Tang has dark spots and hovering in front of power head

[rjrgroup]

Hello all,
I have been observing my new Tennenti tang and although he is eating very well, he has had some dark spots that are beginning to appear around his mouth and front part of his dorsal fin.
He has been approaching my large hermit crab like he thinks he's a cleaner shrimp or something.
Additionally, he has started hovering in front of a power head like he's not getting enough O2. I modified the skimmer so it is actually producing bubbles in to the tank to try and increase the amount of O2.
I got him on the 19th and he is in a tank with a purple I had gotten a week prior. The purple does have ich but is eating a lot as well.
Any thoughts, concerns or advice on the Tennenti?
Thank you in advance,
Randy
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[Jaycen B.]

Kinda looks like he ran into something or battle wounds maybe.

 

[rjrgroup]

That's exactly what I first thought, especially because the way he has been harassing the large hermit. I figured he was getting to rough with him. I also have seen other tangs trying to get him to do the same thing, kind of weird...a cleaner hermit. lol!

 

[rjrgroup]

Bueller...?

 

[smoothie]

Dunno. Look into stress and hlle. Keep him fed as you are doing and try to get the stress down. Shorter photo period, etc. He hopefully is just the stressed out new guy keeping away from the purple that has those crazy white fleas

 

[jmaneyapanda]

If the purple tang has ick, then this tang has it too, and is hurting a bit. Ick heavily and quickly attacks the gills of fish, and if he is hovering in front of the powerhead, he is desperate for relief and oxygenation. I would strongly urge you remove the fish and treat. As a new addition he is stressed and the parasite may be too much to handle. The dark discoloration is a typical sign of stress in addition to minor trauma/injury.

 

[rjrgroup]

I tried to find a QT to house him in for awhile but had no success. At this point I'm starting metro/focus treatment and adding a little more LR. The LR will allow more hiding spaces whilst disrupting the PT's superiority, even though he is only 3.5" and the Tennenti is 6+". I am additionally going to wrap the tank to help block any ambient light, as you can see from the pics, the tank is next to a window.

My feeling is he is suffocating from the oils in PE Mysis. I have been rinsing it but perhaps not enough...? He has been eating a full sheet of nori and I have been feeding him mysis and omnivore pellets up to 5 times a day. He is not showing signs of nervousness and seems content.

The darkness has slightly lightened since I modified the skimmer to introduce more bubbles so hopefully that will continue.

 

[jmaneyapanda]

Im sorry to say, that in my opinion, the oil theory isnt it. I have seen SO many fish (especially tangs) hovering in front of powerheads when suffering from gill malady from ick desperately trying to get water flowing over them. The gills are the first tissue infected with ick, and are an essential organ, as Im sure you understand.

Regardless, good luck in whatever plan you attempt.

 

[rjrgroup]

Don't get me wrong Jeremy, I agree about the ich. I just didn't know the dark spots and power head hugging are directly related, that's why I'm asking. I have had ich before, well, not me. haha. This is the second fish I've had with these symptoms. The first one did not make it. I have had many fish with ich spots and they all made it...see why I was curious? Thank you for your help!

 

[jmaneyapanda]

No worries. Just giving my opinion and my experience. I have seen exact dark areas like that before (usually along with ich) in tang, and I believev it is a tissue sensitivity reaction, and the powerhead hugging is desperate efforts to get flow over the gills. I have seen it A LOT. But, like I said, I have no definitive evidence, so its just my opinion.

 

[whitneyd88]

I agree with I guess his name is Jeremy? Lol. But I would suggest a freshwater as well to rule out any flukes or other parasites. I've seen those marks plenty of times on fish infested with flukes (it's very difficult to see the flukes). They'd come in on our shipments all the time! Which means its common to buy a fish from your LFS that has them without knowing. If the fish didnt look perfect he was getting a freshwater bath and 8 out of 10 times it was flukes! With my freshwater baths I use TAP water (do NOT use RO water) that feels about the same temp as the tank to touch in about a 2g bucket. Put in dechlorinator. Then I take a very thin dab of ph buffer powder on my finger and mix it in. Once you put the fish in it should only take 30 seconds to a minute or so to start seeing the parasites turn a milky white and falling off the fish. I would leave the fish in the bath for a maximum time of 10min, it usually only takes about 5min for all of them to fall off! The bath won't really help much with the ich since it's burrowed in the skin, but it will rule some other parasites out! Freshwater baths are stressful to your fish, but flukes are just as deadly as ich if not taken care of! I can say I have never lost a fish because of a freshwater bath and I've been doing this for years.

 

[whitneyd88]

Also if you decide to do the freshwater bath, (if you have never given one before) (sorry for the unnecessary info if you have) when you put him in he can become shocked at first and lay on his side. Dont be alarmed! Use the end of a net to prop him back up and make him swim to snap him out of it. You may have to do this the entire duration of the bath. It's also easier if they move around a little to make the flukes fall off easier.

 

[whitneyd88]

Ew I said easier twice in the same sentence lol

 

[rjrgroup]

Wow, thanks for the input Whitney. I'm not ready to remove him and put him through that trauma yet. The tangs are alone in my future fuge right now and will be for a little while longer.
By last night, hours after I added the the new rock, the PT was so interested in the new hiding places, he barely noticed the TT.

 

[whitneyd88]

Your welcome! If that tang doesn't clear up soon I strongly suggest that freshwater bath though! Those marks definitely don't look like they were caused by the PT