Blue Hippo Tang NOT EATING!!!

[Darrynp]

Hey all. About 2 weeks ago i picked up a Blue Tang ( Always wanted one ) and he is starting to waste away and I dont know what to do. He is not a baby by any means. I wouls say he or she is about 6 inches long. From what I was told they mainly graze and romaine lettuce is good for them to eat. I also feed my critters Mysis and flake's , My Corals and filtre feeders I feed Micro-vert and Phytoplex.

My tank is:
110 gallon tall
seaclone 150 skimmer
rena filstar xp3 canister
two fishies phosban reactor
95 lbs figi live rock
48" t5's double 10000k and one actinic
48" actinic strip coral life
65 lbs of crushed coral

Fish:
2 Chromis
2 Percula Clowns
1 Klarkii Clown
1 Sailfin Tang
1 Brown Tang
1 Fire Fish Goby
1 Domino Damsel
1 Three Striped Damsel
1 Zebra Goby
1 Green Madarin
1 Pepermint Shrimp
1 Blue Hippo Tang
1 Serpent Star
2 Brittle Stars
1 Pajama Cardinal
1 Algae Blenny
1 Electric Scallop
7 Different Types of Anenome's
Assorted Coral Mushrooms, Leathers, Whip's, Clams Crabs and snails


Now my tank has been running for about 9 and a half months now and I have had very little problems with any of my fish. I have seen a slight decline in some of my coral but i have had no real issues with the fish in the aquarium.

I'm really hoping that i can figure out what is wrong with my Blue Tang before its too late. I think that on this forum there must be someone who has had the same problem.. Well lets hope so. My addy is darrynp77@hotmail.com so if you at all have any sugesstions please dont hesitate to let me know


Thank you in advance
'

[joander123]

well first things first, romaine isn't actually that healthy for them. They need ocean algae (seaweed). You can buy products such as Seaveggies and other commercial made products. Or if you don't have a fish store around you and convenient, you can always run out to the local supermarket and look for nori. Nori is dried seaweed, which is carried at a lot of supermarkets and used in making of sushi. Id say try one of those too foods.

Someone else might jump in on what i have already said and help you out more, but that is where i would start.

Also if you could post your water parameters it would help us as well.

Do other fish in the tank appear to be ill, or have they stopped eating?

[Darrynp]

No all the other fish are eating well and have not seen anyone waisting away like the BT. Everything looks proper or as it should be. My nitrate and amonia level's are normal and my calcium level is at about 400. My silinty is at 1.024 and temperature is 80.

[Darrynp]

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=69886&id=517394630http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=69886&id=517394630

[Darrynp]

Sorry i wish i knew how to uplaod a pic of the tank and delete that last post #4

[joander123]

ok, like i said. It simply could just be the fact that the romaine lettuce isnt satisfying the fish. Try some Nori or some commerical products like seaweed salad sea veggies or seaweed selects.

Also keep in mind that in the wild tangs just graze naturally all day long. Its not just a simple feeding 1-2 a day. So what is usually dones is the food is either clipped into the tank or tied down to a small piece of live rock with a rubber band or some fishing line. Dont worry about leaving the food in the tank, its a good thing that way the tang can eat when it is hungry, and graze on it all the time.

Also, romaine can still be fed... but not as a primary source of the fish's diet. If romaine is fed, it needs to be blanched. Simply pour boiling water over the romaine for 10-20 seconds (or enough to make it soft). This makes the lettuce easier to eat and easier to digest for the tang.

Hope this helps,
Jay

[Darrynp]

Thanks alot . I do have it clipped to the side of the tank and my other tangs go at it non stop .. Actually its as if i cannot keep up with how much the other two eat. If i can figure out how to upload some pics then i will be more then happy to show everyone the state my tank is in now. I have been in the hobby for almost 2 years now and as time goes by i realise that there is alot to learn about keeping marine fish etc. I really hope to see the BT jump back and to start eating.its such a beautiful animal..

[Almondsaz]

I could not get my hippo tang to eat the nori, so I got some Ocean Nutrition Formula TWO Marin Pellet and my tang goes crazy when I feed in the am with the pellets. I also have some macroalgae that I put in the tang; not a ton, but enough to be able to graze when she wants.

How does the stomach look? is it extended or buldging at all? Do you notice any spots or abrasions. Have you noticed any different behavior in the reef?

Sorry for all the questions, just tryin to help.

[Darrynp]

She is looking skinny.. You can tell she hasnt eaten anything in a while. God its so sad to tell you the truth I hate seeing animals suffer like this and all im trying to do is keep them all so very happy. The Reef is happy. Nothing out of the ordinary. I did have a anenome crab die off a couple of days ago along with a emerald crab. Plus something ripped the arms off my coral banded shrimp and he's gone to.! 8( I just did a 10% water change tonight actually about 2 hours ago.

