blue tang float??

[pblutang]

I hae a blue tang that I got 3 weeks ago. He always seems to have too much air in him and struggles to swim. I have seen him go up for air and come back down. Bubles comes out of his back side. Water parameters are good, he eats nori sheets and mysis shrimp. when resting he wedges him self between a rock or something to keep him stable. Is their a cure for having too much gas in a tang?

 

[mcdonaldjosh7]

Flag this and request it be moved to 'Marine Fish Discussion with Lee Birch'. He is much more likely to give you a good answer then anyone else

 

[ac7av]

WoW, I’ve seen freshwater fish do this will no ill effects but I would think that its very odd behavior for a tang. Does the fish seem to be fine other then that?

 

[returnofsid]

I don't know how common this is, or if it's even what I'm familiar with. However, I have known of people who have used a hypodermic needle, to "bleed" the air out of fish, that have similar symptoms. However, I wouldn't recommend attempting anything like this, without doing some research, first. Lee, in the Marine Fish Discussion, would probably be able to give you the best advice.

 

[lvsuckerfish]

burp it like a puffer fish if it is the same issue

 

[BCT182]

Pinning the fish is a terrible idea. Infection and death can follow.

 

[Krish]

Moved to Lee's forum to get his expert opinion. Good luck with your tang!

 

[pblutang]

Lee,

I thought I would ad a video to this link. Still no improvement in the blue tang. He eats and when he gets tired of swimming will wedge himself between the plastic intake hose and the glass to rest. Any suggested treatments?

Sorry for the poor quality video. Fast foward to see it with all the lights on instead of just actinics.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0GZeJ4v78k

 

[leebca]

The fish is highly stressed. The Anemonefish knows this by its reaction to the Tang.

Not knowing for sure where the gas is coming from or how it is generated, sort of limits the possibilities. You mention getting the fish 3 weeks ago. Did it come like this? Did you get this fish by mail? The reason I ask is that it would be very rare for this to develop suddenly.

Generally, it falls into one of two categories: handling or internal damage. If you received the fish by mail order, then handling would be the top likely source of the problem. This includes fishes that are captured from deep water and not acclimated to shallow water, to having been roughly handled to create internal damage.

Internal damage could be rupture of a vital organ or a compromise of the digestive track. Any of these will ultimately prove fatal unless the fish can recover on its own.

I'm afraid that, wait and see, is about all you can do. Watch closely to be sure no other fish attacks or picks on it, like the Anemonefish is getting ready to do. That would be too much stress heeped on the problem. Move the fish to a quarantine tank if this happens.

The current tank is too small for Tangs. You might want to reconsider your community tank choices.

 

[pblutang]

Thanks Lee! I think he came like this. I dont think I spent enough time observing him in the LFS when I got him. It's hard to tell sometimes because the fish are kept in small tanks. When I brought it home and acclimated it he hid quite a bit and then when I noticed him swimming I thought again he might just be acclimating. After a few days it didn't get much better. He's been like this since I got him.
I hope he can recover on his own. I'll keep an eye on him and move him if needed.