 |
|
| Home | Marine Aquariums |
Freshwater Aquariums |
Planted Aquariums |
Brackish Systems |
Ponds,
lakes & fountains |
Turtles & Amphibians |
Aquatic Business |
Aquatic Science |
Ask the WWM Crew a Question |
| Please visit our Sponsors | ||||
Naso tang floating at surface after transport and freshwater
dip 6/22/17
Plump, puking Naso 03/11/09
Naso Tang.. Acclimation.. Environment 2/27/07 Hope you can provide some direction. <Should be no problem.> This is my second attempt at acclimating a Naso. First Naso lasted 5 days (ate Mysis shrimp for 1st 3 days then ate nothing). I prepared to try again. I am waiting to see if the Naso at my LFS will take flake food (something I did not do the first time around). <Flake food alone is not going to do it.> Do you know of any "must-do's" that I should be concerned with to make sure the acclimation process goes smoothly. Specifically around best types of "veggie" foods to start the new Naso off with. I have a 55 gal tank with good water quality with one exception. <Off to a bad start with a 55. Tangs are grazers and constantly swim in search of food. Your tank is much too small for keeping such in a healthy state.> I recently had a nitrate spike (up to 20 PPM) potentially due to over use of phytoplankton. I perform regular (weekly) water changes and have been doing 2 water changes (5 gal each) twice a week since discovering the elevated nitrates. At what level of nitrates should I be concerned with when acclimated a new fish like a Naso Tang. In other words is 20 PPM too much for acclimation? <Tangs enjoy pristine water quality, so, the lower the nitrate level, the better. Do read here and related links for the info you seek. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/naso.htm http://www.wetwebmedia.com/acclimat.htm> Thanks for the advice. <You're welcome. James (Salty Dog) GJB Not quite psychic yet...more info please! (Naso Tang) 7/2/06 Good morning Bob I have a few question. <Actually this is Adam J with you today...hello.> I have a Naso Tang and in the last couple of days have noticed her acting funny. <Not "Ha-Ha" funny I presume.> It's eye's has a cloud coating. <An indication of declining water quality or something environmental here.> It has also started to turn really dark and not moving as much as it did at one time. <Hmm, see above...to help further I need to know more about the system the animal is in, water quality? Tankmates? Diet?> It also developed a purple color and started to bump into things like it can't see. It has stop eating and this morning she had a whole lot of little white spots all over it. <See my above comment/questions and start with some water changes.> what could be going on with it and how can I treat the problem. <See above...Adam J.> Naso tang sudden death 1/7/06 Aloha WWM Crew,<And a lei for you> I will get straight to the point. I have had a Naso Tang in a 75G FOWLR for about 10 months. The Tang has been healthy up until yesterday when I noticed it would not eat. It actually went over to it's feeding rock where I put the Nori, but would not eat any. The following hours he got progressively worse and died the next day. My water parameters are these: Nitrite-0, PH- 8.6, Nitrate- 40 ppm, Ammonia-0, water temp-81, SG 1.020. Tankmates are 2 yellow tangs and 1 small clown. <SG is a little low John.