# **New Powder Blue Tang Acting Strange** - Not Eating - Very Skinny - In QT*



## Vinoy Thomas (Jan 4, 2013)

Hey Guys,

This Sunday I went down all the stores on Dundas and Canada Corals, looking for stuff to add to my tank.

I stopped by R2O and picked up a Yellow Tang & Powder Blue Tang (PBT) from Ryan. The Yellow Tang looks great, pretty healthy from what I'm seeing. Eating fine.

On the other hand, my PBT is acting strange and not eating properly. Like, it "tries" to eat. From what I'm seeing, it goes up for food but doesn't seem to know where it is...is this guy blind??? I put in some nori and it attacks it (eats) if it can find it...It doesn't seem to eat pellet food.

Also, it is very skinny. Ryan had mentioned it as to why he was selling it for so low. He said he was feeding it like crazy to fatten it up cause he got it so skinny.

Hopefully, this guy makes it through to my DT.

It's in a QT at the moment, not treating the Qt with anything just observing for parasites and what not.

Also, it doesn't hide or anything when I come by or move stuff in the QT. It spends most of its time swimming around the glass and top of the tank. Doesn't flash or anything and gill movement seems normal...

Let me know if you need any more information.

Pics:



Any suggestions/ideas would be great.

Thanks in advance to everyone!
Vinoy


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

Could possibly be blind or some type of nerve damage that might disable it to the point of not eating properly. You might want to try some of the algae pucks that Big Al's sells to see if he might go after this. My fish go crazy for it and it's very easy for them to find since it's wet and gives off a fairly strong odor.

I think they're 3 for 99 cents right now as well


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## Vinoy Thomas (Jan 4, 2013)

Hey Dave,

If it blind will it survive like any other fish? Is it best to keep it in the QT while in my DT there is a bunch of algae to graze on?? The QT is the same water as the DT. With all the same parameters. It would be a pretty smooth transition.

It's already skinny as it is, I'm not sure how long it could go without eating much or anything at all.

Thanks for the reply,
Vinoy


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

I would keep it in the QT until you can find a food it will eat. Just make sure once you find something it will eat that you keep it consistent. He is eating Nori so there should be something like it that he can eat.

Go down to BA's and buy a few things to see what he will eat

Here are the pucks I was talking about
http://www.instantocean.com/Product...g-blocks/gel-seaweed-herbivore-fish-food.aspx


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## Vinoy Thomas (Jan 4, 2013)

Hey Dave,

Next time I drop by BA I'll pick up one of those and some other types of food.

At the moment, I've got both the yellow tang and the PBT in one QT. Can I just throw in the yellow tang into my DT? He looks perfectly healthy...Coming from R2O I'm guessing that'll be alrighttt.....

Thanks for the reply,
Vinoy


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## Vinoy Thomas (Jan 4, 2013)

So I noticed today that parts of it's skin is kinda peeling off. And very small parts of its dorsal fin is peeling away...

I don't know what my next step should be with this fish other than find different kinds of food...is there a chance of survival for this guy???

Vinoy


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## Flexin5 (Nov 12, 2011)

sucks to say but probably not. PBT's are very sensitive fish. i've been through a couple, granted i didn't get the best quality one, but now i have a good very healthy one from reef boutique. getting them to eat is the hardest part.


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## deeznutz (Aug 21, 2013)

You need garlic extract to entice his feeding. Feed him nori. Break it up in between your fingers in the the tank water. I found this is the best way to get tangs to eat. They like the smaller pieces compared to a large floating sheet.

MY PBT was a pure vegetarian. I find most of my tangs are. Including my Sailfin which i just got feeding with this technique minus the garlic.


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## Vinoy Thomas (Jan 4, 2013)

Hey guys,

Jason, thanks for sharing your experience man hopefully this guy can pull through. He's eating nori to an extent, the real issue is that its either he can't see properly or something is bothering him...Like he goes for the food if he can find it...

Deeznutz, thanks for the garlic suggestions, I'll see if I can get my hands on some of that. As I mentioned before he's somewhat eating nori...

Just hoping that he isn't blind or had some kind of eye damage preventing him from finding food.

Also something to add, I've been observing closely and it really does seem he has no idea where he is swimming. Like he is always getting blown away by the the power head and doesn't seem to know how to avoid it...

Thanks guys,
Vinoy


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## Flameangel (Sep 25, 2013)

I have a PBT some 4 mths ago and it too started very thin kind of anorexic but now it likes pellets and cobalt flakes of all the varieties.They will ultimately adjust to a feeding habit just be patient.They are somewhat hard to acclimate to artificial food but like I said will end up eating whatever you feed it just try to be patient.Patience is a virtue,just like your signature says.


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