Can a GBTA eat a yellow tang?

jjakes24 · 01/11/2008, 06:26 PM

I came home and was doing some maintenance on my tank. All inhabitants have been in there for about three years with no problems. I found my yellow tang head first stuck in the anenome. I tried to get him out with a net but it didn't work. I had to take the rock out and pull him out by hand. He now doesn't look too good swimming around and is lying around on rocks. Could he just be severly stung and he will recover in time or is he probably done for? I don't know what to do here. I could set up a quick 10 gallon tank if needed be but I don't have any sponges or anything in the tank to seed the hospital with bacteria.

NYIntensity · 01/11/2008, 06:34 PM

I just had a flame angel eaten completely by my BTA. Things are probably grim; it might have served better as a meal for the GBTA than it would have as a WIA fish you've got to worry about now. I know; we all want our fish to be healthy and safe; I've taken a "nature will run its course" with inhabitants. What are you feeding the GBTA and how often?

bertoni · 01/11/2008, 06:41 PM

Anemones will eat fish if they can catch them. The tang might recover, might not. Hard to say at this point.

ReefWreak · 01/11/2008, 06:42 PM

Most anemones can and will eat a fish if it strolls too close. I spoke with a local reefer about his carpet anemone, and he said he had to set it up in a seperate tank, because it ate a few of his prized fish in his tank, but he didn't want to get rid of it. He flat out told me that a carpet anemone (and presumably any anemone) will eat any and all fish that ever get close enough, until there are no fish left.

Sad but true fact. Even if it doesn't eat them, it can still sting and wound/kill them unfortunatly. I'm sorry to hear about your fish

I hope it gets better

jjakes24 · 01/11/2008, 06:58 PM

Well, it never made it. As it struggled around and in the midst of setting up a hospital tank, the GBTA got a hold of it again so I just let it be. Here are three pictures. One of the anenome with his clown, they host together. One of the healthy tang 2 days ago. and the one of him being eaten.

This is a sad loss for me. It was my first fish for this tank three years ago. I had a cardinal mysteriously go about two weeks ago too, I am starting to think he was another victim.

ReefWreak · 01/11/2008, 07:00 PM

I'm sorry to hear about that. These things do happen, as we try to mimic the natural environments of these animals. If it makes you feel better, he lived a much better life, and had much higher odds of surviving this long by your dedication and devotion versus staying in the wild.

Take care.

McTeague · 01/11/2008, 07:01 PM

That Tang looks like it actually starved to death.

DOTZ · 01/11/2008, 07:05 PM

It dose look a might thin.

JokerGirl · 01/11/2008, 07:12 PM

I would have to agree that the fish looks really quite thin. It's possible that it wasn't getting proper nutrition, but I've also noticed that older fish will generally die off that way. I've got a freshy right now (I've had it for 10 years) that looks emaciated evne though it eats. It's slowly been getting worse. It's also a geriatric fish, though.

jjakes24 · 01/11/2008, 07:24 PM

I wonder if it was weakened to the point that it was easy to catch. I have cut down feeding to try and battle a green hair algae problem in the past couple months to only every other day with frozen mysis. I didn't see any ill effects with my other fish and he seemed fine so I didn't think it was doing any harm. Maybe this was a mistake on my part and I got too focused on the algae problem overlooking the fish. I guess that is how we learn lessons though.

boxerzz · 01/11/2008, 07:28 PM

please do not get rid of hair algae by under feeding your tank inhabitants. Try not switching on the lights for a couple or days or three, it works much better for all.

NYIntensity · 01/11/2008, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by boxerzz
please do not get rid of hair algae by under feeding your tank inhabitants. Try not switching on the lights for a couple or days or three, it works much better for all.

+1. This can be avoided by watching your inhabitants eat, and feeding accordingly. It may be a bit more time consuming than the usual feeding, but will pay dividends in the end.

m2434 · 01/11/2008, 08:37 PM

Sorry to hear about your tang. I agree it was probably weak due to to starvation.

The key is to avoid having foods sitting and decaying on the bottom of the tank. Tangs, can be difficult because they require a lot of feeding. In nature they are grazers and feed all day. You hardley ever see fat Tangs in captivity, but it is fairly common in the wild. One way to accomplish this is to use nori, algae sheets, even romaine lettuce, on a lettuce clip (you can buy one at an LFS). What I do with my tank is put a sheet on in the morning and remove it at night. This way my fish can pick at it all day, but I remove it and replace it with a fresh piece before it starts to break down.

Unfortunately, there is a lot to learn in this hobby, and we often do so by our errors. I feel that I personally know next to nothing in the big scheme of things.

