Powder Brown Tang

[saabtech]

well i asked Reefs2u to get me one and they did AND WHAT A GREAT PRICE!!!!
but as all/most tangs he is really stressed. he was still in the distributors bag when i got him so he was urgent need of some clean oxygenated water.
i drip acc. him for about 5 mins (fast drip) and plopped him in the tank.

question is... should i keep him moving or allow him to chill in the spot he has chosen?

and any other advise would be greatly appreciated.

[Europhyllia]

Wow I didn't know tangs needed to be put in the water right away. When I mail ordered a tang I just did the usual slow acclimation thinking it would be less stressful on them rather than a big pH or salinity shock. The only fish I ever lost right after purchase was due to rushing the acclimation.

I hope he gets better soon. I don't see any benefit in stressing him more by making him move. I'd do what I do with all new purchases:
Lights out for a few hours (it's late, maybe just leave them off till morning) and let them settle in.
I have pieces of PVC pipe in my QT as well so it's not totally bare and they can feel more secure hiding. :)

[saabtech]

well he was a big tang in a little bag. very little oxygen in the water (he was gasping) and a lot of waste. alot of LFS just dump the fish right into the DT because of the sour water the fish has been in for all that termoil of shipping.
his salinity was about 1.019 and mine right now is about 1.021. didnt test ph. but should be close.

[aquasport24]

+1 to what Karin said.

[saabtech]

just going off what Ace and Jeramy said to do. they saw how stressed he was....

[Gseclipse02]

The way I always look at it is what's 10 more mins

Just try feeding him that usally makes them happy

[FireWater]

I would let him chill for now. Let him get used to where he is - might even turn out the lights and give him piece. If not you try to do too much right now you will only stress him even more. I am guessing you will be dealing with an ich outbreak before the ordeal is over. See if it will eat after it settles in - tomorrow probably. Feed little amounts frequently if possible and hope for the best. I understand what you did and why - you just have to work with what you got now. I wish you the best

[Mr Cob]

question is... should i keep him moving or allow him to chill in the spot he has chosen?

and any other advise would be greatly appreciated.

To answer the question you asked... I think you should leave him be. Feed the tank and then go to actinic lighting. Fish are more peaceful at lights out. It's not going to help him any if he can see humans and electronics as well, especially if he is wild caught.

Keep seaweed available for him for about a week until he acclimates to his new surroundings. Frequent small water changes to make up for the extra feeding.

Good luck.

[hobogato]

yeah, the fish was already starting to lose equilibrium in the bag. imo, it really needed a quick acclimation.

[Mr Cob]

what John (firewater) said...LOL!

[hobogato]

adding to what others have said, you can pretty much expect it to get ich. powder blue/brown tangs seem particularly susceptible to it, so be prepared.

d'oh john beat me to that one!

[FireWater]

I was just a little quicker on the trigger Rob. We both had the same sound advice

[FireWater]

And Ace LOL

[saabtech]

looking alot better. regained all equilibrium. just swimming in place and breathing normally. as long as he eats he will be just fine im sure.
how soon would you (any of you) feed him?

[FireWater]

If it is swimming around I would feed a little now. Do you have any Nori sheets that you can put in the tank?

[saabtech]

yes

[FireWater]

If lights are still on and it is swimming then I would put a little nori on a clip for it. Also, I would try a little brine or mysis - they are both loaded with fats/proteins/other stuff for energy for now.
If you need anything else let me know-I can't be that far from you if you are in Schertz.

[saabtech]

the lights went out at 9:30 and i already put in the nori sheet right next to where he is hanging out. should i take them out? will he not eat in the dark?

[FireWater]

He might, but I would not leave the nori in all night - it gets soggy and falls apart to become a contaminate in the tank(overfeeding leading to nitrate issues)

[Bill S]

If you have some live macro, try it. I wouldn't leave the nori overnight.

When the lights come on in the am, feed him a little at a time. If you get him eating, he should be fine.

[1fstlightning]

If you have some live macro, try it. I wouldn't leave the nori overnight.

