Tang Gen Dis F

FAQs about Genetic Disease of Tangs

FAQs on: Tang Disease 1, Tang Disease 2, Tang Disease 3, Tang Disease 4, Tang Disease 5, Tang Disease 6, Tang Disease 7, Tang Disease 8, Tang Health 9, Tang Disease 10, Tang Disease 11, Tang Disease 12, Tang Disease 13, &
FAQs on Tang Disease by Category: Diagnosis, Environmental, Nutritional, Social, Trauma, Pathogenic (plus see below), Treatments
FAQs by Tang Disease by Pathogen: Tangs/Rabbitfishes & Crypt, Tangs/Rabbits Crypt 2, Tangs/Rabbits Crypt 3, Tangs/Rabbits Crypt 4, & Paravortex/Black Spot Disease,

Some Tangs are just not hard-wired to be useful in captive settings. TWA Acanthurus, most Naso spp...

Surgeonfishes: Tangs for Marine Aquariums
Diversity, Selection & Care
New eBook on Amazon: Available here
New Print Book on Create Space: Available here
by Robert (Bob) Fenner

Poorly Atlantic Blue Tang.... 2/3/06 Hi All, We have a 55 UK gallon tank, with 30 kilos of Live Rock, MC500 Deltec, 2 power heads, 250 halide and two blue arcadias. Fish stock includes Mandarin Yellow tang Atlantic blue tang 2 Green Chromis 2 percula clowns Brownbarred goby Six lined Wrasse 9 red hermits 6 turbo snails 1 cleaner shrimp. Our problem is our Atlantic blue tang, it seems to have what I can only described a bubbly skin and there are a couple of white spots on it. <Unfortunately... quite prone to such troubles... as are most Atlantic Surgeonfishes> We are guessing its Ich but we're not getting much help from our LFS who have told us the just leave him and he will get over it?!? <Not if it were indeed crypt/Ich... but I doubt this is what you are observing... otherwise your other fishes would be mal-affected as well> We are concerned as we are relatively new to this and would like to do what is right! I've read a lot of articles on this site with regards to freshwater dips, garlic copper and so on and from this have deduced freshwater dips are the way to go. Would you think this was advisable? <Not w/o knowing what is going on here> He is still eating well but does seem a little irritable. Many thanks for any help and advice you can give to us Brits as I haven't found a website as useful as yours in the UK. Emma and Simon, Lake District, UK <Mmm, need more information re the chemical make-up of this system. Were your fishes quarantined ahead of placement? I would be leery re "adding something" here in the way of "medicine"... Is there an aquarist friend, stockist who might come by and take a look at your set-up, livestock? Bob Fenner>
Re: Poorly Atlantic Blue Tang.... 2/6/06 Thanks to Bob Fenner for is prompt reply, The tang seems to have deteriorated overnight, he now have a number of visible white spots and his skin is very bumpy and has developed two 5mm white patches which looks like the loss of pigment. All the chemicals are fine all tests have come back as spot on. No fish have been quarantined prior to putting in the tank as we "assumed" this was done by the place we've been buying them from. <Not a good assumption> Unfortunately there isn't anyone local to come and check out our system we're a little in the middle of nowhere the most local person originally advised us to us water out of the stream which runs through our back garden at first (!!!) so wouldn't trust anything he had to say. That's why we have to travel over an hour to the best one in the area. No other fish are affected at all which makes me wonder if it is Ich as I would have thought maybe the clowns would have got it by now. <As stated, this fish (Acanthurus coeruleus likely) and other TWA tangs just don't "cut it" in captivity... for whatever reason/s> We have a cleaner wrasse but the tang won't let him near and just chases him away. <Labroides are not found in the Atlantic...> The fish store is posting out some bacterial type to put into the system but I'm hesitant to use it, especially due to the loss of pigment on his skin. Many thanks if there is any help you can give me, Emma, UK. <Not much more to say unfortunately. Bob Fenner>

Strange disease. Please help ID Hello, I purchased a 2.5" Orange Shoulder Tang almost two weeks ago. It appears to be in good condition (except for the following), eating well (garlic soaked: Nori, Spirulina flakes & various frozen foods) and behaving like a Tang should. Last week, it developed a dark oval marking on one side, just where the top of the pectoral fin touches the body. The mark is about 1/4" in diameter. Doesn't seem to be raised. Started off as a 'ring', with a clear center. Now the mark is 'solid', and spreading upwards. Appears to be composed of multiple little dots, grouped closely together. There is nothing else on the fish. The spot does irritate the fish, making it scratch occasionally. The fish is in a 20g quarantine tank with some live rock & sand from my established 120g tank. All water is from the 120 as well. I've been checking water parameters regularly and all are in acceptable range (no ammonia, nitrate~5mg(?), salinity 1.023, temp 79). The 20g has a protein skimmer and a Penguin 170 outside box filter for circulation. I've seen pictures of Black Ick and this doesn't seem to match. Ever seen this before? Know how to treat it? <alas... the description is still too general to diagnose without more information and a picture. It cannot even be placed categorically (bacterial, parasitic, etc). The spots that cluster... size and color? Any presence of hemorrhaging? Do consult the archives and Untergasser's Handbook of Fish Diseases if possible. A great and easy to follow book (cheap too from TFH). Do send a picture if clear/possible.> Thanks. Steven Oliver <best regards, Anthony>

Surgeonfishes: Tangs for Marine Aquariums
Diversity, Selection & Care
New eBook on Amazon: Available here
New Print Book on Create Space: Available here
by Robert (Bob) Fenner

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