[Grins]

I agree, it needs primarily greens. My tang's diet is 90% marine greens, I don't use any terresterial greens. If you have only had the tang for 2 weeks and it is in the display now it sounds like you skipped QTing? Risky move if you did, and it can be helpful to make sure it is eating what you serve before it has to deal with tank dominance.

First I'd try the marine greens, if they still don't work I'd add garlic extreme to some Formula II flakes and feed the tank. I also would get more than one clip in there. If it still won't eat I'd get it into a QT tank and see if it will start to eat there and if it does fine in it for a bit then you can move it back into the display.

I'm a bit surprised at the stocking in a tall tank too. That hippo would really appreciate at least 6' in length and would a few others, and whoa 7 different kinds of anemones? I'm surprised you aren't having warfare issues.

[Darrynp]

Im surprised to. Everything is living very well togeather. clown's and nem's are hosting. No fish are fighting. It seems that all of the nem's have founs their own places in the tank and they all seem to be happy. I do not have another tank set up for QT at this time. The BT never had any problems with any of the other fish to , ever since day one. My other 2 tangs you would almost think were concerned about the health of the BT. I know that sounds crazy but i witnessed the Sailfin tang trying to push the BT up to the romaine.

What is garlic extreme ?

[Grins]

Concentrated garlic extract. The garlic is an appetite stimulate. And you haven't QT'd any of your stock?

[Darrynp]

No i havent. I only have the one tank. is there a specific brand of that. Maybe i can find up here in Canada

[Darrynp]

What would i need to set up a QT tank in a jiff?

[Grins]

Kent puts out the one I use:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=5016&Ntt=garlic&Ntk=All&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&pc=1&N=0&Nty=1

A QT tank is really bare bones, I don't even keep mine up and running when not in use.

tank
heater
filter or air pump
few pieces of PVC for the fish to hide in (I use a large piece of sewer sized pvc for my tang..it cost all of .87 cents)
powerhead would be nice but if the filter is strong enough you won't need it

I keep filter media in my sump for when I need to use the QT to help the cycle but you can deal with it not being cycled by doing frequent WCs. You've been very lucky not to have to deal with ich or other parasites without QTing first.

[vorlx]

I feed my tang Nori Seaweed, Formula 2 Flake Food, and it readily eats all of the meaty foods. From everything I have read the romain lettuce isn't very good for it and that the Seaweed type veggies are a much better choice. How long has it been like this? What did it used to eat? It's possible it is just not getting the proper nutrient supplements.

[Darrynp]

I also have a cleaner wrasse . I heard that they help in times of parasite and ich break outs. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2822&l=4766f&id=517394630 here a little album i made up on yes facebook so you can see what the tank looks like now.

Hey grin thank alot for all your input. I know i will be asking you more questions as i frequent this board more and more now

Let me know what ya think.. I have to still add more pics to the album

[Darrynp]

it has been like this for 2 weeks since i got her

[Grins]

I don't believe that any of the cleaner fish will actually eat the ich parasite...it gets under the flesh and then a cyst will burst and the trophants go down to the substrate and the cycle starts again. Cleaner wrasses often don't fare well in home aquaria, congrats to you if you have kept your's healthy, it isn't common and you have to be doing something right huh?

Welcome to the forums here, you can upload the photos to here or even Photobucket and then post them here so that people without facebook accounts can view them if you want.

[Darrynp]

My Blue Tang was dead this morning when i woke up. Thats too bad.

The link for the pic's on facebook are for the public. You dont need a profile view them. do me a favour and click the like and let me know if you do. If you do then i will upload to Photobucket

[Grins]

Sorry to hear that about the tang. The link works just fine without signing in.

[joander123]

ahhh thats to bad. Its a possibility that he could have had major issues on the inside that we just werent seeing.

Sorry for your loss.
Jay

[vorlx]

Sorry to hear about the tang. Its entirely possible that they had problems from the beginning or just never acclimated well. They are great fish so hopefully this doesn't discourage you from trying again in the future.

[Darrynp]

Thanks all . Well a friend of mine baught the same BT from a store up here in Canada from the same tank that mine came from and he called me this morning to tell me that his died today to. Now that was eerie. I will keep trying with these fish.. I love tangs !

[Grins]

Get that QT up and running for the next attempt. No need in infecting your display tank.

[dapettit]

We get dried kelp from our local asian market. We break off a peice the size of a dollar bill and soak in a glass of tank water for several hours. Our tang attacks it everytime we clip a piece(s) in the tank.