Tang with swimbladder issues?

mochaclowns · Oct 12, 2020

I have had a yellow tang for about a year now, he is aquacultured and I got him when he was about 2 inches long, he is now close to 5. I noticed that his swimming patterns have changed. He isn't going close to the top of the tank and is swimming with his head pointed upwards and the rest of his body sinking lower. His fins are moving in short little bursts. There seems to be a bulge where his stomach and swimbladder are. I put him on a break from green seaweed a couple of days ago due to recommendations from my LFS. I didn't know if should start giving it to him again to get him to swim towards the top of the tank? I've been feeding spirulina brine shrimp and plankton. Does anyone have any ideas aas to what might be wrong with him? Or possible treatment ideas?

Jay Hemdal · Oct 12, 2020

Can you post a picture, or even better, a short video (YouTube works well for that). Is the fish still feeding?
From the description it sounds like the fish is negatively buoyant, but the bulge, if gas, should make it positively buoyant. That means the bulge could be liquid, ascites from liver damage for example.
Jay

mochaclowns · Oct 12, 2020

Jay Hemdal said:
Can you post a picture, or even better, a short video (YouTube works well for that). Is the fish still feeding?
From the description it sounds like the fish is negatively buoyant, but the bulge, if gas, should make it positively buoyant. That means the bulge could be liquid, ascites from liver damage for example.
Jay

He's been eating, I feed spirulina brine shrimp and plankton. Here's the video (ignore the aiptasia I have Aiptasia X in the mail)

Jay Hemdal · Oct 12, 2020

Sorry - every time I try to download the video, I get a network error at the very end. I wonder if you fed medicated food with epsom salts, it might resolve some of the fluid build up. It's a long shot, and very complicated though. The article with instructions is on the right side of this page:https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/proper-dosing-of-medicated-foods.780/

Jay

mochaclowns · Oct 12, 2020

Thank you, I'll look at it right now. Sorry about the video, I was unable to upload it by any other means.

vetteguy53081 · Oct 12, 2020

I agree with jay on pics, Video doesnt work for me either . Some still pics would even help.
What you describe appears to be swim bladder disorder. The bladder generally runs through center of the fishs' body.
The swim bladder is a unique part of the fish that contributes to buoyancy control. Its primary function is to make sure that the fish can maintain its current depth in the water without having to expel energy in swimming.
The swim bladder disease is pretty much a complication that interrupts the ability of the tang to maintain such buoyancy.
This which leads to the question, so how did this happen? Some causes are :

- constipation or an enlarged stomach due to too much food
- an enlarged liver resulting from fatty deposits in the body
- the kidneys may be enlarged attributed to cysts
- air in the stomach especially if the tank has micro bubbles

Maritimer · Oct 12, 2020

I was able to play the video - in the hope that a description from another set of eyes might help:

The tang is swimming very close to the bottom, anal fin often brushing the sand. The fish's body is angled upward, but though she's working pretty hard, with almost feverish movements, she can't seem to gain any altitude. I got the impression that if she stopped trying to swim toward the surface, she'd crash to the bottom fairly quickly. It really does look as though her swim bladder has collapsed, and no longer contains the gas which should keep her neutrally buoyant.

~Bruce