Yellow Tang help

[citymouse]

I'm pretty sure my yellow tang has popeye, he doesn't stop moving or hiding long enough for me to get a really good look (which is how he's always been) but one of his eyes does look puffed out. I'm getting the QT tank ready for him tonight, it's been set up with filters running, but unused for 3 yrs..how do you keep these cycled? So I tried to erythromycin on Amazon, because I wanted it as soon as possible (1 day shipping, coming tomorrow), but they didn't have any, so I bought Seachem Kanaplex, because it says it treats popeye and various other things., and it was all I could find. I have erythromycin but it expired last June!

Has anyone used Kanaplex for this? Does it work well?

I also bought Melafix, can I use these together?

I'm moving him the QT tomorrow, the meds show up tomorrow..I can't cycle the tank, but I do plan on moving some media into the 2 filters from the well established tank, in hopes that works/helps...not much else I can do.

Any advice on using these medications?

 

[vetteguy53081]

I'm pretty sure my yellow tang has popeye, he doesn't stop moving or hiding long enough for me to get a really good look (which is how he's always been) but one of his eyes does look puffed out. I'm getting the QT tank ready for him tonight, it's been set up with filters running, but unused for 3 yrs..how do you keep these cycled? So I tried to erythromycin on Amazon, because I wanted it as soon as possible (1 day shipping, coming tomorrow), but they didn't have any, so I bought Seachem Kanaplex, because it says it treats popeye and various other things., and it was all I could find. I have erythromycin but it expired last June!

Has anyone used Kanaplex for this? Does it work well?

I also bought Melafix, can I use these together?

I'm moving him the QT tomorrow, the meds show up tomorrow..I can't cycle the tank, but I do plan on moving some media into the 2 filters from the well established tank, in hopes that works/helps...not much else I can do.

Any advice on using these medications?

Go with Maracyn which is ethromyacin and works well often clearing issue in 5-7 days

 

[citymouse]

Go with Maracyn which is ethromyacin and works well often clearing issue in 5-7 days

The only thing I can find and get somewhat quickly, is "Fritz mardel-maracyn oxy", is this brand any good? it says it's for fungal disease though. I also see maracyn 2 that mentioned popeye, but they're all from 3rd party sellers and overpriced. I have to get something on Amazon, preferably sold by Amazon, that will ship quick, they don't have anything else, which is why I bought the Seachem Kanaplex, it says it treats popeye and more. I have read that erythromycin/maracyn is best, but I can't easily get it. I can't get to a store, and try to avoid inside places still, because my daughter is very immune compromised and has a chronic health condition, so we are still living like it's 2020 with covid looming....I hate covid!

​

 

[vetteguy53081]

The only thing I can find and get somewhat quickly, is "Fritz mardel-maracyn oxy", is this brand any good? it says it's for fungal disease though. I also see maracyn 2 that mentioned popeye, but they're all from 3rd party sellers and overpriced. I have to get something on Amazon, preferably sold by Amazon, that will ship quick, they don't have anything else, which is why I bought the Seachem Kanaplex, it says it treats popeye and more. I have read that erythromycin/maracyn is best, but I can't easily get it. I can't get to a store, and try to avoid inside places still, because my daughter is very immune compromised and has a chronic health condition, so we are still living like it's 2020 with covid looming....I hate covid!

​

May work but Maracyn packs best

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I'm pretty sure my yellow tang has popeye, he doesn't stop moving or hiding long enough for me to get a really good look (which is how he's always been) but one of his eyes does look puffed out. I'm getting the QT tank ready for him tonight, it's been set up with filters running, but unused for 3 yrs..how do you keep these cycled? So I tried to erythromycin on Amazon, because I wanted it as soon as possible (1 day shipping, coming tomorrow), but they didn't have any, so I bought Seachem Kanaplex, because it says it treats popeye and various other things., and it was all I could find. I have erythromycin but it expired last June!

Has anyone used Kanaplex for this? Does it work well?

I also bought Melafix, can I use these together?

I'm moving him the QT tomorrow, the meds show up tomorrow..I can't cycle the tank, but I do plan on moving some media into the 2 filters from the well established tank, in hopes that works/helps...not much else I can do.

Any advice on using these medications?

If you can post a picture of the tang, we might be able to see how bad the issue is. Single protruding eyes are often caused by an injury and many times they heal on their own. Maracyn 1 helps if they get infected. I've not tried Kanaplex for this issue.

Melafix is just a tonic, I wouldn't use that.


Jay

 

[citymouse]

If you can post a picture of the tang, we might be able to see how bad the issue is. Single protruding eyes are often caused by an injury and many times they heal on their own. Maracyn 1 helps if they get infected. I've not tried Kanaplex for this issue.

Melafix is just a tonic, I wouldn't use that.


