it seems. He is being aggressive towards the yellow Coris wrasse now.

Sounds like it wasn't disease and fighting + stress. Removing a few fish probably will help, but I suspect the culprit was still the purple tang. They have likely come to an understanding, but just keep an eye out going forward.