Sick sailfin tang for more than 2 months

vipulgshukla · 01/27/2011, 05:03 PM

Hello everyone,
Wish you and your fishy friends a happy 2011!
I have a 165g FOWLR tank with 75g sump, and I had a round of ich in Sept 2010, where I lost a few fish and some others recovered. This large sailfin tang, (about the size of a dinner plate when all fins are open) had the ich too, but fought it off, and recovered in about a week. I had lowered the salinity of the system to about 1.013 for about 6 weeks with the tank temp around 80F, and multiple feedings a day.
About 7 beautiful fish were lost, mainly because I did not quarantine a new arrival long enough. I have learned from my mistakes now.
After his recovery, he was fine for a month, but then I started noticing that he stays near the bottom of the tank between rocks and his breathing is really fast and patches of color disappearing on his body (not permanently gone though). He also is not eating as well as before or swimming around freely.
This has been going on for more than 2 months, and I cant understand what else to do. Tank salinity was gradually brought up to 1.021, where it is now, and all other parameters are coming out perfect.
He is still breathing rapidly and he sometimes "flashes around", meaning a rapid darting movement as if he is being tormented from the inside by something. He shows no visible ich signs and does not rub against rock like he used to when he was infected. This looks like something else altogether, and I cannot understand it at all.
He still eats the Omega One pellets with garlic, that I feed him almost 3-4 times a day, and they have a lot of vitamins in it. Also other Omega One flakes. He eats very little nori now, he is still convex in the middle, poops regularly and from past experience I know he is a fighter, but how long can a sailfin tang fight?
He is the largest fish in our tank and is intelligent and has a lot of character; I wish him to recover. Any suggestions are welcome. Need your help, please.
Thanks.

Amazon4 · 01/27/2011, 05:12 PM

Any chance of flukes ?

Sk8r · 01/27/2011, 05:59 PM

check your alkalinity, check your oxygen level: add a bubbler to your sump or downflow area and see if he perks up any, just as a curiosity, if you have any doubt. If he's gotten reinfested, with ich in his gills, he's not breathing well. Oxygen demand for a big tang is huge, and if he's not getting it, that's not good. Alkalinity can lead to skin discomfort and more chance imho of infestation if he meets the parasite. Beyond that, I don't know what to suggest.

Jacob D · 01/28/2011, 11:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amazon4

Any chance of flukes ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sk8r

check your alkalinity, check your oxygen level: add a bubbler to your sump or downflow area and see if he perks up any, just as a curiosity, if you have any doubt. If he's gotten reinfested, with ich in his gills, he's not breathing well. Oxygen demand for a big tang is huge, and if he's not getting it, that's not good. Alkalinity can lead to skin discomfort and more chance imho of infestation if he meets the parasite. Beyond that, I don't know what to suggest.

I think these are both good suggestions. Do any of your other fish show signs of problems?

Orcrone · 01/28/2011, 01:07 PM

I also don't think a salinity level of 1.013 is low enough to rid the system of ich.

01/27/2011, 05:03 PM	#1
vipulgshukla Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Mississauga, Canada Posts: 12	Sick sailfin tang for more than 2 months Hello everyone, Wish you and your fishy friends a happy 2011! I have a 165g FOWLR tank with 75g sump, and I had a round of ich in Sept 2010, where I lost a few fish and some others recovered. This large sailfin tang, (about the size of a dinner plate when all fins are open) had the ich too, but fought it off, and recovered in about a week. I had lowered the salinity of the system to about 1.013 for about 6 weeks with the tank temp around 80F, and multiple feedings a day. About 7 beautiful fish were lost, mainly because I did not quarantine a new arrival long enough. I have learned from my mistakes now. After his recovery, he was fine for a month, but then I started noticing that he stays near the bottom of the tank between rocks and his breathing is really fast and patches of color disappearing on his body (not permanently gone though). He also is not eating as well as before or swimming around freely. This has been going on for more than 2 months, and I cant understand what else to do. Tank salinity was gradually brought up to 1.021, where it is now, and all other parameters are coming out perfect. He is still breathing rapidly and he sometimes "flashes around", meaning a rapid darting movement as if he is being tormented from the inside by something. He shows no visible ich signs and does not rub against rock like he used to when he was infected. This looks like something else altogether, and I cannot understand it at all. He still eats the Omega One pellets with garlic, that I feed him almost 3-4 times a day, and they have a lot of vitamins in it. Also other Omega One flakes. He eats very little nori now, he is still convex in the middle, poops regularly and from past experience I know he is a fighter, but how long can a sailfin tang fight? He is the largest fish in our tank and is intelligent and has a lot of character; I wish him to recover. Any suggestions are welcome. Need your help, please. Thanks.

01/27/2011, 05:59 PM	#3
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	check your alkalinity, check your oxygen level: add a bubbler to your sump or downflow area and see if he perks up any, just as a curiosity, if you have any doubt. If he's gotten reinfested, with ich in his gills, he's not breathing well. Oxygen demand for a big tang is huge, and if he's not getting it, that's not good. Alkalinity can lead to skin discomfort and more chance imho of infestation if he meets the parasite. Beyond that, I don't know what to suggest. __________________ 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%.

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01/27/2011, 05:12 PM	#2
Amazon4 Premium Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Arlington, MA Posts: 690	Any chance of flukes ?

01/28/2011, 01:07 PM	#5
Orcrone Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Newport News, VA Posts: 646	I also don't think a salinity level of 1.013 is low enough to rid the system of ich.