Jay

Working on trying to get a picture of him. He's currently getting acclimated to the QT, so this he can't bolt around making it impossible at the moment! He's a rough looking fish, ever since I got him he's look kind of bad...he had flukes, I had to treat twice, then shortly after his fins started looking raggedy, so I copper treated (it was a bit of time between treatments), It was 4 yrs ago, so I don't entirely remember, but I had later tried another treatment, but he never grew back those fins. He eats and swims around, acts totally normal, and before the puffy eye, he didn't show signs of anything else, he just looks blah..all the other fish are perfectly healthy looking.

I'll go try and get pictures before I release him into the tank.

 

[Tamberav]

Expired might mean it is a bit less potent, maybe... if it was stored properly I would use it tbh.

It may heal on its own though and might be worth watching another few days.

 

[citymouse]

 

[citymouse]

Expired might mean it is a bit less potent, maybe... if it was stored properly I would use it tbh.

It may heal on its own though and might be worth watching another few days.

I thought about using it, but it expired June 2021, I figured that might not work at all, then I'd end up having to do something else.

 

[citymouse]

Here's his other eye.

 

[Uncle99]

I see a significant amount of fin damage, looks like he/she was attacked.
Remove that stress point, feed well.

 

[citymouse]

I see a significant amount of fin damage, looks like he/she was attacked.
Remove that stress point, feed well.

Yes, he has looked like this since I got him, no one was attacking him. So I got this one and a Kole tang, the kole was very small, yellow was closer to med size. I sit in the TV room/office most of the day, where I have a 40g QT tank. I was able to watch them all the time, they get along great, the Kole has never bullied him, they're buddies. His fins started looking this way 4 yrs ago and they have never improved.

I'd be quick to blame to clowns if it didn't happen in quarantine! I kept them both in qt for several months, much longer than needed. When I added them to the big tank, they immediately invaded the clown fish territory! It's 230g tank, with no other fish....just 2 clowns and the 2 new (at the time) tangs. The clown attacked, the tangs just didn't take a hint..watched them, tried to move them to the opposite side of the tank but they just kept going right back to the clowns for abuse. So I put a separator in the tank and they lived that way for month, until they all got use to each other! The Tangs mostly hang around the opposite side, but they do love to swim back and forth and are often with the clown fish, they have lives peacefully together for 4 yrs now. I've watched the clowns and they don't care that the Tangs are in their space..they attack snails that dare come near them..but they ignore the Tangs.

The yellow tang has never looked good, he looks like crap his whole life, he's always hid and he hangs around the Kole tang 24/7. I'm a little worried about them being separated right now, the Kole seems lost without him and I'm worried if it's too long, when I put him back that the other fish might attack him, is this a risk? I've never had to quarantine a fish other than when they're new.

The clowns are 10 yrs old now.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Yes, he has looked like this since I got him, no one was attacking him. So I got this one and a Kole tang, the kole was very small, yellow was closer to med size. I sit in the TV room/office most of the day, where I have a 40g QT tank. I was able to watch them all the time, they get along great, the Kole has never bullied him, they're buddies. His fins started looking this way 4 yrs ago and they have never improved.

I'd be quick to blame to clowns if it didn't happen in quarantine! I kept them both in qt for several months, much longer than needed. When I added them to the big tank, the immediately invaded the clown fish territory! It's 230g tank, with no other fish....just 2 clowns and the 2 new tangs. The clown attacked the tangs just didn't take a hint..watched them, tried to move them to the opposite side of the tank but they just kept going right back to the clowns for abuse. So I put a separator in the tank and they lived that way for month, until they all got use to each other! The Tangs mostly hang around the opposite side, but they do love to swim back and forth and are often with the clown fish, they have lives peacefully together for 4 yrs now. I've watched the clowns and they don't care that the Tangs are in their space..they attack snails that dare come near them..but they ignore the Tangs.

That fin damage is actually how yellow tangs show head and lateral line erosion (HLLE). It is a chronic condition and I’ve not seen the fins grow back in severe cases. The fish will live a full life like that though.
The eyes are protruding a bit and they seem to have some dark coloration. You could try the kanaplex, but if the fish is eating well and not showing other symptoms, you might want to just observe it for now.
Jay

 

[Tamberav]

I thought about using it, but it expired June 2021, I figured that might not work at all, then I'd end up having to do something else.

My bet is you could use both meds. People often mix antibiotics in the trifecta. Need good aeration though.

Very unlikely it won't work at all. I put mine in the freezer and keep them wayyy past the expiration date.

