Yellow tang has eye problem...please help
- Thread starter mooner
- Start date
This is correct, chances are the tang's from Hawai'i. However, this doesn't rule out the possibility of parasitic disease, and as far as I know, not all yellows are from Hawai'i, as they have collections limits, again, to the best of my knowledge. This would imply that a gap might be left between demand and supply, yes?
Garry is spot on about how fishes, especially poop machines like tangs are handled pre-ship. Stressor #2. (#1 is capture, whether or not with cyanide.) Also, some collectors and shippers are good at what they do, some are not so good. Stressor #3. Then we have the issue of the airline handlers at whose mercy are the fish (as well as our poor luggage--I watched once and was sickened, and it was inanimate luggage!). Stressor #4.
Alright, mooner, here's the thing: if you've got a non-Hawai'ian fish, it very well may have been exposed to cyanide, which means that even if you could get it to take food, its gut-lining is unable to absorb the available nutrients. I have NO idea if there's been research equivalent to, say, horses, in regards to uptake percentages of nutrients and all that, but since the fish isn't eating at all it's a moot point.
So, the fish won't eat, you can't exactly pickle him in nutrients as that doesn't work. Have you tried LIVE foods of any kind? If not, try live brine, much as I hate them, live mysids, even live bloodworms--anything to kick in that feeding response. It's my opinion that two things must be done at this point; get him EATING, anything, and I think it may be time to begin an antibiotic regimen. My first choice is Spectrogram. My LAST choice (mostly due to communiques with Mr. Calfo) is Melafix. This, along with the freshwater dips, and I will say again that I agree with Garry's assessment, are the animal's best chance.
If it's an internal parasite, hopefully triggering feeding and the antibiotics will give the animal just enough boost that it can tolerate an anti-parasitic regimen.
Garry is spot on about how fishes, especially poop machines like tangs are handled pre-ship. Stressor #2. (#1 is capture, whether or not with cyanide.) Also, some collectors and shippers are good at what they do, some are not so good. Stressor #3. Then we have the issue of the airline handlers at whose mercy are the fish (as well as our poor luggage--I watched once and was sickened, and it was inanimate luggage!). Stressor #4.
Alright, mooner, here's the thing: if you've got a non-Hawai'ian fish, it very well may have been exposed to cyanide, which means that even if you could get it to take food, its gut-lining is unable to absorb the available nutrients. I have NO idea if there's been research equivalent to, say, horses, in regards to uptake percentages of nutrients and all that, but since the fish isn't eating at all it's a moot point.
So, the fish won't eat, you can't exactly pickle him in nutrients as that doesn't work. Have you tried LIVE foods of any kind? If not, try live brine, much as I hate them, live mysids, even live bloodworms--anything to kick in that feeding response. It's my opinion that two things must be done at this point; get him EATING, anything, and I think it may be time to begin an antibiotic regimen. My first choice is Spectrogram. My LAST choice (mostly due to communiques with Mr. Calfo) is Melafix. This, along with the freshwater dips, and I will say again that I agree with Garry's assessment, are the animal's best chance.
If it's an internal parasite, hopefully triggering feeding and the antibiotics will give the animal just enough boost that it can tolerate an anti-parasitic regimen.
An update: the fish still won't eat (tried mysis and spirulina) but his eye seems to be clearing. Today he got his second dip. Did not take this one well at all. He swam for about 20 seconds then straight to the bottom on his side. I had to limit this one to 60 seconds.
I have a question. My RO/DI produces very clean (0 TDS) water. It's very difficult for me to get an accurate pH reading on the freshwater. It just keeps dropping on my Hanna meter and never stablizes. I used my test kit and got a reading of 8.1. I went with that. Perhaps this is a dumb question but why is RO/DI water not closer to 7.0 like "pure" water is supposed to be? I know that this water is not 100% pure but 8.1?
I am going to my LFS today to look for some antibiotic treatment and I will ask for the ones you listed Seamaiden. I will also try to get some live foods.
FWIW, I put the poor little guy in the live reef cam...see link below. He just swims in a circle all day
I have a question. My RO/DI produces very clean (0 TDS) water. It's very difficult for me to get an accurate pH reading on the freshwater. It just keeps dropping on my Hanna meter and never stablizes. I used my test kit and got a reading of 8.1. I went with that. Perhaps this is a dumb question but why is RO/DI water not closer to 7.0 like "pure" water is supposed to be? I know that this water is not 100% pure but 8.1?
I am going to my LFS today to look for some antibiotic treatment and I will ask for the ones you listed Seamaiden. I will also try to get some live foods.
FWIW, I put the poor little guy in the live reef cam...see link below. He just swims in a circle all day
Hey mooner,
Sorry about your little buddy! I hear that GarlicX by kent marine works really good at getting fish to eat. I have a bottle that I have never used and is unopened. Would you like me to send to you for free? Pm me your address and I will ship out for you.
-puff
Sorry about your little buddy! I hear that GarlicX by kent marine works really good at getting fish to eat. I have a bottle that I have never used and is unopened. Would you like me to send to you for free? Pm me your address and I will ship out for you.
-puff
Hm as far as I know your freshly filtered water should be precisely at 7.0 ... the idea being that there are no extra chemicals, minerals or pollutants of any kind in the water that would cause a Ph shift one way or another. It was one of the advertised features of my RO unit, and I occassionally test the water in my collection bin as a barometer of how my RO unit is performing. It's consistently at 7.0, without fail.
