Help, He won't get up..

connpatd · 02/14/2008, 02:40 PM

Sadly, my Blue tang is not doing well.

I bought the little guy 8 weeks ago. He's only like 1.5 inches long.

I immediately put him into quarantine and after a week I began to see signs of Ick.

I initiated Hyposalinity Treatment and kept him there for the next 6 weeks. Throughout his time with me he appeared to be a great eater, grazing on Nori around the clock. The only problem I noticed was that he has always been very frightened whenever he sees my wife or I near the QT, and he hides.

Last Saturday was the end of 6 weeks of Hypo and I had planned to begin raising the salinity back up to normal.

Before I started though, I noticed that the tang was laying on the bottom of the QT.

He's been down there all week long with no evidence to be seen that he is eating. He just lays on the bottom, sometimes on his side, other times normally. He is definitely alive though. His eyes move and he is breathing.

I do not see any signs of parasites at all.

I began to worry last night that he may have stayed in Hypo too long, so I began to raise Salinity, but I see no change.

I know that his Salinity was at precisely 1.09 SG for the entire 6 weeks. I use a calibrated Refractometer.

Any idea what may be causing his problem?

He got soooo close to finishing QT that it is sad to see him withering away like this.

He's been like this for 6 days now. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

derrikd · 02/14/2008, 02:43 PM

Have you tried to soak some food in garlic?

BLKTANG · 02/14/2008, 02:44 PM

Try to oxyginate the water a bit more ie: powerheads.

I would also use Selcon,& garlic juice to entice him to start eating,& slowly bring the water out of hypo,up to around 1.019

connpatd · 02/14/2008, 02:46 PM

The only food he's ever eaten is Nori. I will try soaking it in Garlic tonight if he's still with us. I did that once before, though, and he did not seem any more or less interested in eating, and right now he appears to not be eating at all.

As for oxygen, the QT has two filters running that do a great job of stiring it up. I'd have thought the o2 is fine.

By the way, water chemistry is 100% good in all respects.

0 Ammonia
0 Nitrite
0 Nitrate
0 Phos

BLKTANG · 02/14/2008, 02:47 PM

Selcon is your friend.Spectrum (the small pellets) is good too,lotsa protien.

connpatd · 02/14/2008, 02:50 PM

Yeah, i did want to expand his menu, but since he hides whenever anyone goes near the tank, anything I put in there food wise that isn't clipped down, like nori, goes stright up the filter intakes long before he stops hiding.

I wish I had tried turing off the two filters to let him try stuff out.

BLKTANG · 02/14/2008, 03:07 PM

the spectrum pellets will sink.soak them in the selcon.

techigirl78 · 02/14/2008, 03:35 PM

My hippo loves the spectrum pellets and formula 2 garlic flakes. These are good at soaking up selcon. If you try the pellets, just put in a few and he should find them. Don't put in too many till you know they are getting ate.

Also, do you have anything on the glass? Maybe cover 3 sides and turn off all lights in the room besides the light for the QT tank. Usually helps to relax them.

Sk8r · 02/14/2008, 03:37 PM

After being sick, he may now, after getting better, be aware enough to panic at his surroundings. MInimize commotion and light. Keep him warm, and try to keep him calm.

wolf pup · 02/14/2008, 03:50 PM

I was under the impression that you hypo fish for two weeks at ~80 F - because of the chance of kidney failure if they stay hypo too long. Not sure where I came across this or if its just plain wrong info. I thought the 8 week number was for the tank the fish came from.

How's the pH in the tank - with less salinity there is often less Alk and a reduced buffering capability.

hwynboy · 02/14/2008, 04:38 PM

I hate to be the pessimist but whenever I have had experience with fish like that, they don't make it much longer. =\ I hope he pulls through, good luck

02/14/2008, 02:40 PM	#1
connpatd Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 182	Help, He won't get up.. Sadly, my Blue tang is not doing well. I bought the little guy 8 weeks ago. He's only like 1.5 inches long. I immediately put him into quarantine and after a week I began to see signs of Ick. I initiated Hyposalinity Treatment and kept him there for the next 6 weeks. Throughout his time with me he appeared to be a great eater, grazing on Nori around the clock. The only problem I noticed was that he has always been very frightened whenever he sees my wife or I near the QT, and he hides. Last Saturday was the end of 6 weeks of Hypo and I had planned to begin raising the salinity back up to normal. Before I started though, I noticed that the tang was laying on the bottom of the QT. He's been down there all week long with no evidence to be seen that he is eating. He just lays on the bottom, sometimes on his side, other times normally. He is definitely alive though. His eyes move and he is breathing. I do not see any signs of parasites at all. I began to worry last night that he may have stayed in Hypo too long, so I began to raise Salinity, but I see no change. I know that his Salinity was at precisely 1.09 SG for the entire 6 weeks. I use a calibrated Refractometer. Any idea what may be causing his problem? He got soooo close to finishing QT that it is sad to see him withering away like this. He's been like this for 6 days now. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

