# Yellow Tang looks 'Off'



## Catg923 (Sep 5, 2009)

Hey guys, I'm new here and hoping I can get some help!
I was kind thrown into this hobby by accident and I've fallen in love with it. Unfortunately, I still don't understand it

I've had my tank set up for about 9 months now and my yellow tang has been acting funny. He's usually brilliant yellow, but lately he's been washed out in the main part of his body. His mouth also appears to be always open (is that normal?) and I feel like his gills are opening much wider and more frequently than normal. He's not as eager to eat either. 

His tankmates are a purple urchin, clownfish, tomato clown, blue/yellow damsel and a tuskfish. Everyone lives peacefully and they get along very well, so I'm pretty sure he's not being bullied.

I feed them a mix of dried seaweed, krill- dried and frozen (for the tusk), frozen fish gumdrops, tetramin flakes, and thera-something granules.

I also have an anemone, who hasn't puffed back up, so I think he's dead. I'm not sure if they have short lifespans of if he's more sensitive and died early, and my tang is just beginning to be affected.

All my fish have been in this tank for 9 months, so it's not an establishment thing. HELP! I need a saltwater coach!!!


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## Pasfur (Mar 29, 2008)

I have a couple of gut instincts as to what might be wrong, but more information is needed. A lot more information.

Lets start with some pictures of the setup and of the Yellow Tang. We also need water test results, especially for Nitrate, Nitrite, pH, alkalinity, and calcium. Each of these test is vital to determine the current quality of your water, as well as help with the diagnosis.

Finally, give us complete details of your setup. Tank size, filtration, etc.

I am personally leaving town for the weekend. I will send a message to OF2F to check out this thread today if he is available.


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## Catg923 (Sep 5, 2009)

*Details*

Ok, 
I filled out the info in my profile for my tank and I added photos

I did a test with one of those 5 in 1 kits. Here's my results:

GH -180
KH- 120
pH- 6-6.5 (I had trouble reading the color )
No2- 0.5
NO3- 80-160 (color problem again :-()

Ammonia is 0.25

How do you test Calcium???


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## onefish2fish (Jul 22, 2008)

are these liquid test kits? what brand? 

with these readings your tank is not established let alone cycled. im willing to bet the anemone is what is feeding these readings. what kind of nem was it? if your sure its dead, remove it from the tank and dispose of it in the outside trash. a dead anemone can nuke a tank. 

on the subject of anemones being short lived, ive heard in the wild they live 200+ years but ive also heard they are eternal meaning they live forever. either way they both are a very long time. anemones require a reef enviroment for survival ( lighting, outstanding water parameters, flow.. ) and IMO best left in the wild. infact clownfish wont always host a nem. they can and will host anything in the tank they feel safe/comfort in which alot of times isnt the anemone.

on the subject of clowns, you have 2 different species of clowns in the tank? how is that working out for you? how big is the tusk? out of every fish you have listed, the damsel is the most aggressive and even though they are significantly smaller in size to the tang, it maybe terrorizing it. 

the first thing to look at is your water params. the ph that low has got to be wrong, maybe try a better test kit. what is your salinity? are you testing it with a hydrometer or refractometer? when was the last water change and how large of one was done?

welcome to the forum, please feel free to ask any questions you may have.


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## Catg923 (Sep 5, 2009)

*update*

I did use liquid test kits. They're by API

How do i get it established/cycled??? it's been going for almost a year now!

I don't know what type of an anemone it was. Pink tip possibly? I spoke to someone about it hosting the clown but he said that the nem was pacific and the clown was atlantic (or vice versa) and he won't host bc it's not a natural environment for them.
The nem was living pretty much on my bubble stick, but when I cleaned the tank last I dislodged him and he never puffed big again. will that kill them??? I never touched him, he just got moved by my arm swaying the water.

Everyone in the tank is happy and coexisting way better than I thought they would. I started the tank with the clown and damsel. the damsel is about 1- 1.5", clown about 3", tomato about 2", tang 4-4.5" and the tusk is about 6". He's big but he's a baby.
I introduced the tang second, and about 4 months later someone was giving away the tomato and tusk. I rearranged my rock and disrupted the territories so no one would defend their spots. Since then everyone has their own hiding places and no one bullies or gets bullied.

(Btw, is he a tuskfish? I googled him but I only found info on a rainbow one, but mine is grey/white not rainbow)

I've been having problems with my salinity for about 5 months. I've been doing frequent water changes and adding maybe a generous pinch of salt to the 5gal bucket because it's been off the charts and I can't seem to get it to drop. I've been using a hydrometer and taking several readings each time. Right now it's reading 1.023 on my red sea hydrometer and 1.022 on my instant ocean one. Last week it was about 1.026.
I did a water change last week and removed 5 gallons from my 55 gallon tank. are you able to see all my info in my fish profile thing?:shock:


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