 

[citymouse]

That fin damage is actually how yellow tangs show head and lateral line erosion (HLLE). It is a chronic condition and I’ve not seen the fins grow back in severe cases. The fish will live a full life like that though.
The eyes are protruding a bit and they seem to have some dark coloration. You could try the kanaplex, but if the fish is eating well and not showing other symptoms, you might want to just observe it for now.
Jay

Could HLLE have happened during QT? I had looked into that and didn't think that was his problem at the time. He was being treated for flukes, which oddly the Kole never seemed to have. I did FW dips and treatment, which cleared it up. All was fine until the yellow tang started looking thin and showing fin damage, he was eating though and I watched closely and the Kole was not bothering him. I treated with Copper in case there was something going on, still unclear what the problem was. Then they lived together in the quarantine tank for at least 6 months, I thought his fins would grow back, he improved some and stopped looking thin, and never showed signs of any diseases, just the fin damage. I checked the water all the time, everything was perfect, I did water changes etc. kept their tank perfect and the Kole has always looked very healthy. They have nori and NLS, I also was feeding frozen all the time, until covid...because I had to stop going into stores. The DT is getting a bigger water change this week, because I got a little lax with water changes since starting a new job...but everything there has been fine too, other than an algae bloom recently.

If he had HLLE back then, wouldn't the copper have helped? I didn't see the white line and other things to look for, I never knew it would show in their fins though.

 

[citymouse]

My bet is you could use both meds. People often mix antibiotics in the trifecta. Need good aeration though.

Very unlikely it won't work at all. I put mine in the freezer and keep them wayyy past the expiration date.

Hmm...then maybe I won't toss it in the trash just yet! I have 2 filters (probably overkill) and a small power head. I do have air pumps and air stones if needed, I can always drop one
in. Do you think this is enough though?

I have kept them meds in a cabinet under the tank, dry and cool, so I guess it was stored right.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Could HLLE have happened during QT? I had looked into that and didn't think that was his problem at the time. He was being treated for flukes, which oddly the Kole never seemed to have. I did FW dips and treatment, which cleared it up. All was fine until the yellow tang started looking thin and showing fin damage, he was eating though and I watched closely and the Kole was not bothering him. I treated with Copper in case there was something going on, still unclear what the problem was. Then they lived together in the quarantine tank for at least 6 months, I thought his fins would grow back, he improved some and stopped looking thin, and never showed signs of any diseases, just the fin damage. I checked the water all the time, everything was perfect, I did water changes etc. kept their tank perfect and the Kole has always looked very healthy. They have nori and NLS, I also was feeding frozen all the time, until covid...because I had to stop going into stores. The DT is getting a bigger water change this week, because I got a little lax with water changes since starting a new job...but everything there has been fine too, other than an algae bloom recently.

If he had HLLE back then, wouldn't the copper have helped? I didn't see the white line and other things to look for, I never knew it would show in their fins though.

Copper won't help with HLLE. It is often impossible to say what the original cause was, carbon use at some point in the fish's history is the only proven cause, but stress is also suspected.

Jay

 

[citymouse]

I do have a carbon reactor in the main tank, but I added that about a year later and the carbon I use doesn't create any dust, it's very clean.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I do have a carbon reactor in the main tank, but I added that about a year later and the carbon I use doesn't create any dust, it's very clean.

It may have been exposed to carbon before you got it. The stress from the disease event could also have been a contributing factor.
When using a carbon reactor, uses pelleted carbon and rinse it well before use.
Jay

 

[citymouse]

UPDATE: Hoping to get more help. I used the Kanaplex as instructed, it says up to 3 doses, it doesn't appear to have help at all. I also added Melafix a couple of times, but I can't stand the very strong odor! I just did a 50% water changes, ammonia is 0, everything else is also normal so far. I bought some new Erythromycin today and added the first dose. I also bought General Cure just in case I'm dealing with something else. Is there something I need to change in the filters, or remove? There's no carbon filtration.
A couple days ago I noticed how horrible this fish looks, now that he's not darting around and hiding behind live rock (in the main tank) and is now in a pretty empty quarantine tank, with a good light, I was able to get a better look at him. Aside from the normal dark line when the light come on and freaks him, which I thought was all I was seeing (bad eyesight), but looking closer with the bright light, he has significant damage on his side and tail area, looks like it's flaking off, almost like a hole on his side! I feel horrible that I didn't notice this sooner! I just don't see him out in the open, he's been mostly hidden for 4 yrs, darts around to eat and follows the Kole tang around, you can barely ever get a good look at him!

Is there a disease that causes this or could it be damage from the rock? I searched for pictures of HLLE, but I'm not seeing anything similar looking.

Can I mix General Cure with the Erythromycin just in case? Or should i wait and see how the Em. does? I'm hoping it doesn't spike the levels because it says to retreat in 24 hrs and then do a water change 24 hrs after that, that's days for the ammonia and nitrates/nitrites to build up if the em kills off the good bacteria.

Side note: I also read that Kanaplex and Erythromycin are different in that one is gram negative and the other gram positive, so which one you use has to do with what type of bacteria your dealing with...which is something I don't think most know..