Help, my Yellow Tang has Red Bruising on him..... What do I do?

[djkazpre]

Hey guys,

 

Just got back into town from CA the other day and my wife showed me that my Yellow Tang has like Reddish Brown Bruising on him. He's not rubbing on rocks like he's got a parasite. Anyone seen this?

[Samoyed]

Hey guys,

 

Just got back into town from CA the other day and my wife showed me that my Yellow Tang has like Reddish Brown Bruising on him. He's not rubbing on rocks like he's got a parasite. Anyone seen this?

 

 

looks like he got stung by an anenome, or stung by somthing, what is the stocking of your tank?

 

doubt its a paracite....

[Six]

That looks like no disease I've ever seen.

 

The fish looks in good health otherwise.

 

The only time i've seen anything tat resembled that is when I would use "wound control" on a fish's open sores. it's iodine based. so unless you/whomever gave the fish an iodine bath, it may just be some wacky discoloration.

 

what kind of foods have you been feeding the fish? yellow tang are well known to lose color when not fed enough or not fed the right foods. ive never seen redish color though.

 

keep us posted.

[Samoyed]

That looks like no disease I've ever seen.

 

The fish looks in good health otherwise.

 

The only time i've seen anything tat resembled that is when I would use "wound control" on a fish's open sores. it's iodine based. so unless you/whomever gave the fish an iodine bath, it may just be some wacky discoloration.

 

what kind of foods have you been feeding the fish? yellow tang are well known to lose color when not fed enough or not fed the right foods. ive never seen redish color though.

 

keep us posted.

 

 

but when they loose color its white....but do you think a cirolanoid isopod could have sucked his blood and made that color...ive never seen a wound from a cirolanoid isopod wound on a fish though =(

 

 

 

 

one question...

 

 

did your wife say it happened over night, or over a couple of days?

 

 

 

 

 

 

maybe he has cyano on him xD....j/k

[djkazpre]

The stock of the tank is as follows, 1 Manderin Goby, 1 Yellow Tang, 25-30 Blue Legged Hermit Crabs, 1 Serpent Starfish, 15 Turbo Snails. I also saw a worm like looking thing today comming out of one of my pieces of liverock. Fleshy colored and has small white bristles all over it. Dont know if that has anything to do with it. Ill have to call my wife now that Im back in CA to find out what kind of food she got for it. The problems started overnight she said. Then again, it could have happened over a couple days. She doesnt know for sure. Thanks for all the help guys!

[Gili]

Ive seen something like that before, on Tangs and on freshwater fish - Its probably either:

 

A secondary bacterial infection from the tang scratching himself because of whitespot or ich as they call it.

 

Or a bad diet - does he have lots of corraline algae to eat? - Tangs will eat lettuce and cucumber and fish-food but its like humans on the atkins diet - its just not good for them, the result is kinda like scurvy in humans. Another reason why Tangs dont do well in captivity methinks. Go buy some fresh marine vegies from the LFS and see if he gets better.

[Six]

but when they loose color its white....but do you think a cirolanoid isopod could have sucked his blood and made that color...ive never seen a wound from a cirolanoid isopod wound on a fish though =(

LOL. I guess it could have been.... tho those usually stay on the fish for days at a time, dont they?

 

I also saw a worm like looking thing today comming out of one of my pieces of liverock. Fleshy colored and has small white bristles all over it.

 

just a bristle worm. it wont hurt a fish unless the fish is dead and then it cleans it up. think of them as pretty earthworms in the sea. lol.

 

 

does he have lots of corraline algae to eat? - Tangs will eat lettuce and cucumber and fish-food but its like humans on the atkins diet - its just not good for them, the result is kinda like scurvy in humans. Another reason why Tangs dont do well in captivity methinks. Go buy some fresh marine vegies from the LFS and see if he gets better.

 

There are very few fish that eat coralline... tangs arent one of them. (just to clarify) they scrape rocks which makes it look like they eat it, but they are usually dependant on lots and lots and lots of more edible and non-calcarious vedgies. (nori, sea weed, macro algae)

 

your fish doesnt look like its lost colo, just gained a weird one.

[Seamus]

Im sorry to say that your tang does not look healthy at all. I think he is succombing to stress induced breakdown of his immune system.... here's a description quoted from another website.

