purple tangs

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Elliott Wright

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Sep 14, 2003
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Hi,last week when i went to my LFS they had a Purple tang
which another fishkeeper had just brought back it was in a bad
way it had lateral line disease and it wasnt eating so i asked my
friend at the shop how much it would cost, he said i could have it for free i felt sorry for the fish and i took it home and put it in my
tank which is 3 feet long i have now managed to get the fish eating brineshrimp and seaweed,have you got any ideas on how
to cure lateral line disease?

any advice would be great
thanks
 

Guy W

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Apr 8, 2002
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Naples, FL
I've never experienced the problem myself but I have heard a few people say that with good water quality and proper feeding/nutrition HLLE has gotten better but the errosion has never totally gone away.

Your tank is pretty small if the Tang is over 4 inches, and that may continue to keep the fish stressed, which won't help improve the condition. However you might have luck if you maintain excellent water chemistry and feed plenty of spirulina and perhaps consider enriching your feed with selcon or other similar Omega-3 fatty acid suppliment and marine vitamins.

Also think about offering freeze dried or frozen cyclopeeze, which is highly nutritious, and a staple food that breeders feed young fish. My adult fish love it like a crack junkie loves his fix!

Good luck.

Guy
 

kreblak

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Mar 13, 2003
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HLLE is a real mess if your fish get it. The erosion never totally heals, but the fish can recover. Nutrition is the key. You said the the tang was eating. Keep him eating, and provide him seaweed or algae to graze on. Tangs need to feed constantly throughout the day. They can not eat a meal and be fine for several hours, they must graze constantly. Get a seaweed clip, and attach some Nori or spirulina like Guy suggested. If you have a large amount of algae in the tank already, you should see the tang picking at it on a regular basis.
 

dward254

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Feb 24, 2003
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Just thought I would add my 2 cents since my yellow tang developed HLLE a few months ago.

I just read an article in some fish keeping magazine at the grocery store today. It was a fairly detailed analysis of the vitaman deficiency that occurs when the tang becomes stressed. Especially when it comes in contact with copper based additives.

I truly believe that the coppersafe that I added to the tank was the main cause of my yellow tang's HLLE. However, he is now doing fine. My solution, I started adding cauolerpa into my tank on a regular basis. I don't believe in manufactured vitaman supplements. Natural answers for natural problems.

As I've learned, the erosion will not go away; it is a scar. But, the fish will regain it's original level of health if it is provided a natural diet.
 

Elliott Wright

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Sep 14, 2003
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Thanks for the great advice,my tang is now doing very well and
i is feeding constantly from my seaweed clip,when the tang returns to good health im planning on putting it in my 4 foot reef
tank which contains a coral beauty and a lipstick tang do you
think the two tangs will get on

thanks
 
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