Yellow Tang going crazy?

mrk&jes08 · 01-01-2009, 05:20 PM

I bought a tank from a friend it has been established for 4 years. 55 gal w about 65lbs of live rock. It didn't have any sand only a thin layer of crushed coral so I added 40lbs of live sand. When we moved the tank it hadn't had fish for over six months, But the rock was very healthy and purple with some polyp growth. I have had the tank since Dec 12th. The water levels have remained great. Ph 8.1, ammonia 0ppm, nitrites 0, nitrates .05 ppm. so i added fish. First i added 2 green Cromis, They were fine so a couple days later I added 3 yellow tail damsels. They did fine so about a week later I added a medium Yellow tang, and a small clean up crew. 5 hermit crabs and a peppermmint shrimp. I lost one hermit crab but everything else was doing great. So i bought a coral beauty apparently she wasn't healthy so I quarantined her she died 3 days later in the quarantine tank. So I wanted two clowns and that is going to be all I put in my tank. I bought those Tuesday along with a candy anmone. We also added a capful of purple up when we added the clowns. My Yellow tang started "spazzing out" It looked like he was beating himself on the rocks? He did that for a min or two and then resumed normal behavior. He has been eating great( algae flakes and algae clipped to sided of the tank he also eats some of the frozen shimp I feed the anmone, Clowns, and the damsels. Today(Thursday) I noticed him "spazzing" again. I looked close and he has a very thin streak of blood on both sides going from behind his eyes to his tail.? Please help... I love this little fish. should I take out the Clowns. Have I overcrowed the tang?

lostanime · 01-01-2009, 05:46 PM

Wow, that's a tough one.

My gut reaction is that he has an internal parasite (it can take a few weeks for signs to show)... that he possibly had to begin with or that he caught from the coral beauty, but that's pure speculation.

He could also be reacting to stings from the anemone.

Can you post up some pics?

Judge · 01-01-2009, 06:15 PM

Welcome mrk&jes08 to FTF. I wish it were under different circumstances. Sounds like you have a great set up! Unfortunately the pic thing is not working at this time so we have to take a big guess. IMO I think what you have is Bacterial Hemmorrahagic Septicemia. I would remove Tang and put into your quarrantine tank and treat with Oxytetracycline. I normally never recommend any kind of chemicals but I think if this is what this fish has, you may have no choice. Please do a little research on your own, maybe find some photos of this malady and see if it looks and sounds like what your little tang has. Others may have some other suggestions for what this could be so hang in there!

mrk&jes08 · 01-01-2009, 06:30 PM

Stings from the anmone is what I thought at first. He may have swam into it when I first put it into the tank, Which would explain the sudden"spazzing." if it is stings will he recover. or should I move the anmone to another tank?

I'm afraid to quarantine him b/c of the loss of the coral beauty. She was doing fine only had a few spots on her fins when I moved her. But the stress of the move caused the ich to flare up. I think if I'd just left her alone she would have fought it off on her own.....But who ever knows? I couldnt risk my Tang.

The water in my Quarantine tank has been cycling for 2 weeks. Should I dump it out and take water from my main tank. The water in the Q tank came from the main tank.......

Judge · 01-01-2009, 06:35 PM

Oh, sorry I missed that. You just said she was sick...did not mention Ich YIKES!! It could be the anemone I suppose. If it is possible to remove the Anemone fairly easy then that would be a quick way to rule it out as the culprit. Let us know.

lostanime · 01-01-2009, 06:41 PM

Be careful if you move the anemone - both for your and it's sake. The stings can REALLY suck for some species (experience speaking here) and if it's base/foot is torn (on rocks or anything else) it's usually fatal.

I wish I could comment more regarding the tang but I cant say much without seeing it. I'll PM my email in case you'd like to shoot a pic this way.

mrk&jes08 · 01-01-2009, 06:42 PM

Aeromonas hydrophila (Bacterial Hemorrhagic Septicemia)

<LI type=A>Gram negative motile rods
<LI type=A>Effects many freshwater species and usually is associated with stress and overcrowding.
<LI type=A>The clinical signs and lesions are variable. The most common finding is hemorrhage in skin, fins, oral cavity and muscles with superficial ulceration of the epidermis. Occasionally cavitary ulcers (similar to A. salmonicida) are observed. Exophthalmus and ascites are commonly observed. Splenomegaly and swollen kidneys are common. Histologically, multifocal areas of necrosis in the spleen, liver, kidney and heart with numerous rod shaped bacteria are observed.
<LI type=A>Diagnosis is rendered by culturing the organism from affected animals: Remember this is a common water saprophyte with a great variation in virulence in serotypes.
Disease is transmitted via contaminated water or diseased fish.

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i googled this and it pretty much sounds like it maybe this..... is it too much stress to move him?

mrk&jes08 · 01-01-2009, 07:55 PM

We moved him to Q tank. Where do i get the antibotics and about what is the price?

Loman · 01-01-2009, 08:58 PM

The post on Aeromonas hydrophila is focused on freshwater so not entirely applicable although I think the same basic thing may be occurring in the marine version.

You can get antibiotics at any good LFS. I would definitely treat in a QT tank so you do not disturb the sand/rock etc.I would also recheck the ammonia levels as a bloody discharge around the gills is a sympton there as well. I suspect it is more likely bacterial but would double check the ammmonia to confidently eliminate it

mrk&jes08 · 01-02-2009, 07:17 AM

He did well overnight in the Q tank. The ammonia levels are at 0 ppm. He was seriously stressed for some reason. There is a good bit of blood under his skin. Thank goodness I had already set up the Q tank. He would have killed himself on the rock in my main tank. We have a very good marine store locally so hopefully we can get him some medicine as soon as they open. We will also be getting all of our waters tested. Maybe there is a test i'm missing?
Has anyone else seen this in one of your fish? Did they survive?
Thanks so much to everyone who has offered there expertise!