> Equipment is an Eheim 2213 canister filter, an Aqua Clear 300 power filter, 2 Rio 600 power heads, and an Aquarium Systems skimmer. These water parameters have been stable since I started the tank about 1 year ago (except the nitrates). I noticed two things I think may have contributed to his demise but am puzzled as to why he went so quickly. First: his back fin looked like it had been bitten a few times by a tankmate. Can an aggressive tankmate cause a healthy fish to die that quick? (He hadn't shown any signs of tension before) Second: just before the holidays, I lost my air pump. In the confusion that is Christmas and New Years, I completely forgot to replace the pump. As I was thinking about what to do to remedy my sick Tang, I remembered reading how these fish need a lot of dissolved oxygen. After kicking myself I tried feverishly to fix the torn bellows in my pump but was unsuccessful. So, my question is, wouldn't lack of dissolved oxygen make the fish a little lethargic weeks before he passed? <<James... this is a question... respond. The answer is yes. RMF>> I really appreciate your insight as I am truly puzzled by this "sudden death". <John, first off, your tank isn't large enough for these fish. I suggest at least a 5 to 6 foot long tank. Your present filtering devices are not going to give you the pristine water quality that these fish require (by pristine I don't mean parameters). A sump/wet dry which will provide near saturation levels of O2 is one requirement. A good protein skimmer is a must. The skimmer you are using <my opinion> is really not efficient enough in removing dissolved protein to help in lowering your nitrate level. A vitamin enriched algae diet is another requirement. Please do read articles here. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/tangs,.htm> Mahalo,<And to you. James (Salty Dog)> John - Naso Tang Stress - Good evening, <Good morning.> I
have read through your site and must say it has helped me very much. I
have a question I tried to get an answer to on your site but could not
find a specific answer to (if I missed something I am sorry). In my 55
gal reef tank I purchased a Blonde Naso Tang (I plan to move him to a
135 in the next 8 months). When I got him and put him in QT he laid on
his side and looked like he was going to die. After a long night with
him he seemed to do better, but still looked stressed, also he would
not eat and I do not have any brown or red algae in the QT. So I moved
him to the ref tank where there is food for him to eat. Before I go any
farther my water is all in spec. I am a water microbiologist and take
sample to the lab to check everything using UV/ mass spec, HACH tests
and AA. <What a luxury!> Ammonia is <0.1ppm, Nitrite 0.02ppm,
Nitrate 0.12ppm, SP1.024, Ca 435pm, pH 8.45, Temp 78'F. I can give
you ORP, TDS , M Alk and P Alk, MO, and all other trace minerals,
metals etc. if you need it or think it will help. <Nah... sounds
good so far, certainly have no reason to doubt your measurements.>
Water changes are weekly at 10% made with Laboratory grade RO water
that has been run through a mixed bed DI unit. I also do a lime water
drip I make up in the lab with lab grade (Fisher Scientific) Calcium
Hydroxide (1.8gm / gal.). For the first week the Naso hid and only came
out when the room was empty, if I peeked in the room I could see him
pick at the red algae and brown algae, but if I came in the room he
hid. I can see where he picked at the algae in the tank so I am sure he
was eating. Now a week later he sits in one part of the tank and just
looks at one piece of live rock for hours at a time and won't move
or eat. He hovers at a head down position (45' angle) just looking
at this one piece of rock. I have tried to feed him algae on a clip,
marine flakes, krill, brine shrimp. He won't eat. I am afraid he
will starve. <He well may.> His color is light gray with white
blotches that come and go or get lighter and darker, but never go away.
I check the water for Ick and him, no Ick. The 2 damsels and one coral
beauty and one clown are all fine. I don't want the Naso to suffer
and want to help him, but I do not know what to do, or if there is
something I can do. <Well... it sounds to me like this fish is in
extreme stress... and may have been this way before you picked it up.
