Mimic Tang dying
- Thread starter Timmayyy
- Start date
Did he ever eat? Got a picture of him? Everyone else doing ok? Where'd you get him from?
Coral reefer
Past President
Way more info needed
Did Mike touch him? Can you show us on the Dory Doll exactly where Mike touched him?
Everything else is in the tank is doing fine, a damsel fish and some corals. He's been eating fine until today. I got him at 360coralz in San Jose. Just put him in a makeshift quarantine container in case it's an issue with the water quality.
https://imgur.com/a/ZFAyOB7
in the quarantine tank I just put him. He looks like he's about to die.
https://imgur.com/a/ZQyaysJ
https://imgur.com/a/ZFAyOB7
in the quarantine tank I just put him. He looks like he's about to die.
https://imgur.com/a/ZQyaysJ
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Coral reefer
Past President
Is that lava rock?
Perhaps. The mimic tangs were on special for $20. But what non visible diseases can take down a fish in one day like that?
A few thoughts before we get to the Tang.
1) The problem with Lava rock is you never know what's in it. It MAY be safe, but it may have metals, etc that can leech.
2) You're reaction to the fish in distress PROBABLY did more harm than good. Since you had no idea what to treat for your safest bet is always to feed heavily and hope the fish recovers with it's natural healing abilities. Dropping it into a FW bath and then moving it again just added more stress in a situation that's no reason to suspect it's a tank issue since the other livestock is fine.
Now neither of those two things caused the fish to get "sick." Just something to keep in mind.
Your Tang looks extremely emaciated. So if it's eating the odds are it's internal parasites and needs to be treated with an antibiotic. The other thing I always suspect if a seemingly healthy new fish dies in the first two weeks is that it was collected with cyanide and never had a chance to make it anyway.
1) The problem with Lava rock is you never know what's in it. It MAY be safe, but it may have metals, etc that can leech.
2) You're reaction to the fish in distress PROBABLY did more harm than good. Since you had no idea what to treat for your safest bet is always to feed heavily and hope the fish recovers with it's natural healing abilities. Dropping it into a FW bath and then moving it again just added more stress in a situation that's no reason to suspect it's a tank issue since the other livestock is fine.
Now neither of those two things caused the fish to get "sick." Just something to keep in mind.
Your Tang looks extremely emaciated. So if it's eating the odds are it's internal parasites and needs to be treated with an antibiotic. The other thing I always suspect if a seemingly healthy new fish dies in the first two weeks is that it was collected with cyanide and never had a chance to make it anyway.
Update - he's not doing any better and refuses to eat anything. Was really hoping he would make it to adulthood and change colors 
I've had the lava rocks in the tank for about a month now, so if they were leaching any phosphates, there would be nothing left to leach after a month I think. Interestingly enough, I've seen most of the Petco saltwater tanks use Lava rock, and they try to sell them as aqua-cultured live rock for a pretty penny lol. The Petco in Fremont is the worst.
I've had the lava rocks in the tank for about a month now, so if they were leaching any phosphates, there would be nothing left to leach after a month I think. Interestingly enough, I've seen most of the Petco saltwater tanks use Lava rock, and they try to sell them as aqua-cultured live rock for a pretty penny lol. The Petco in Fremont is the worst.
Leeching is a very slow process and can happen over years. With Lava rock it's not phosphates you need to worry about. It's metals from what I've read.
Kensington Reefer
Supporting Member
a fish that won't eat will not live
regardless of treatment
regardless of treatment
Coral reefer
Past President
Curious what your freshwater bath process was like? Did you match temp and ph? Length of dip? Tap water?
Mudskippers can go years without eating! Hah!
4 minutes in distilled temperature matched water. I didn't have anything to up the pH and read not matching the pH is fine for a short time.
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I've had the tank for about about a month, then had to completely change the filter and biological media last week (I had a shitty HOB filter), so I've been dosing seachem prime while the bacteria builds up again. Ammonia is currently 1 ppm, but using seachem so it's not an accurate reading. The other livestock is fine, but it's possible the Tang is a lot less hardy than the corals and Damsel.
Chromis
Supporting Member
That’s a totally starved fish. Next time only buy tangs from dealers that feed their fish and after you bring it home, offer the tang dried seaweed 24/7. Never buy a skinny fish, they don’t have the reserve to deal with any stressors or fight off sickness, and it encourages fish dealers to continue mistreating fish.