Brown Patch on Yellow Tang

[Patti7dc]

thought I'd post this here as well - see if anyone has any advice. I know that yellow tangs are sensitive to stress and water quality and hoping that is just the issue here.

I need a little help guys and gals. I got this yellow tang last week and didn't quarantine him. I know how most of you feel about it, but the fish at the shop are kept in hyposalinity and after the long trip from their original destination it was recommended to me that putting them into a reef environment is the most like home for them and eliminates a lot of stress. Whatever your opinion on quarantine, the bottom line is that I didn't do it, so please don't lecture me.

So my current situation is this - a few days after I got him he started hiding a lot and I started to see some white spots that I was afraid were marine ich. My wrasse also looked to have the white specks. I wasn't sure if it was dust from me kicking up some sand or marine ich. The next day the white spots were gone, completely gone. I know that ich falls off but they don't all appear and dissappear at once do they?

Okay well aside from the white spots, which I haven't seen on either the wrasse or the tang in several days (and which I never saw on any of the other fish - which is why I don't think it was ich) - the tang has developed this dark brown spot on it's side. I know that they get pale at night and sometimes flash colors as camouflage, but this brown spot is still on the fish in the middle of the day with the lights on for hours.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/51237545@N04/8754421433/" title="Untitled by Patti7dc, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7393/8754421433_964db9a301_n.jpg" width="320" height="272" alt="Untitled"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/51237545@N04/8755543386/" title="Untitled by Patti7dc, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3719/8755543386_799c936b86_n.jpg" width="320" height="246" alt="Untitled"></a>
and the other side of the fish is fine -
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/51237545@N04/8755542954/" title="Untitled by Patti7dc, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8113/8755542954_d132b579d2_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="Untitled"></a>

I should mention that my readings are 0 for Ammonia and Nitrite and is 10ppm for Nitrate so I am doing a water change tonight. I just got a veggie clip yesterday because I wasn't providing him with algae to graze on throughout the day - could it be because of that?

I have a QT set up now so if I need to move him for treatment I will but I am not going to go through the hassle of catching him in the DT (a huge pain) and putting him in a QT with hyposalinity or doing meds if I don't have a diagnosis that is definite because I don't think it's good for the fish to medicate them with these chemicals and moving them around stresses them as well.

It could be nothing major.... he is being shy but he is still pretty new to the tank. He still swims around with the other fish and eats a huge amount of food and darts all over very fast.

Any ideas?

 

[TimeConsumer]

Paul mentions his experiences with dark blotches in this thread:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2275956

 

[Patti7dc]

I'm confused - that post is about copperband butterflies.

unfortunately my tang was dead when I woke up this morning.

:-(

 

[TimeConsumer]

Yes, but if you read the post he talks about brown patches. I am sorry to hear about the loss of your tang. According to Paul it is likely from internal bleeding.

 

[Patti7dc]

oh that's no good :-(

What could cause internal bleeding i wonder? he wasn't being bullied by any other fish. internal parasites maybe?

 

[TimeConsumer]

Problems in shipping and collection most likely. Broken ribs causing internal damage.

 

[Patti7dc]

:-( boo
makes me not want to get any more from the local store

 

[TimeConsumer]

It can happen. Just observe the fish carefully at the store. Ask them how long they have had it and make sure it eats before you take it home.

And I read your reasons about not doing the quarantine, but you may want to rethink that. The best thing for your fish is the ability to keep it healthy, and a qt makes that possible without the additonal stress of trying to catch it out of your display. It also gives the fish time to get healthy and fatten up without being bothered by other tankmates.

 

[Patti7dc]

I have the luxury of having three locally owned reef-specific shoppes in my area. Bad luck is bound to strike but I have had very good luck with the vast majority of my purchases.

Thank you so much for your advice and happy reefing!