Best I can recommend is to leave the lighting out for a while, make
sure it has a place to hide, make certain there isn't stimuli in
the tank room that would keep this fish on edge, and let time takes its
course. Unfortunately, some fish don't come back from this... but
some do... need time to adjust to capture, transport, new water
chemistry... is a lot to handle for a simple fish. I wish I could offer
you more but really the best you can do is leave the algae on a clip in
the tank and leave the fish alone.> Please help I am at a loss. Jim
R., M.S. <Good luck. Cheers, J -- > Naso With Balance Problems >Dear Crew, >>Hello
Allyson. You have Marina today, with my greatest apologies, I've
just received your message in my inbox today and I sincerely hope
it's not too late. >I love my Naso like a child. We've had
him a few years and we bought him when he was approximately 6 inches
long. We were stupid. It's too big a fish even for our 125 gallon
tank. He belongs in the reef. Our water parameters have been stable for
several years but tonight I'll check them again. He's just
looking out of sorts. He frequently has a little Ick in the mornings
and the cleaner shrimps jump on him and it falls off by the end of the
day. He's a fussy eater and will only eat Tetra marine flakes and
Caulerpa. He eats these like a pig and the little guy is fat as a
house. He still eats OK. There was a period a week ago when we skipped
a meal for him (were away for 1 meal-we feed him a lot twice each day
by hand). The temperature dropped 3 degrees. Our refugium where we
raise Caulerpa and other macroalgae smelled bad and we changed most of
the water. It smells fine now. I think the Caulerpa looked a bit
unstable at the time but it's not sexual. >>If in doubt,
prune it back heavily, being CERTAIN to remove by the full holdfasts,
not just breaking off 'leaves'. >During that time, for
several days, the fish's yellow face turned dark and he did not
swim as actively. He barely ate. We raised the temp to 80 and his face
got yellower and he swims and eats more. What is most disturbing is
that since that time I see that he has trouble keeping himself upright
slightly. It's very slight but he'll swim sideways at times and
I see he has his alerting colors on (he gets blotches when he's
frightened). >>It seems you're taking the best care of him
you can, but I believe he's simply outgrown the system and is
displaying the stress (you've made no mention of his current
dimensions). This could explain the little bit of ich, the stress
coloration, and possibly the 'balance' issues (swim bladder,
possibly? Fish have no inner ear). He's definitely not growing old,
these animals can live 20 years easily. >He just seems a little
clumsier. He doesn't swim as fast or as agilely lately. I'm
trying to see if it's worsening but it's inconsistent. He
doesn't have any skin lesions and the Ick is very slight and barely
and occasionally visible. I've tried hospital tanks with him but
the conditions are so unstable in such a small tank, he does worse so
I've given up trying to treat the Ick. >>Yes, also, treating
him a hospital tank will do no good whatsoever if there are still other
vertebrates in the system upon which the parasite can find a host. The
only way for hospitalization to be effective is for the main display to
go fallow for a minimum of 6 weeks, though this often proves not to be
long enough. >I've done searches here and on reef central and I
have not seen balance problems listed much. The few times it was with
new fish and they died soon after developing it. I'm hoping he gets
better and it was just a minor trauma/infection. >>You've
listed no water parameters other than the temperature drop (amount), so
I can't really offer much other than a guess and a mantra - when in
doubt, do a water change. This won't help him at all if the problem
is simply that he's outgrown this system, but it will if, in spite
of the presence of the 'fuge, there is a buildup of nitrate or
other chemicals we cannot measure without a full laboratory at our
disposal. Even then, you might want to have an idea of what you're
testing for. You haven't mentioned how big the fish is now, but
Nasos grow rather large. Water changes on a large scale will not hurt,
and can both replenish lost compounds as well as remove buildups of
others. >We've also been administering Joes Juice to kill Majano
so I wonder if that has something neurotoxic. >>Be VERY careful
with that stuff! From what I understand they do not list any
ingredients (proprietary?), and I've read many posts on reefs.org
of folks losing their shrimps after using Joe's Juice. I have no
idea of it has any neurological effect, this is such a new product and
few are regulated in any manner. If you were my customer I wouldn't
have sold you this product, and I would now suggest you stop using it
altogether. >Bottom line, what could cause this? A vitamin
deficiency (he won't eat garlic, Selcon, or any other flake or food
than that Tetra marine stuff)? >>Garlic won't provide
vitamins or nutrition to fish (think about it, how often do fish get
their nutrition from garlic in the wild?), but it has been proven to
have a slight to moderate antibiotic effect. The food he will accept
can be soaked in Selcon prior to feeding, but you MUST be persistent.
Also, Nasos do like some meaty foods, have you offered him the
irresistible krill? Variety, especially with such a fish, is KEY. He is
behaving like a pet poodle, and you'll have to stand your ground
when it comes to sampling different foodstuffs. These fish can easily
go several days without feeding - if he gets hungry enough, he WILL try
it (assuming he's not actually ill, which I don't believe is
the case at this point). >A transient parasitic infection (maybe the
Ick got in his balance system)? >>Doubtful, I've not read of
such mild infestations affecting an animal's balance. If this were
a problem you'd see flashing and rapid gilling, not just balance
problems. >What scares me is that this might be a buildup in the
Caulerpa toxins. >>Possibly, but again, I do doubt this. I
didn't have a problem feeding C. taxifolia to my Z. flavescens, Z.
