I'd second that. I've emailed them in the past and got a reply within 24 hrs from Bob Fenner. They're extremely helpful.
White Patch on Blue Tang
- Thread starter sosgal721
- Start date
Ok so I have emailed them and catpicklesdog is right, they got back to me within about a day, which is awesome.
Here is what he said:
He believed that the patches were caused by stress, which could come from a number of things, a borderline Nitrate level,the damsel, possibly my brittle sea star: it the species was Ophiarachna in particular, this animal could be over-stressing the Paracanthurus(my tang) by night... I am having a hard time figuring out what specific species my brittle sea star is..
... however he didn't think it was caused by his diet not having enough greens. I have done water changes to bring the Nitrate down (it has always been at this level, since I set up the tank), but it doesn't seem to do much.. which I think is because the tank is not 'well developed' quite yet, and I have a deep sand bed. I plan on doing an oxygen (because I recently removed my protein skimmer because it wasn't doing crap) and a Nitrate test later and possibly a water change.
He provided me with a good link to more info on the tang: http://wetwebmedia.com/paracant.htmHe also mentioned that the tang needed more room to swim than a 55G, which I know is true and plan to upgrade later. However I think the main problem might be my damsel, if that is the case then I can move the damsel out.
An update on the condition of the tang: the spots have definitely cleared up a lot...almost gone, but who knows if they will come back again.
Here is what he said:
He believed that the patches were caused by stress, which could come from a number of things, a borderline Nitrate level,the damsel, possibly my brittle sea star: it the species was Ophiarachna in particular, this animal could be over-stressing the Paracanthurus(my tang) by night... I am having a hard time figuring out what specific species my brittle sea star is..
... however he didn't think it was caused by his diet not having enough greens. I have done water changes to bring the Nitrate down (it has always been at this level, since I set up the tank), but it doesn't seem to do much.. which I think is because the tank is not 'well developed' quite yet, and I have a deep sand bed. I plan on doing an oxygen (because I recently removed my protein skimmer because it wasn't doing crap) and a Nitrate test later and possibly a water change.
He provided me with a good link to more info on the tang: http://wetwebmedia.com/paracant.htmHe also mentioned that the tang needed more room to swim than a 55G, which I know is true and plan to upgrade later. However I think the main problem might be my damsel, if that is the case then I can move the damsel out.
An update on the condition of the tang: the spots have definitely cleared up a lot...almost gone, but who knows if they will come back again.
I'm glad you managed to get an answer. Good luck trying to catch the damsel:devil:
Hope your Tang continues making a good recovery.
Hope your Tang continues making a good recovery.
So, okay now my tang has different symptoms... it is breathing really hard, very lethargic ...and it won't eat, it's hiding more than normal. No other fish seem to be like this, water parameters are fine (checked salinty,oxygen,and PH as well). My only thoughts are either something contaminated the water (I do use RO), velvet or ich. I recently added a few more fish in there but have QT'd them, so I am not sure where the velvet or ich could come from.
So.. my question is, should I QT it? This tang seems to be very very sensitive so I don't want the stress of moving it into a different environment/catching it, to kill it.
Any advice?
So.. my question is, should I QT it? This tang seems to be very very sensitive so I don't want the stress of moving it into a different environment/catching it, to kill it.
Any advice?
:sad:I miss it already.Nope didn't notice anything. Before it died, it was swimming strangely, swim bladder issue I am assuming... I also think it lost it's sight. This is so strange, it was fine yesterday. Now maybe I am just paranoid, but it looks like my royal gramma is starting to breathe a little harder than it should. Regardless, something has to be going on with my tank.
To be on the safe side I would perform a water change ASAP, at least 20% minimum, if not more... if you can do 40% or 50% do that. Whatever is going on a WC can't hurt, and will probably help.
You might want to consider changing water sources for this water change, just a thought.
You might want to consider changing water sources for this water change, just a thought.
Yeah the ammonia was at 0....there are 2 400gph (koralia's).
The fish seem to be fine now, not breathing hard or anything.So now I think the conclusion is that there was something in the water, because immediately when I noticed that the tang was sick, I put carbon in the filter...and now the fish are fine.
As far as water sources go, I have an RO/DI unit. Lately the water (only the water that comes out of the holding tank) has been smelling like sulfur. However if I took a cup of that water and let it sit, the smell would go away. The RO/DI unit has done 300 gallons so far, so it is not to the point where we have to replace the filters. I think what I have to do is buy a TDS meter, any good recommendations?
