Yellow Tang turning red

[scooterB]

:eek: I have a Yellow Tang and His skin is Turning red in some areas. He doesn't act sick or in pain. Has anyone seen this or have any suggestions?
Thank you

[Boogiechillin]

This is usually indicative of a problem with water quality - have you tested everything recently? Tell us where you stand on ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, specific gravity, pH, and temp.

[kreblak]

The last person who posted about this problem was nopatience. I'm sure some of you remember that thread. Anyway, I was actually intrigued by this problem so I did some reading about it, and found that it is usually caused by some problem in water quality or diet. Specifically, is your tang getting enough vitamin C?

However, there is another possibility as to the cause. Stray voltage. The source I was reading said that in several cases, an improperly grounded heater or frayed wire insulation was actually arcing voltage through the water. Now, water itself does not conduct electricity, but salt does. Hence, SW carries the voltage into the next available ground (the fish).

There has been a really big problem with stray voltage from old power lines in Wyoming and Montana causing cattle several problems. The most serious was that female's udders began swelling and exploding for no apparent reason. Another symptom was a red coloration on the cows (sound familiar?)

Anyway, no one at my LFS has ever heard of this, and there is only one source that I have ever read that mentions stray voltage as a cause of illness. I just wanted to bring up an alternate answer. It is probably water quality or diet related, seeing as how tangs have stricter eating requirements than Kate Moss.

[scooterB]

I am a beginner at SW, therefore it very well could be the water quality or the diet. Can either of you suggest a good brand of food for tangs? and water tester? He munches on the algae on the walls and inanimate objects. Also I do have an old heater that could possible be transmitting stray voltage. I actually read the thread from nopatience. For a noitall he/she sure does post a lot of threads asking for help. Then insulting yall. Thanks again for the advice.:)

[kreblak]

Someone feel free to jump in and correct me if I'm wrong here, but what your tang has sounds like it could be a couple of things.

1. If the red coloration is in a uniform line running latterally across the fish, then it may have lateral line erosion.

2. If your tang has red discoloration in patches on different parts of his body, it sounds like it might be a bacterial infection.

To test your water quality, I would suggest you get a test kit from your Local Fish Store (LFS). Laborette makes a good kit that tests for ammonia, nitrite, and PH, and is very easy to use. There are many other test kits available, as well. Try to find one that also tests for nitrates. Your ammonia and nitrites should both be zero, your PH should be about 8.0 to 8.4, and your specific gravity should be between 1.022 and 1.025.

If you are able to locate a good test for nitrates (I still haven't found one), then they should be below 20. This is a pipe dream according to most of the literature I have, which states that readings of 50 are more likely in the real world. Water changes are the best way to reduce accumulated nitrates.

For the tang's diet, I would add some dried seaweed to the tank. I have a clip that attaches to the inside wall of the tank which holds the seaweed, and my tang grazes at his leisure. I use vitamin C enriched dried seaweed (I forget the brand name, it costs $5.49).

All in all, don't feel bad. A tang is a tough fish to care for, especially for a beginner. I had a yellow tang as one of my first fish. It was gorgeous, but died from Black Spot disease. Turns out that I wasn't supplementing his diet properly. With the dried seaweed, I haven't had any problems.

[Boogiechillin]

Look like this?

[scooterB]

That is exactly what it looks like, except alot more red. Yesterday I went out and bought marine labs ph, nitrite, nitrate, ammonia, and alkaline testers. All the levels seemed quite OK. I also bought some seaweed for the Tang. Any other suggestions?
Thanks

[Boogiechillin]

Can you post the water parameters that you found with your new test kit? Also, how big is this tank? What kind of seaweed did you buy it?

-BC

[kreblak]

If I might jump ahead here, Boogie, what the heck does that tang in the picture have?

[Boogiechillin]

Originally posted by kreblak
If I might jump ahead here, Boogie, what the heck does that tang in the picture have?

Petecchial, which is a fancy way of saying "bloody body and fin streaking." This isn't a parasitic or bacterial thing, but usually just a result of poor water quality that causes minor injuries ranging from outright ammonia burns to minor scratches and injuries that won't heal. Think of it as a raw, fishy rash. Get the water quality in shape, give it enough space, and get it on a good diet enriched with vitamins and the streaks will heal on their own. (This isn't a tang-specific thing, BTW, it just shows up very vividly on a solid yellow body).

[kreblak]

Wow, you learn something new everyday. Looks like the tang is bloodshot. Maybe some Cleareyes in the water might clear it up.:D

In all seriousness, does this always show red? I had a fish some months back that exhibited some of this when he was placed in the tank. It was a yellowtail damsel, and the blue part of his body got all funny looking and streaky, but it wasn't red. He recovered a week later.

[scooterB]

It is 55 gallons and maybe my water has a lot of phophates. i'll have to check that. I am at work, i will have to check the levels at home. my PH is 8.2 i know that. my gravity is 1.017 is that way too low, i heard before it should over 1.022 is that true?

[Boogiechillin]

LOL, oh yeah, that's a problem. Specific gravity should be between 1.021 and 1.025 - your tang is currently in strong brackish water. To raise this, you will need to do water changes by mixing in more saline water - do NOT just add salt to the tank!

What were the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels?

[kreblak]

How long has the tang been living in water with SG that low?

[scooterB]

:( Oh jeez.... I took advice from a guy that suposedly had about 20 SW fishtanks in his house......boy that was a mistake! It has been this way for about 4 months! Ammonia is about 0.1 Nitrite is really low and I really did not understand how to read the nitrate levels. Theres a low range and high range, The color is more green, which i believe is quite low. Arg... strong brackish water.....poor fish, they sure are tough. I just bought a large hermit crab, a peppermint shrimp and camel back shrimp, are they vulnerable to low salt? and i will add more today and not just strait, i know that.
THanks again

[OrionGirl]

Yeah--inverts are very sensitive to low SG. Low SG is used to treat parasites, because many of them have little defense against osmotic pressure. Fish have more control, but not much.

[scooterB]

could this be why i have lots of algae?

[Boogiechillin]

Algae is a separate (and much less urgent) problem - we'll tackle that one once we get your livestock out of danger.

The fact that you have found ANY registerable ammonia and nitrite is a HUGE problem. We need a complete description of your tank - how big is it, how is it filtered, and what do you have in it?

How did you cycle your tank? How long did you wait before adding livestock?

What is the pH reading on your tank?

[scooterB]

ok i am heading home for lunch, i am going to add SW to bring the level higher and then bring back all the readings. thanks

[scooterB]

my saltwater level is now 1.023, my fish actually seem a little more active. I am going to have to run the tests again. and i will post the results once i get them.
thanks again

[Boogiechillin]

Originally posted by kreblak
Wow, you learn something new everyday. Looks like the tang is bloodshot. Maybe some Cleareyes in the water might clear it up.:D

In all seriousness, does this always show red? I had a fish some months back that exhibited some of this when he was placed in the tank. It was a yellowtail damsel, and the blue part of his body got all funny looking and streaky, but it wasn't red. He recovered a week later.


Sorry Kreblak, missed this question earlier. Yes, petecchial (to my knowledge) always shows up as red streaking, but it may not be as easily seen or may appear a different shade depending on a fish's color. But, don't confuse this with the normal stress and day/night color shifts that many fish perform regularly. Damsels are one of many fish that will shift their colors when scared or adjusting from light to dark conditions.

[TONO]

What kind of setup are you running how big is your skimmer, fuge? Flow in the tank from powerheads main circulation pump?

[Uncarved Block]

You do realize that this thread is over three years old, do you?