01/11/2008, 06:26 PM	#1
jjakes24 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Philly, PA Posts: 347	Can a GBTA eat a yellow tang? I came home and was doing some maintenance on my tank. All inhabitants have been in there for about three years with no problems. I found my yellow tang head first stuck in the anenome. I tried to get him out with a net but it didn't work. I had to take the rock out and pull him out by hand. He now doesn't look too good swimming around and is lying around on rocks. Could he just be severly stung and he will recover in time or is he probably done for? I don't know what to do here. I could set up a quick 10 gallon tank if needed be but I don't have any sponges or anything in the tank to seed the hospital with bacteria.

01/11/2008, 06:34 PM	#2
NYIntensity Premium Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Wilmington, NC Posts: 330	I just had a flame angel eaten completely by my BTA. Things are probably grim; it might have served better as a meal for the GBTA than it would have as a WIA fish you've got to worry about now. I know; we all want our fish to be healthy and safe; I've taken a "nature will run its course" with inhabitants. What are you feeding the GBTA and how often? __________________ -Jeremy "Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur"

01/11/2008, 06:41 PM	#3
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	Anemones will eat fish if they can catch them. The tang might recover, might not. Hard to say at this point. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

01/11/2008, 07:12 PM	#9
JokerGirl Whistler's Mother Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: That place Posts: 1,345	I would have to agree that the fish looks really quite thin. It's possible that it wasn't getting proper nutrition, but I've also noticed that older fish will generally die off that way. I've got a freshy right now (I've had it for 10 years) that looks emaciated evne though it eats. It's slowly been getting worse. It's also a geriatric fish, though. __________________ 01000001 01101110 01111001 01101111 01101110 01100101 00111111 Current Tank Info: 120g Reef Tank, 60g Cube Mantis/Reef Tank, Want more info, ask me.

01/11/2008, 08:37 PM	#13
m2434 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 2,171	Sorry to hear about your tang. I agree it was probably weak due to to starvation. The key is to avoid having foods sitting and decaying on the bottom of the tank. Tangs, can be difficult because they require a lot of feeding. In nature they are grazers and feed all day. You hardley ever see fat Tangs in captivity, but it is fairly common in the wild. One way to accomplish this is to use nori, algae sheets, even romaine lettuce, on a lettuce clip (you can buy one at an LFS). What I do with my tank is put a sheet on in the morning and remove it at night. This way my fish can pick at it all day, but I remove it and replace it with a fresh piece before it starts to break down. Unfortunately, there is a lot to learn in this hobby, and we often do so by our errors. I feel that I personally know next to nothing in the big scheme of things. __________________ Our imagination is stretched to the utmost, not, as in fiction, to imagine things which are not really there, but just to comprehend those things which are there. ~Richard Feynman

01/11/2008, 06:42 PM	#4
ReefWreak Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Astoria, NYC Posts: 10,159	Most anemones can and will eat a fish if it strolls too close. I spoke with a local reefer about his carpet anemone, and he said he had to set it up in a seperate tank, because it ate a few of his prized fish in his tank, but he didn't want to get rid of it. He flat out told me that a carpet anemone (and presumably any anemone) will eat any and all fish that ever get close enough, until there are no fish left. Sad but true fact. Even if it doesn't eat them, it can still sting and wound/kill them unfortunatly. I'm sorry to hear about your fish I hope it gets better

01/11/2008, 06:58 PM	#5
jjakes24 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Philly, PA Posts: 347	Well, it never made it. As it struggled around and in the midst of setting up a hospital tank, the GBTA got a hold of it again so I just let it be. Here are three pictures. One of the anenome with his clown, they host together. One of the healthy tang 2 days ago. and the one of him being eaten. This is a sad loss for me. It was my first fish for this tank three years ago. I had a cardinal mysteriously go about two weeks ago too, I am starting to think he was another victim.

01/11/2008, 07:00 PM	#6
ReefWreak Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Astoria, NYC Posts: 10,159	I'm sorry to hear about that. These things do happen, as we try to mimic the natural environments of these animals. If it makes you feel better, he lived a much better life, and had much higher odds of surviving this long by your dedication and devotion versus staying in the wild. Take care.

01/11/2008, 07:01 PM	#7
McTeague Moved On Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Fort Wayne, Indiana Posts: 501	That Tang looks like it actually starved to death.

01/11/2008, 07:05 PM	#8
DOTZ Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Benton, Il Posts: 1,764	It dose look a might thin.

01/11/2008, 07:24 PM	#10
jjakes24 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Philly, PA Posts: 347	I wonder if it was weakened to the point that it was easy to catch. I have cut down feeding to try and battle a green hair algae problem in the past couple months to only every other day with frozen mysis. I didn't see any ill effects with my other fish and he seemed fine so I didn't think it was doing any harm. Maybe this was a mistake on my part and I got too focused on the algae problem overlooking the fish. I guess that is how we learn lessons though.

01/11/2008, 07:28 PM	#11
boxerzz Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 606	please do not get rid of hair algae by under feeding your tank inhabitants. Try not switching on the lights for a couple or days or three, it works much better for all.