When the lights come on in the am, feed him a little at a time. If you get him eating, he should be fine. Yeah I agree, if he starts to eat he should be fine. I bought the big Powder Blue that was in there today. He was still in his bag, but didint seemed as stressed as what you described yours to be. I acclimated him for about a good hour and put him in, and he is already swimming all over the place. He hasnt ate though. How easily, or should I say how often do they get Ich?

[saabtech]

mine is not swimming all over the place but that is because i caught him before he got to active. i spent the last 4 hrs setting up an old tank as a QT and potential HT its a 29g tall.
all i have on it is a HOB filter with just media and carbon. there is not alot of agitation of the water (but there is some) so do i need a air stone? or just let the water level in the tank drop a little and allow the spill over to create more air bubbles?

[saabtech]

If you have some live macro, try it. I wouldn't leave the nori overnight.

When the lights come on in the am, feed him a little at a time. If you get him eating, he should be fine.

good suggestion. thanks.

[FireWater]

Just try feeding a little at a time and what was stated before - if he eats more than likely he will be ok. If the tang is not showing any stress signs I would not do anything else to stress him out right now. ie.. moving him around to another tank or set up. Just let him be and most likely he will survive, but the more you try to do to help sometimes has a more detrimental effect. Keep an eye on it - feed small amounts a couple of times a day (if you keep the amounts small it should not show up in water quality), fats/vitamins are good, natural foods are best (macros of different kinds or nori), and just keep an eye on it. Remember that most fish come in same way this one did and more than one has survived. Hope all this helps you out and good luck

[saabtech]

he eats every spiru, brime, mysis mix i put in there. just need to keep the water changes up and keep him healthy. thanks everyone for the quick help.

also, along the same lines but a little differant. My QT is a new tank and i used water and rock from the DT. also used a filter pad from the DT ammonia on both are right next to 0 (will post pics in a moment) any further suggestions for keeping the QT in tip top shape.
i have a 9w CF bulb on it. a
a small power head.
about 2 lbs of rock. (will place more in it slowly)
and... uh... thats it?..?

[saabtech]

the first pics is?
the second?

you tell me.

[Europhyllia]

they both match the second color sample from the top

[saabtech]

well either i fill the sample glass too full or too low and am getting skewed readings or the ro/di water has some ammonia in it.
the first pic is new/mixed ro/di and the other is from my DT.
just thought i would have a control sample. i beleive my tanks readings are 0.0 ppm, is that safe to assume?

[Europhyllia]

they both look like the 0.25 sample to me

[saabtech]

yea.. that is what i gathered from your first post. (sorry for being vauge)
what i was trying to say is that both test look the same and one is from new RO/DI mixed saltwater and the other is from my DT. since both are the same my readings are skewed somehow.
i think both actually read 0.00 ppm. the question is..
"is that safe to assume?"


they both look like the 0.25 sample to me

[Europhyllia]

:D LOL. I thought maybe you were color blind...

You know what they say about assuming stuff...

I'd get another test kit and see what it says. If your test kit is bad you'd want a new one anyway. And if your test kit is accurate you'd want to know so that you can figure out why your RO water is contaminated.

So glad to hear the tang is doing better though!

[saabtech]

well the test kit is less than 3m old. i dont think that its bad. (i hope not)
im thinking that i fill it to the 5ml line incorrectly. ???? how about a picture......

this pic is of the API test kit flask and how i fill up the tube... i fill the tube so that the "Crest" is in line with the graduated mark. should i be filling it so that the "trough" matches the line of the flask? or a happy medium?

[hobogato]

you want to fill so the bottom of the meniscus (curve) is on the line.

[Bill S]

And you might want to upgrade your test kit. The API kit is notorious for a small false positive for Ammonia.

When you get the opportunity, upgrade your kits one at a time to Salifert kits. Kinda like the difference between cheap tools from Walmart and Snap-On.

[corruption]

And you might want to upgrade your test kit. The API kit is notorious for a small false positive for Ammonia.