Is your RO membrane old? Does it need replacing? Perhaps the RO unit was disconnected for a while and improperly stored? I know some caution that you must keep water moving through the RO membrane or else it goes kaput (small bacteria form on the membrane, clogging the pores).
Is your RO membrane old? Does it need replacing? Perhaps the RO unit was disconnected for a while and improperly stored? I know some caution that you must keep water moving through the RO membrane or else it goes kaput (small bacteria form on the membrane, clogging the pores).
OK...just got back from the LFS. I got the Spectogram in there for him. I also got some Jack Wattley food with garlic. So far the fish has scoffed at it but I'll keep trying. I found nobody in town that stocks live food so no luck there.
Hwarang: No, the RO/DI is new and works fine. I just don't think that with a pH of 7 that my measurements are accurate.
420puff: I sure do appreciate the offer! I might just buy some here and try it because I think time is running out on this poor fella. He hasn't eaten in a long while now and I don't know how much longer he'll be able to maintain. 3-4 days in the mail will most likely be too long and I have seen it locally. Anyone else have experience with the GarlicX?
Thanks all.
Hwarang: No, the RO/DI is new and works fine. I just don't think that with a pH of 7 that my measurements are accurate.
420puff: I sure do appreciate the offer! I might just buy some here and try it because I think time is running out on this poor fella. He hasn't eaten in a long while now and I don't know how much longer he'll be able to maintain. 3-4 days in the mail will most likely be too long and I have seen it locally. Anyone else have experience with the GarlicX?
Thanks all.
Mooner - I've used Kent garlic xtreme when my hippo tang had ick, but my tang never stopped eating, so I can't be sure if it really helped or not. I haven't had any trouble with him in several months. I sure hope you can get yours to eat something soon.
420puff,
Mandarins regularly come from the Philippines and Indonesia. However, they are one of the fish that is never, I repeat NEVER, collected with cyanide. A skinny mandarin is a hungry mandarin- not a cyanide caught mandarin. Unfortunately, as we know, mandarins are picky little eaters and prefer to have a tank 'o pods to munch on. 99.9% of the time they do not get this until they reach a hobbyists tank. By that time, many of them are so far gone from being starved so long that they don't recover. When buying a mandarin, keep 2 things in mind.
1. Make sure it is FAT when you buy it. The belly should be either flat or convex- not concave
2. Make sure you have a well-established tank with tons of pods for it to subsist on.
MaryHM,
Thanks for the info, I always like to get advice. My mandarin was eating like a horse and there were tons-o-pods. So many that I wanted them to get eatin instead of dying and floating all over my tank hence the mandarin.
He was getting smaller and smaller and looked really bad even though he was eating like a mad man. I'm pretty sure he was cyanide caught. I later found other people that got burned from the same store......
Thanks for the info, I always like to get advice. My mandarin was eating like a horse and there were tons-o-pods. So many that I wanted them to get eatin instead of dying and floating all over my tank hence the mandarin.
He was getting smaller and smaller and looked really bad even though he was eating like a mad man. I'm pretty sure he was cyanide caught. I later found other people that got burned from the same store......
420puff":kwn0xts8 said:
Sadly I agree with you. Your poor mandarin and those of your friends probably died of cyanide poisoning unless they were not well fed.
Mary's post is perhaps unintentionally misleading. I think it may be correct to say that mandarins are not "the targets" of cyanide collection.
But cyanide know no boundaries.
When the cyanide is squirted into the reef head all living creatures are affected and we all know that mandarins get their nourishment eating the little critters found in the rocks.
Your fish was likely a victem.
The golden rule is
naesco,
I agree!!
Unfortunately we cant always make sure our little guys point of origin. I'm sure that even the best and well known/respected suppliers might get cyanide caught fish without knowing it. Man this sucks!!!
I should start my own store damn it!
I agree!!
Unfortunately we cant always make sure our little guys point of origin. I'm sure that even the best and well known/respected suppliers might get cyanide caught fish without knowing it. Man this sucks!!!
I should start my own store damn it!
I really doubt that cyanide played any part in your troubles. Netting causes more injuries than any other practice in the hobby. The eyes are especially vunerable. I believe that the odds are very high that the fish had a bacterial infection which may have started with damage caused by a net. The brown slimy stuff was probably a bacterial infection as well.
Freshwater dips will do nothing to help with a bacterial infection. They don't even do as much good as they cause problems when using them for ich. Actually, a fish with an open wound of any sort should not be FW dipped at all. FW dips are very stressful and may have well contributed to the demise of the animal. A poor diet or starvation can cause eye problems including popeye.
If you would like to read an article about why nets should not be used with live fish then email me. I would post a link to the magazine that the article is in, but I am not sure if that would be against policy on this web-site. [email protected].
Terry B
Freshwater dips will do nothing to help with a bacterial infection. They don't even do as much good as they cause problems when using them for ich. Actually, a fish with an open wound of any sort should not be FW dipped at all. FW dips are very stressful and may have well contributed to the demise of the animal. A poor diet or starvation can cause eye problems including popeye.
If you would like to read an article about why nets should not be used with live fish then email me. I would post a link to the magazine that the article is in, but I am not sure if that would be against policy on this web-site. [email protected].
Terry B
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