Help! sick tang - What can i do?

D

DamonH

[Yesterday I went to look at my tank and my and happy go lucky Regal Tang was laying in the sand. I thought for sure he was dead, but then he started swimming. He's been in the tank for 3 months or so, all the other fish are fine. He can't swim very well at all ... he's pretty banged up from running into the rocks and was discoloring. It almost looks like he is having muscle spasms or seizures because his body will kinda kink back by his tail. He really looks like he has no control when he swims, and is breathing very shallowly. He is swimming on his side or back. Tank perams are fine, Nitrates are a little high (15ppm) so I imediately did a water change. I honestly felt like he was going to die any minute, and I didn't want him to be in the tank overnight if he did so I setup a quick quarintine and put him in expecting him not to survive the night. To my surprise this morning he's looking better, but still swimming on his side (and hardly swimming at that). Anything else I can do for him!?

I have no idea what happened to him. One day he was fine, then all the sudden this. :sosad:]
 
[so he is in a qt right now? Get some medication, maybe even some copper. Amanda or some of the other disease experts should be able to give you more direction.

Is the tang eating?]



Edited By BigStun on 1108148925
 
[No copper! It's very tough on Tangs. PM Amanda (that's her username) on this board as she really is an expert on this kind of stuff and very willing to help.]
 
[Been doing lots of reading ... looks like it may be a swim bladder infection. Off to the store to get Maracyn-two to see if that helps. He's in QT and not eating at the moment. When I get back I'll soak some seaweed in garlic and put it by him to see if that helps.]
 
[Hi Damon, sorry to hear this.
It could be a swim bladder infection, they dont always present exactly the same so its hard to say. They are also difficult to cure, and for the fish to return to swimming normally.
I would start lowering the salinity asap. If you take it down to about 1.018ish the fish will feel some immediate relief. Of course do that slowly, probably over the next 24 hrs.
The Maracyn 2 will be a good start for treatment.

I may not hit the boards much over the weekend so feel free to PM me if you need any answers quickly. I will see the email notification much quicker that way.]
 
[Thanks for the advice Amanda.

Just to update:

The Tang is still alive and kicking. I have her in a 10 gallon QT which I've lowered the salinity to 1.018 and am keeping it heated to 82-83. She seems to be doing MUCH better except for her swimming ability - she still has trouble controlling where to go and either swims upside down or on her side. Instead of Maracyn-Two I have ended up dosing Furacyn. I've read that if she hasn't regained control of her swimming in 7 days, most likely she will never. :sniffle: Guess we'll see after a few more days.]



Edited By DamonH on 1108336459
 
[Furacyn is a good med too, are you dosing double the amount? (at least 200mg per 10g to be effective) This is usually the antibiotic I suggest first, if you arent seeing any progress within 5 days of treatment switch to Neomycin. Your LFS may have it and I know Fish Gallery had some last time I was down there. Do a decent water change when switching meds.

I hope she recovers! Is she still eating well?]
 
@Amanda wrote:
[Furacyn is a good med too said:
[I only got the Furacyn because the Maracyn-two cost more then she did in the first place. :taz: Yep, I'm following the directions - two caps for Marine every other day. I just gave the second dose last night. It suggested 3 treatments, but if you think changing after two is a good idea I'll go with what you think. :) She's not eating very well, that's my main worry right now. She can't control her swimming well enough to eat. I've got a cup in the tank for protection for her and to hide in, and I put an algea clip right outside the cup, but she hasn't touched it since I put it in. I've dropped in flake food, but it was hard to tell if she was eating it off the bottom or just trying to swim.

Thanks for all the tips!]
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[Another update - Tang is doing pretty well considering what she looked like a week ago! She can now swim again and is upright! She's eating the flake and pellet food I give her, and eating seaweed from the magnet. All in all, I believe she is going to fully recover. :beer: She's still got a few sores on her body still, and I'm debating on if those are slow healing due to the stress of her being in a 10 gallon and if I should go ahead and put her in the main tank again or keep medicating in the 10g until the sores are totally gone? Any suggestions Amanda?]
 
[If it is healing and showing improvement, I'd suggest you keep it there and maintain good water quality.]
 
@Marc wrote:
[If it is healing and showing improvement said:
[Yeah, that's kinda what I'm leaning towards Marc. I'll just keep my eye on her ... looks like most people recommend three weeks in QT. As long as she keeps showing improvement I'll let her be.]
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[Hey Damon, sorry I havent seen this till now. Its excellent that she is doing so much better!
I would keep her where she is for at least another week to be sure that no secondary infection sets in. Keep the water utterly pristine to help improve immune system functions.
All in all, it sounds she has a clean bill of health!]
 
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