Tang rescue!

[knives2886]

So i just rescued 3 tangs all around 8'' and brought them home to my 55gal reef. The guy who had them obviously wasnt feeding the right food because all three have color loss and the vertical lines showing on the purple and yellow and blue tangs. along with a white pale look to them. also the blue tang haves a black nasty blotchy spot above his head.

 

Will feedign the proper food and adding garlic guard to their food help them get their color back? how long will it take and whats some other advice. minus the whole lecture about a 55gal being tooooo small. thanks =)

[nanoty]

inb4 tang police lolz

[altolamprologus]

I'm seriously refraining from yelling at you about your immensely tiny tank. But since it seems like your tiny tank will be a better home than the previous one, I'll shut up and try to help...

 

Feed them algae sheets around the clock. Green algae should be the staple, with brown and red algae offered once a week. Avoid feeding them meaty foods more than a few times a week. When you do feed them meaty foods, defrost the food in a mix of water and spirulina powder to enrich it. Flake foods make for herbivores is also acceptable if that's what you prefer.

 

Don't run carbon in the tank at all. It has been proven to be a cause of HLLE

[knives2886]

Thanks =) any idea whats going on with this guys head?? ill post a pic when i get a chance. Also i work at a pet store so once the fish are looking up to par ill have no problem finding a suitable home ;P Or maybe an upgrade could be in order......

 

btw the tangs gotta be happy.. the guy had 6x8" tangs 2 big ol clowns 1' wrasse and 2 triggers in a 55gal.... Id like to think i saved these things from a living of hell. All i had in the reef was a blue damsel and a scooter blenny anyways dam damsel kills everything!

[altolamprologus]

Thanks =) any idea whats going on with this guys head?? ill post a pic when i get a chance. Also i work at a pet store so once the fish are looking up to par ill have no problem finding a suitable home ;P Or maybe an upgrade could be in order......

 

btw the tangs gotta be happy.. the guy had 6x8" tangs 2 big ol clowns 1' wrasse and 2 triggers in a 55gal.... Id like to think i saved these things from a living of hell. All i had in the reef was a blue damsel and a scooter blenny anyways dam damsel kills everything!

I'm glad you're planning on re-homing them once they're better. I need pics to be sure, but from the way you describe it, it sounds like they have HLLE (head and lateral line erosion). It's caused by a lot of things, but most notably the use of activated carbon and overcrowded conditions. They'll recover just fine with good conditions and a good diet.

[knives2886]

thank you for your help! im going to do research on it. and even more thanks for not criticizing... although im sure you are over there mfn me all up and down im sure XD

[reef keeper]

I have kept a tang in a 55 at like 4-5 inches 8" i would say is way over! lol

[knives2886]

I have kept a tang in a 55 at like 4-5 inches 8" i would say is way over! lol

 

i agree full heartedly but if you seen all these fish you would have wanted to take them home to get them better. this yellow tang looks like casper. and like i stated its a temp thing till they show signs of more color then i will find someone or somewhere with a nice big home for them.

[TeflonTomDosh]

Did someone call?

[reef keeper]

i agree full heartedly but if you seen all these fish you would have wanted to take them home to get them better. this yellow tang looks like casper. and like i stated its a temp thing till they show signs of more color then i will find someone or somewhere with a nice big home for them.

Yeah i prolly would of to! :3 Where they nice and fat? I would hope he atleast kept them well fed!

[knives2886]

Ehhh sorta.. they could look better.

[Psychosis]

Tang Police sub section B line 384; Good intentions must be considered before full on trolling with Tang Baton.

 

You did a nice thing, just remember they need much better housing ASAP, otherwise you'll cure one disease and they'll develop others as if to spite you.

[knives2886]

heres pics

 

 

 

 

Heres a pic of them. they do look worse then what the pics show. some reason the camera phones makign them look brighter then what they are. but u can see the vertical line on the purple tang along with grey dots on its face. and the blue tangs face is all grey and splotchy along with no yellow belly its like white.

[altolamprologus]

Yeah that's HLLE. Looks like it's been going on for a while too. As I said before, just keep the water clean and feed them well and they'll bounce back pretty quickly.

 

I'm curious, you said the guy had 6 tangs in the tank. Where did the other 3 go?

 

Tang Police sub section B line 384; Good intentions must be considered before full on trolling with Tang Baton.

Very well said

[knives2886]

work, i work at a pet store in the area. And i help run the fresh and salt water section. we have a shipment of fish comming in and i kinda ran out of room since we took in so many neglected fish. so me being the great guy i am took them in to my own home.. The ones at work have dwindled down to slim to non but i still need that room until the shipment of new fish. but until the next shipment comes in i wont kno if i can add them back in. plus they were the worst shaped ones. once they look presentable im sure they will go fast.

[NanoOrBust]

Did someone call?

 

Ha ha ha... I had two tangs in my 180 and couldn't get myself to get a third. I didn't want no "dramma fo yo mamma" in my house! Mostly because one was a sailfin and the other a yellow and I felt that they would gang up on any others I put in. Either way, I would have to agree... temp housing until you find someone else or get a bigger tank yourself <- which is always the BEST idea! ha ha

[Seamonkey84]

I feed my Purple tang with nori bought from whole foods along with as much red gracilaria (I get mine from Petco in small clumps, two last my guy over a week)macro algae as it wants around the clock. Plus twice daily feeing with formula two pellets and new life spectrum marine pellets, he's just started to nibble formula two frozen and gets mysis once or twice a week. He's just about 3 inches, and though I got him just about three weeks ago, he's the fattest tang I've ever seen and great coloration.

As for the size of tank, as long as your giving them better homes sooner rather than later, just look at it as a quarantine period where your getting them up to health before getting them there.

[fewskillz]

A 55 gallon QT is acceptable. A 29 would not be.

 

Nori, nori, and more nori. A quality flake or pellet is fine too, but at least get them some green nori.

[Icebox1230]

Hey Knives, Where are you located? If anywhere in the Bay Area I can help out. I have a 120G that would be a very happy and healthy home for the Tangs.

[knives2886]

Tang update*

 

all tangs have started to look 100% better the lateral lines that were showing are now faintly showing and u cant even tell they are visible. and all color in the tangs are coming back to being bright and vibrant. the purple tangs yellow fins are actually yellow and not a translucent tan!! and the blue tangs head looks so much better and his yellow belly is starting to brighten up! Thanks for all your help, im going to be looking for new housing soon for the yellow tang. if anyone in the chicago area is interested in a big yellow tang send me a pm.

 

looks like there will be a full recovery in the next few weeks!