Hawaiian Yellow Tang ailment

Question
QUESTION: Hello,

I have a yellow tang that I've had for over a year. I have a 30 gal tank that's been setup with no problems for 2 years and I've had no problems with my tang until now. I just did a 25% water change 2 weeks ago and i added clean water today with Amquel Plus. I have a cleaner shrimp in the tank and the other fish are fine.  He looks fine but he's not eating (1.5 days) and he usually greets me at the tank when it's feeding time.  I also started noticing last night that he's been less active and he's just sort of 'hanging' by the live rock, nose down at an angle and tail up.  The only other thing I did notice is that he looks a little bit 'bloated' on either side, toward the middle of his body, but other than that and the loss of appetite he looks fine -color is good, gils looks fine and breathing is normal, eyes are bright.  Can fish get 'constipated'?  For some reason that's what my gut is telling me may be the problem, but i don't want to wait too long to find out that its something else.  Any ideas?
thanks,
Kim

ANSWER: Hi Kim,
I wont say it's not constipation, but I've seen Tangs of all kinds, in the wild and in captivity, eat and pass huge amounts. It could be a bit of gut blockage, a form of egg binding. The size of the aquarium is on the small(very) side for this fish. A year in this size environment(without knowing his size) is a long time. He may have started out small, but he should very quickly out grow a tank this size. Stunting can occur and shorten their lives. I would definitely look into a larger environment for all of them. Back to the problem at hand. You need to do a bit more detective work here. How many tank mates does he have and what sizes? What are your water readings? Stress from environment or bullying can cause many problems and affect feedings/eating habits. Even when not showing up in coloration or obvious physical damage. Are there macro alga? If so, what kinds? Certain macros are not so great when eaten by herbivorous fish, and Tangs in large eat a herbivorous diet. Some macros even go through toxic stages(grape caulerpa) that are extremely poisonous to fish. What are you feeding the guy? You need to look at this from every aspect.
If it's a parasite, epsom salt will do nothing. Without seeing the fish I can't rule that out here. Epsom salts will aid in easing any bindings and blockages if that is indeed the case. And it will be harmless to the rest of the community. A good dosage would be 1 level teaspoon per 10 gallons of actual tank volume. There will be no need to repeat the dose unless you do a water change. If you have a picture or can take one for me, I would be glad to help more. Unfortunately with what you've told me so far this is where I start asking you to get me more info. Get back to me. Let me know more about what you see and how it's going.

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QUESTION: UPDATE: I'm now noticing that he's looking a bit red and enflamed(as though I can see the blood vessels and veins throughout his body -- does that make sense?)  I feel like he's getting worse by the hour...HELP!

ANSWER: That sounds like a bacterial infection. Possibly HLLE. Diet and environmentally caused. Do you have another aquarium to move him to? If not you can get seaweed at local fish store or dried and soak it in liquid garlic, or chopped garlic and a little water. Then clip it in the tank or rubber band it to some rock. There have been many reports of success with this approach. Or you can try octozin or beta glucan. Both good treatments for bacterial infections. Remove ALL carbon from filtration first! I personally would try the garlic/seaweed first. Let me know how its going.

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QUESTION: Thanks Glenn - I'm going out first thing tomorrow to get what I need to try the seaweed/garlic approach.  A couple of questions though - how long do I keep feeding him that and do I need to do a water change?  

If that doesnt work, any idea where I can buy either Octozin or Beta Glucan?

Many thanks for your assistance!
Kim

Answer
Hey Kim,
Good to hear. I would keep feeding him the seaweed/garlic mix until he has normal coloration and resumes being the active rooster that Yellow Tangs generally are. Then I would keep with the seaweed in a clip or anchored to a rock as part of his diet permanently. If you dont like the way it looks you can also find macro algae that display very nicely and beautify displays that he will eat. Many local fish stores even sell what they refer to as "Tang Packs" usually a combination of 2 or 3 macro algae that are great for Tangs. Usually a mixed Gracilaria pack of red and green Gracilarias. About the only macro algae that they wont eat(and you dont want them eating)is Caulerpa, specifically the grape variety. These are toxic. You can usually find Octozin tablets at your local fish storeor they can order it for you(not at Petco or Petsmart, however Meijer Stores carry it in their pet section in my area) and Beta Glucan can be found in different forms at vitamin stores. You can also look at the vitamin supplements for marine fish at your fish store(some will include this) and the other vitamins wont hurt in his diet either. I would get him started with the seaweed and garlic then do a water change 2 or 3 days after. He doesnt need any added stress right now, and 2 or 3 days with this in his diet and he should be doing much better. No more than a 25% change. Water changes are stressful anyway, especially for marine life. They dont like sudden changes in environment or water chemistry. Ive included a couple links for the Octozin below(or you can Google Octozin Tablets) if for some reason your LFS cant get it. Please let me know how it's going! Good Luck!



www.onlineaquariumstore.com
www.aquaticstore.com