When you get the opportunity, upgrade your kits one at a time to Salifert kits. Kinda like the difference between cheap tools from Walmart and Snap-On.

+1 -- Elos test kits are also very high quality with a good price, unfortunately don't seem to be real readily available locally (that I've seen -- anyone correct me if I'm wrong! :D)

-Justin

[saabtech]

you want to fill so the bottom of the meniscus (curve) is on the line.

now how come that is not in the the instructions?

[Bill S]

You were supposed to learn that in High School science... LOL.

[saabtech]

You were supposed to learn that in High School science... LOL.

yea i realize that now that you metion it... LOL
but i would argue that i grew up in a modern system that did not require you to learn anything. just memorize it for a week and take a test.

kind of off subject but IMO todays public school systems are no longer a learning enviroment, they are a social enviroment and if you dont fit in socially you will not learn well due to the psychological stresses.

i can say that i did not learn a thing in public school. i only started learning once i made the decision on my own. like this post of 2 nights of reading about the nitrogen cycle.

correct me if im wrong and this can get complicated but the chemical makeup of decomposing organics and waste from other organisms in our saltwater aquariums produce ammonium (NH4) which is broken down by ammonia oxidizing bacteria and nitrifying organisms which converts ammonia to nitrites (NO2) Then other bacterial species are responsible for the oxidation of the nitrites into nitrates (NO3) then with the introduction of a macroalga or some macroalgae into the cycle the nitrates are assimilated (absorbed) into the algae to the form of glutamate (C5 H9 NO4) and is converted into complex amino acids, nucleic acids, chlorophyll and proteins. i have never studied this in a lab nor will i but from the biochemistry books and online resources I have studied the ammonia (NH3) ammonium (NH4) nitrites (NO4) and nitrates (NO3) do not stay in there chemical compound once assimilated into the algae, they are converted into other complex chemical compounds due to reactions with enzymes and protiens that provide a biocatalysis where the nitrogen source (ie.ammonia, ammonium, nitrites, nitrates) that has been assimilated into the algae is converted into usefull organic compounds like chlorophyll (C55 H70 O6 N4 Mg) and Amines (H2NCH (x) COOH).
the cycle will restart and you will get a spike of all the toxic nitrogeneous compounds like nitrates if the algae is allowed to die and decompose.
when the organism breaks down the the nitrogenious compounds can and will easily be converted back into the toxic compounds that we are constantly trying to remove. so only by harvesting the macroalgae would you be removing the nitrogenious compounds :whew:

[saabtech]

back on subject. thanks to everyone for the quick and accurate help.. the tang looks great and seems to have little to no stress at all.
i have the 29g tall all set up and plenty of water avail to do water changes. all i need to do is get him used to me.
i have set up the tank with construction paper all over the sides and rear. i keep a towel over the frt all day to keep him from getting spooked by my kids and wife and tv and computer. when i come home i open it up a little and get some food ready.
once the food is ready i remove the towel and feed him little by little. watching him eat and allowing him to watch me. (i want him to associate me with food so he will like me!) then i leave the towel off so we can see him for a little bit and then with the timer goes off for the lamp, the towel goes back on.

[kkiel02]

yea i realize that now that you metion it... LOL
but i would argue that i grew up in a modern system that did not require you to learn anything. just memorize it for a week and take a test.

kind of off subject but IMO todays public school systems are no longer a learning enviroment, they are a social enviroment and if you dont fit in socially you will not learn well due to the psychological stresses.

i can say that i did not learn a thing in public school. i only started learning once i made the decision on my own. like this post of 2 nights of reading about the nitrogen cycle.

This is probably because you went to a larger school. When or if the time comes where I choose my kids school, it is definately going to be 3a or smaller. My parents and girlfriend teach in large school districts so I have learned this through them. Although there are also some bad smaller school districts.

Lol actually I would send my kids to Ace's school to learn about captive breeding and/or trouble shoot my reef problems.

And PS glad your tang is doing better, I bought one today hopefully he does well also.