02/14/2008, 02:44 PM	#3
BLKTANG Registered Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Never,Never Land Posts: 7,061	Try to oxyginate the water a bit more ie: powerheads. I would also use Selcon,& garlic juice to entice him to start eating,& slowly bring the water out of hypo,up to around 1.019 __________________ We the few have done so much,for so long,for so little.That we are now qualified to do anything with nothing. ____________________________________________________________________________ Current Tank Info: RR 90 Maganvore sump,250w Hamilton fixture,VorTec's ASM skimmer.

02/14/2008, 02:47 PM	#5
BLKTANG Registered Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Never,Never Land Posts: 7,061	Selcon is your friend.Spectrum (the small pellets) is good too,lotsa protien. __________________ We the few have done so much,for so long,for so little.That we are now qualified to do anything with nothing. ____________________________________________________________________________ Current Tank Info: RR 90 Maganvore sump,250w Hamilton fixture,VorTec's ASM skimmer.

02/14/2008, 03:07 PM	#7
BLKTANG Registered Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Never,Never Land Posts: 7,061	the spectrum pellets will sink.soak them in the selcon. __________________ We the few have done so much,for so long,for so little.That we are now qualified to do anything with nothing. ____________________________________________________________________________ Current Tank Info: RR 90 Maganvore sump,250w Hamilton fixture,VorTec's ASM skimmer.

02/14/2008, 03:37 PM	#9
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	After being sick, he may now, after getting better, be aware enough to panic at his surroundings. MInimize commotion and light. Keep him warm, and try to keep him calm. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

02/14/2008, 02:43 PM	#2
derrikd Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: New Braunfels, Texas Posts: 3,356	Have you tried to soak some food in garlic?

02/14/2008, 02:46 PM	#4
connpatd Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 182	The only food he's ever eaten is Nori. I will try soaking it in Garlic tonight if he's still with us. I did that once before, though, and he did not seem any more or less interested in eating, and right now he appears to not be eating at all. As for oxygen, the QT has two filters running that do a great job of stiring it up. I'd have thought the o2 is fine. By the way, water chemistry is 100% good in all respects. 0 Ammonia 0 Nitrite 0 Nitrate 0 Phos

02/14/2008, 02:50 PM	#6
connpatd Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 182	Yeah, i did want to expand his menu, but since he hides whenever anyone goes near the tank, anything I put in there food wise that isn't clipped down, like nori, goes stright up the filter intakes long before he stops hiding. I wish I had tried turing off the two filters to let him try stuff out.

02/14/2008, 03:35 PM	#8
techigirl78 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Milwaukee, WI Posts: 1,739	My hippo loves the spectrum pellets and formula 2 garlic flakes. These are good at soaking up selcon. If you try the pellets, just put in a few and he should find them. Don't put in too many till you know they are getting ate. Also, do you have anything on the glass? Maybe cover 3 sides and turn off all lights in the room besides the light for the QT tank. Usually helps to relax them.

02/14/2008, 03:50 PM	#10
wolf pup Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Chicago - Near ORD Posts: 701	I was under the impression that you hypo fish for two weeks at ~80 F - because of the chance of kidney failure if they stay hypo too long. Not sure where I came across this or if its just plain wrong info. I thought the 8 week number was for the tank the fish came from. How's the pH in the tank - with less salinity there is often less Alk and a reduced buffering capability.

02/14/2008, 04:38 PM	#11
hwynboy Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Madison, Wisconsin Posts: 2,458	I hate to be the pessimist but whenever I have had experience with fish like that, they don't make it much longer. =\ I hope he pulls through, good luck __________________ Malama Pono Ua mau ke'ea o'ka aina i ka pono "He who has large reef tank has small wallet" Current Tank Info: 300gal starphire tank, Deltec Kalkreactor, MRC2 skimmer, MRC dual Calcium reactor, 2 Tunze Stream 6100's w/multi-cntrlr, 5 MH 400x20000K , 2-110w VHOs..30 gal clown tank, 120 FOWLR, 35 gal sump, Euroreef CS8-3 skimmer, 4-96watt actinics