Kole yellow eye tang not doing well

wesgentry · 02/20/2012, 08:03 AM

hey there! long story short, well not so short, I got a yellow eye about 3 weeks ago and I've been worried since. At first he was very skiddish and wouldn't eat at all. after a few days he would be grazing on the rock and glass but still wouldn't take any prepared food. This is normal behavior for a bristle tooth but it still had me worried. 4 weeks after (3 days ago) I built a new cree led setup for the tank and it took about 36 hours to get done so the tank sat dark until it was finished. when i finished and as soon as I brightened the lights in the tank to see anything I saw my tang and about fell over. he had almost no color and bumps all over him. he was swimming into things and almost got stuck to my vortech. I immediately set up my qt tank, got a fresh water dip ready and hoped for the best. The fresh water was almost the same on temp and ph and aerated. After the dip he showed good signs within minutes. He gained his coordination, his color came back and the bumps vanished. The next day he looked well and I went to get some copper treatment for ick. I bought coppersafe by sentry AQ and treated according to there instructions. He seemed to be doing well until this morning I came out and hes up side down nose pointing down and breathing hard. I immediately checked the params which were good and did a water change anyway. He occasionally tries to right himself for a few minutes at a time then he seems to give up. The QT tank was set up with the display tank water, a hob filter with floss out of the sump, a heater, and an air stone. Ive been keeping the tank dark to help him stay calm. When I found him he was upside down behind the air stone in the tank and I hope that didn't have anything to do with it. I did notice he has a bulge on his abdomen now you can sort of see it in the photo below. I am at a loss for what to do next and i don't want to just sit here and let him suffer. Any advice would be great.

Reef264 · 02/20/2012, 08:06 AM

At this point, it appears you are doing everything that could possibly be done.He may make it, but, Hard to say.

wesgentry · 02/20/2012, 08:11 AM

I really do hope he pulls through as hes one of my favorite fish.

Africa · 02/20/2012, 08:24 AM

That fish is history.
I would euthanize it

eskymick · 02/20/2012, 12:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by africa

that fish is history.
I would euthanize it

+1

wesgentry · 02/20/2012, 12:58 PM

Well it looks like theres an opening for a new tang in my tank... Today is a sad one. Anyone have any favorites species preferably that I wont have much trouble getting to take preped. food?

Reefers Digest · 02/20/2012, 01:10 PM

For future reference:

I treat all tangs I purchase with praziquantel (among other things) in QT. I find tangs, more often than not, are carrying some form of external/internal parasite.

Now, your description of bumps appearing and disappearing is troubling for certain.

Sorry to hear about your Kole. For the most part however, I find the bristletooth tangs to be fairly hardy with proper qt.

Good Luck

02/20/2012, 08:03 AM	#1
wesgentry Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Palm Bay, FL Posts: 68	Kole yellow eye tang not doing well hey there! long story short, well not so short, I got a yellow eye about 3 weeks ago and I've been worried since. At first he was very skiddish and wouldn't eat at all. after a few days he would be grazing on the rock and glass but still wouldn't take any prepared food. This is normal behavior for a bristle tooth but it still had me worried. 4 weeks after (3 days ago) I built a new cree led setup for the tank and it took about 36 hours to get done so the tank sat dark until it was finished. when i finished and as soon as I brightened the lights in the tank to see anything I saw my tang and about fell over. he had almost no color and bumps all over him. he was swimming into things and almost got stuck to my vortech. I immediately set up my qt tank, got a fresh water dip ready and hoped for the best. The fresh water was almost the same on temp and ph and aerated. After the dip he showed good signs within minutes. He gained his coordination, his color came back and the bumps vanished. The next day he looked well and I went to get some copper treatment for ick. I bought coppersafe by sentry AQ and treated according to there instructions. He seemed to be doing well until this morning I came out and hes up side down nose pointing down and breathing hard. I immediately checked the params which were good and did a water change anyway. He occasionally tries to right himself for a few minutes at a time then he seems to give up. The QT tank was set up with the display tank water, a hob filter with floss out of the sump, a heater, and an air stone. Ive been keeping the tank dark to help him stay calm. When I found him he was upside down behind the air stone in the tank and I hope that didn't have anything to do with it. I did notice he has a bulge on his abdomen now you can sort of see it in the photo below. I am at a loss for what to do next and i don't want to just sit here and let him suffer. Any advice would be great.

02/20/2012, 08:06 AM	#2
Reef264 Where's The Reef? Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Southaven, Ms Posts: 2,098	At this point, it appears you are doing everything that could possibly be done.He may make it, but, Hard to say. __________________ I'd rather Die on my feet, than Live on my Knees. Current Tank Info: 150g SPS Reef, 2x250w 14k Pheonix Metal Halides w/T-5 Actinics, 2 Tunze 6095's, Tunze 7096 controller, Ozone, Precision Marine Skimmer, Reef Octopus Bio-Churn Bio Pellet Reactor, GFO & Carbon Reactor, Ozone Reactor, ATO, Reef Keeper.

02/20/2012, 08:11 AM	#3
wesgentry Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Palm Bay, FL Posts: 68	I really do hope he pulls through as hes one of my favorite fish.

02/20/2012, 08:24 AM	#4
Africa Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Posts: 16	That fish is history. I would euthanize it

02/20/2012, 12:58 PM	#6
wesgentry Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Palm Bay, FL Posts: 68	Well it looks like theres an opening for a new tang in my tank... Today is a sad one. Anyone have any favorites species preferably that I wont have much trouble getting to take preped. food?

02/20/2012, 01:10 PM	#7
Reefers Digest Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Port Credit, Ontario Posts: 111	For future reference: I treat all tangs I purchase with praziquantel (among other things) in QT. I find tangs, more often than not, are carrying some form of external/internal parasite. Now, your description of bumps appearing and disappearing is troubling for certain. Sorry to hear about your Kole. For the most part however, I find the bristletooth tangs to be fairly hardy with proper qt. Good Luck