scopas, or other tangs for several years. >I give him a little bit
each day as a treat. He loves it. (Won't eat any kind of Nori,
broccoli, spinach, Sprung's sea veggies, lettuce, spinach, bok choy
etc. for greens). >>Again, he will if he's hungry enough, and
again, offer him some meaty foods. >I decided to do this because
this little guy has so few pleasures in our small tank, at least he
should have that. What was the toxin in Caulerpa so I can read about
it? >>This I cannot answer, try searching Anthony Calfo's
writings (this is off the top of my head), assuming a general Google
turns up nothing. >Thanks, Allyson >>You're welcome,
Allyson. At this point, my honest assessment is that the fish is
demonstrating end result of too small a system. I'm curious as to
whether or not this animal has grown the tail 'streamers' for
which they're noted, if not, this, along with the other symptoms
you mention lead me to this initial conclusion. Marina Naso tang problems Hello, over the time of taking care of my fish I do a lot of research, reading books and message boards. And I have heard on the message boards from a lot of people that there Naso tangs do perfect for about 6 mos. and then suddenly they wake up and there Nasos are dead, I am one of these people as well. There are no disease signs, there perfect looking, until they croak. After my Naso died I asked my LFS about it, he said for the past year or so Nasos have been doing bad. He told me too about the 6 mos. problem with Nasos. He said he tries making big deals so he doesn't have a dead Naso in his store. Did you ever hear about this? <Mmm, no definite time frame on these sorts of mysterious losses. Most of the Naso lituratus sold do die from being kept in too small a volume, size systems principally (starving is another large source of captive mortality)> I want to try another Naso, is there any other way I can avoid losing another Naso. I think these fish are awesome. BTW my tank is 240 gallons, water quality great. Thanks! <Please see here re selection: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/naso.htm Bob Fenner> Ill Naso Tang and UV sterilizer Hello Guys, <Hi Scott, Don with you tonight> First of all, you have sold me on the QT and I just purchased one today after reading through the many testimonials on the web site and in light of my sick Naso. I will follow protocol of many other write-ins with a description of set-up and with a few questions. Sorry for the information overload, and thanks for any guidance you can offer to this novice aquarist. Tank description : 75 gallon, custom sea life wet-dry and protein skimmer. live sand, Rio 2500 powerhead, no U.V sterilizer yet, but am currently shopping for one and open for suggestions in this area. Water parameters: ph- 8.2 ammonia - .40 (?color chart!) nitrite - .25 nitrate - 20 --- I can't seem to affect these parameters, with my biweekly 10% water changes, or even after a 25% change today. any suggestions <If these numbers are accurate, you have something dying/decaying (like food, snail, crab, etc) keeping these high. The ammonia and nitrite need to be 0. Could be the 'dry' part of the wet dry filter. Is your skimmer giving good skimmate, dark color/good quantity, daily? It should. Could your tests be inaccurate? See if you have a local Fish Store or another aquarium friend that can confirm?> I purchased a Naso from an out of town dealer with several specimens - half of which had black powdery spots all over and half of which looked and acted fine. I chose one of the healthy ones and after 5 days, mine is looking the same. He has been pacing constantly from one side of tank to the other around rockwork for 3 days. I found him lying motionless this morning and thought he was dead. I have set up a 10 gallon quarantine tank ( I know, finally). I gave it a freshwater dip and placed it in QT. <Yes, we should never buy from a tank (or even an apparent 'clean' tank if the store uses a combined water system) that shows any kind of disease. Never, as you now know :(.