 

"Yellow tangs have a reputation for being susceptible to parasites. Aquarists certainly seem to have their share of problems in this area. Does this mean that tangs in general are delicate fish? No, many species of tangs are quite hearty, including the Zebrasoma flavescens, provided their minimum requirements are met. The problem is that in all too many instances they do not receive an adequate diet, or their needs for a proper habitat, high water quality and compatible tankmates are not met. These unmet needs all contribute stress. This reduces their immune system function making the fish more susceptible to infections. This can be particularly true when high levels of dissolved organics (DOC) are allowed to accumulate in the water. Opportunistic bacteria will readily reproduced in this food rich environment. As the numbers of bacteria in the water multiply, so does the likelihood of microbial infection. Be on the alert for red or pinkish streaks and faded colors that can indicate a bacterial infection (most often vibriosis). "

 

 

Good luck treating your fish - you need to take a close look at your water parmaters and the suitability of your environment for a tang.

 

Here't the link to the page where I found that quote for you.

 

http://www.marineaquariumadvice.com/Yellow...flavescens.html

[Gili]

LOL. I guess it could have been.... tho those usually stay on the fish for days at a time, dont they?

just a bristle worm. it wont hurt a fish unless the fish is dead and then it cleans it up. think of them as pretty earthworms in the sea. lol.

There are very few fish that eat coralline... tangs arent one of them. (just to clarify) they scrape rocks which makes it look like they eat it, but they are usually dependant on lots and lots and lots of more edible and non-calcarious vedgies. (nori, sea weed, macro algae)

 

your fish doesnt look like its lost colo, just gained a weird one.

 

Oops! You are right - i was thinking one thing and said another! They LOVE hair algae, any 3D algae is their thing - 2D ones such as encusting corraline doesnt.

[djkazpre]

The food that we are feeding him is called "Seaweed Selects Brown Marine Algae" and "New Life Spectrum Marine Fish Formula". One problem also was that the powerhead on my skimmer went out a few days ago. We just put another powerhead on it and did a partial water change. He is still eating well, not scratching, and is keeping fins out and remaining VERY active. Seems to be in good health other than the color. Skimmer was filling up pretty fast for the past couple days. Starting to catch up now. Things got behind when the powerhead went out. Is there anything that you can buy to help knock the bacteria down if it is infact a bacterial infection. Thanks guys. Trying to get my guy feeling better.

[Seamus]

You should post some specifications on your tank. Test results, pH, specific gravity, ammonia, nitites, nitrates etc... tank size, how many fish, stocking etc... it would help.

 

If this is a reef tank with corals and inverts you would likely have to quarantine the fish to be able to treat any disease. The reef inhabitants aren't going to like the meds. Do some research on treating bacterial infections or maybe someone will post here. It's tough but dont wait too long. Hope you can find an effective treatment and then also figure out the root cause. I can't offer any treatment suggestions, never had to treat a sick fish before.

[djkazpre]

Thanks for the help, Im going to take a sample up to a local Marine Tank store that I buy all my stuff from to get him to take a look at a water sample. If I find out whats going on, Ill be sure to keep this thread updated...

[Snoop]

I heard it was from PH shock or somthing of that matter.

[Samoyed]

Oops! You are right - i was thinking one thing and said another! They LOVE hair algae, any 3D algae is their thing - 2D ones such as encusting corraline doesnt.

 

 

2D Algae...thats a new one!!! LMAO

[jenhao]

The food that we are feeding him is called "Seaweed Selects Brown Marine Algae" and "New Life Spectrum Marine Fish Formula". One problem also was that the powerhead on my skimmer went out a few days ago. We just put another powerhead on it and did a partial water change. He is still eating well, not scratching, and is keeping fins out and remaining VERY active. Seems to be in good health other than the color. Skimmer was filling up pretty fast for the past couple days. Starting to catch up now. Things got behind when the powerhead went out. Is there anything that you can buy to help knock the bacteria down if it is infact a bacterial infection. Thanks guys. Trying to get my guy feeling better.

 

Hi,

 

My scopas tang looked just like your yellow tang earlier this year. I had moved him temporarily to a smaller tank. I never really knew what caused it but the guys on wetwebmedia thought these cases were caused by bad nutrition and low salinity. I tend to believe it was a cominbation of stress, bad diet (for a tang) and maybe slightly worse water quality. In any case, when I transferred him back to the main tank and started feeding him gracilaria, the reddish color disappeared after a few weeks.

 

Let us know how it goes!

 

Mark

[Gili]

2D Algae...thats a new one!!! LMAO

 

hee hee

[djkazpre]

Hey guys,

Good news is, I talked to my wife today and she said that the red areas are starting to fade and break up. I think it was the skimmer shutting down that was causing the problem. Keep you updated on his situation. Thanks again for all the help!