Hippo Tang =(

that thing is having some serious fungus problem. wish i knew what type. look like fin rot and anonther

I agree with Jeremy. He needs to be put into a big tank. Since he is out you might be able to treat if it is a fungus but I'm not an expert by any means on fish diseases. I think that getting him comfortable in a bigger tank with plenty to eat might be a better way to go. I'd wait for Adam or Mark to chime in though.

I did a little research and im thinking it is HLLE, he is probably 5-6 inches and he is eating pretty well i have been giving him flake, brine, and algae.

I was told to soak the food in a vitamin supplement, what do you guys think? or should i use garlic? or both?

I would feed it only algae, Nori and lettuce. That will give it all the vitamins it needs. At that size, it will do better if you can get it into at least a 75 gal tank, especially one with a good growth of Macroalgae to graze on. A little meaty food once in a while, marinated in Garlic Oil couldn't hurt.

Oh that poor thing..   I hope you can nurse him back.

Ok so if he really is that big I would agree with everyone one else! Get him into a bigger tank at lest 75 gallons if not bigger! possibly even 125 +! He needs a lot of swimming room to be happy!

KEEP KEEP KEEP feeding the algae/nori/broccoli! And lots of it! He should have some so he can munch on it consistently!

It likes to hang behind the rocks, but he is not eating the algae i have been putting in?

I am putting it on a clip, it is just green marine algae, and i need to go get some garlic.

Here is what I meant when I used these terms:

Algae - live soft algae growing on the surfaces of the rock and live macroalgae. Caulerpa is the most common Macroalgae to feed to Tangs because of how easy and fast it grows in reef aquriums. There are people here on this MB that will give you Caulerpa for free as they periodically harvest it from their Refugiums

Nori - dried marine algae sheets. Commonly used to wrap sushi

Lettuce - dark green leafy lettuce such as Romaine lettuce from the grocery store.

These three forms of algae will give the Tang all that it needs in the way of vitamins. There is no need to supplement. Patience is the key to feeding new forms of algae. The fish may be accustomed to eating only flake and frozen meaty foods. This is why it is in bad health. Think of cattle. They cannot live long on potato chips and steak. Their bodies are built to eat grasses and grains. Feed less and less of flake/pellet and frozen meaty foods while continuously providing fresh algae type foods and the Tang will eventually switch back to the correct food for it's best health.

Are you aware of how to use Garlic Oil? The instruction is this link, also found in the "Reefkeeping Tips" below:
Secrets of adding new fish, fish training and the miracle of Garlic Oil: http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=34014
 


Edited by Mark Peterson - November 29 2010 at 8:19am