> prior to reading your website I : set up QT with all new water (oops) and new sponge filter (2nd oops) -- now what? <Make lots of salt water and aureate the heck out of it. Get ready to use it for daily (20-50%) water changes. You will need to do this to keep ammonia and nitrite in check> also dosed with 1st dose of copper treatment (now wishing I hadn't)-- stop or go? <Hmm, yes, for black spot, fresh water dips are highly successful and much less stressful. Initiate water changes and remove/replace sponge from filter. Make sure the fresh water dips are pH, temp adjusted and aerated> Naso is not eating (offered live kelp, and Mysis shrimp among others)-- hasn't eaten in 3 days <Continue offering, siphoning off uneaten excess right away> I also have yellow tang in tank that was successfully treated for pop-eye, but is showing pale coloring around face. is this disease or nutrition deficiency? <I would increase veggie in diet, maybe a supplement by soaking in Selcon if you can find it> I am also concerned about: purchasing an appropriate U.V sterilizer with the correct flow rates-- my water parameters and the ever presence of am, ni, and na-- <I would read here http://www.wetwebmedia.com/UVFAQs.htm and the blue links at the top of the page for more. I found this link by typing 'U.V sterilizer' into the Google search at the bottom of the WetWebMedia.com home page. Try it you'll like it!> my dealer sold me an air pump to match the 10 gallon tank but I'm not sure if it is adequate for this fish-- <I am sure the pump is OK for the QT. A small powerhead is a good idea as well. But let's be frank. The worst news for your fish is that a 75 is possibly (but I don't think so) large enough for a yellow tang. And for the Naso? Forget it as this fish is heading for 18". The Yellow Tang needs 90-120G and the Naso several 100's of gallons. Don> Naso tang in shock I acclimated my new Naso tang this morning. Since he has been released into my system he has remained in shock (lying on the bottom, breathing rapidly, moving his side fins and keeping his dorsal fin erect). <Signs of anoxia, a lack of oxygen> He has moved a few inches here and there but is otherwise looking pretty pathetic. Is there anything that I can do to help? Does his actions mean inevitable death? <Add aeration ASAP. An airstone/mechanical diffuser, air intakes on your powerheads...> The other fish that were acclimated were 2 Heniochus, flame hawk, anemone and a coral banded shrimp...all are doing extremely well. Lights are still off. Any suggestions or valuable insights? Carrie <Naso genus tangs are active, large animals that require high, consistent levels of dissolved oxygen... and as part of this, plenty of room to swim, have for gaseous exchange. And yes, best to leave the lights off for now. Bob Fenner> - Shoe-horn Quarantine - Greetings Crew, I really hope you can help me to keep a Naso Tang alive. I currently have a 3.5" (mouth to tail) Blonde Naso Tang that is frightened of absolutely everything. His gills and fins begin to flap like a hummingbird's wings any time I get near his tank, turn the lights on or off or anything inside or near his tank moves. He turns nearly black in color, with white spots. There are times when gilling is normal and he regains normal coloration but I must remain completely still for several minutes to see this. What really has me concerned is his lack of appetite. I have had this Naso for three days now and I have still not seen it eat. This is my third Naso and all three have suffered the same symptom of not eating. Although the first two Naso Tangs died, I have had very good success with all my other fish so I had hoped I just happened upon two unhealthy fish previously and this one would live a long life. The only difference with this fish is that it does appear to have eaten at some point before I received it. The previous two Nasos were very thin (concave, in fact) but this one is more rounded - "full-bodied". This Naso is currently in a 20 gallon QT with a 2" Purple Tang. <You should separate these fish - not a good size for two tangs.> I have not noticed any aggression (they were added at the same time). <Still... to close a quarters.> For the first day I also had a flame angel and a tiny clown goby in this tank as well but I have since moved them to my 55 gallon QT. <I would do this the other way around with the clown and goby in the smaller quarantine and the larger fish in the 55 - even better would be to have the Naso in there by itself.> Ammonia and Nitrite is at 0 PPM, Nitrate = 20 PPM, salinity = 1.023 SG and temp = 79 Degrees F. I perform ~20% water changes every third day (using water from my 180 gallon main tank). The tangs showed signs of Cryptocaryon so I medicated with CLOUT for three days, until all white spots were gone. I am not using copper at this time because I used this on the previous Nasos and thought this might have played a part in their lack of appetite as I have read that some tangs are sensitive to copper. <Perhaps.> I have tried feeding Formula 2, Nori, Spectrum pellets, flake food, chopped silversides (Selcon-soaked), Zooplankton and even brine shrimp (Selcon soaked) but the Naso has shown no interest in any of these. The purple tang seems to like all of these. What else could I try? <I'd stick with the algae and other green foods - what you might want to try is thaw out some frozen formula two and then press that into a chunk of live rock and re-freeze. When it's feeding time, thaw out a little bit and place in the tank. This should allow the fish to duplicate its natural feeding behaviour which is picking at algae on rocks. Again, I'd remove the second tang from this tank so there is no competition for this food.> Is there any "irresistible" fish food? <Not that I can think of other than live algae growing on live rock - this is what they eat in the wild.> I QT all new fish for 4 weeks (or 4 weeks after the last signs of ich). I use the drip method to acclimate fish over about a 45 minute period. I feed any existing fish in the tank before adding new fish and I leave the lights off for at least four hours after adding new fish to the QT. There are two cave-shaped pieces of live rock in the QT for hiding. I try to remain out of sight of the tank except for feeding for the first day or two, until the fish get accustomed to their new surroundings. What else could I do to make the transition easier for this fish? <Remove that second tang.> What could I possibly do to get the Naso to eat? <Have detailed my ideas... can't think of much else.> Are Naso Tangs of this size just not hardy, do you see any issues with my husbandry or do you think I just had a very bad coincidence (3 very sick Nasos - 1 from my LFS and two from an online store)? <Combination of factors - capture and transport is very stressful, and this usually takes weeks to come down from.> I have considered moving the Purple Tang to the 55 gallon QT but this larger QT contains a 6" Powder Blue Tang, a porcupine puffer, a flame angel, 3 ocellaris clowns, a Longnose B/F, a Royal Gramma, a Lawnmower Blenny and a Clown Goby. <My friend, you have too many fish in this quarantine. You really need to be dealing with and then placing one fish at a time. Additionally, you have too many tangs... you're going to have problems in the long run with this mix.> I think the Purple Tang would probably hold its own with the Powder Blue but the 55 gallon QT is already a bit crowded and I also thought the Naso might be encouraged to eat by watching the Purple Tang. <I think you're overcrowding your quarantine.> What are your thoughts regarding what I should do - move fish? <Slow down - one fish at a time.> different foods? medication? fish shiatsu? buy a larger Naso Tang that is eating at the LFS instead of taking the risk on smaller fish? <None of the above - you need to adjust your behaviours. The fish are just reacting to the situations you are putting them into.> Any suggestions are greatly appreciated, as I do not want to be unintentionally harming this fish or wasting money on a type of fish that is "impossible" to keep. I did not think Naso Tangs were supposed to be delicate fish. <They typically aren't.> Are Blonde Nasos more/less hardy than those that are not from the Red Sea? <Not that I'm aware of.> -- Greg <Cheers, J -- > Naso Not so Good Hello <Hi, Ryan here> I have a Naso tang (lituratus) with streamers and he is not eating since a couple of days, I have checked water parameters and they are all fine (still did a water change) except the ph that was about 7.8 I raise it to 8.1over a two day period ,the thing is yesterday the fish had ate a little bit not as mush that normally eat!!!!( had not eat for two, tree days before that )and now today he stopped again and I notice that is lips are white (like a fungus or something covering the lips ) and he is staying on the top part of the tank all he other fish are fine and healthy and eating fine .????????? <Hi. A change in pH from 7.8 to 8.1 can have negative effects on sensitive livestock. I recommend you start to buffer your pH (sounds like you already are), and add something to stabilize your calcium and alkalinity. B-Ionic is simple as pie. As for feeding, I would try and offer some frozen Formula 2 and Nori. The white lips you are describing is probably a sign of a bacterial infection. Is this a new fish? I would take him out, isolate him and treat with a Furazolidone and Nitrofurazone medication, and follow the directions to the T. Good luck, Ryan> I am starting to freak out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! don't want to loose that fish !!! how many time can they stay without eating ? Would like to have any help or advice you think might help Thanks
|
|
|
Features: |
|
| Featured Sponsors: |
