# Yellow Tang Bloated



## warrenk

I have a yellow tang (8 years old) that is bloated and it looks like his butt is coming out (sorry for being graphic). I have attached a photo. All my levels in the tank are fine and not other fish look sick. I haven't introduced any new fish for 8 months. Any help/advice greatly appreciated!

He was fine this morning.

There is a "bulb" under the tang (by the butt). Not sure what this is. Just happened today.











Warren[/list]


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## bettababy

warrenk said:


> I have a yellow tang (8 years old) that is bloated and it looks like his butt is coming out (sorry for being graphic). I have attached a photo. All my levels in the tank are fine and not other fish look sick. I haven't introduced any new fish for 8 months. Any help/advice greatly appreciated!
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> He was fine this morning.
> 
> There is a "bulb" under the tang (by the butt). Not sure what this is. Just happened today.
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> Warren[/list]


Hi, I will do what I can to help, but can you please post exact results for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, and calcium? Telling us that the water params are "fine" doesn't really tell us anything we can use to help you. 

While it seems likely that the bloating is from a bacterial infection, there are some other obvious things wrong with that fish that have me a bit concerned. I see lateral line erosion, deformed dorsal fin, and I notice that you said the fish is 8 yrs old yet it appears to be close in size to the damsel that was also seen in the picture. An 8 yr old yellow tang should have a body the size of a saucer plate, about 6 inches in diameter, and with fins included should be approx 8 - 10 inches in diameter. 
All of these things can be caused by poor water quality, be it high nitrate levels or lack of calcium. How big is the tank? What other fish are in it?  I will dig a photo out of my other pc where I can show you a pic of a healthy small yellow tang, so you can see the difference. 
What is the temp in your tank? spg/salinity? What foods are you feeding and how often? Also, what kinds of test kits are you using to do your water testing? If you're taking water to a LFS for testing, please have them write down exact numbers and the type of test kits they used. Not all test kits are accurate, and I have seen many a tank crash due to false readings from inaccurate water test kits. The most reliable (unless you work with the electronic meters) are going to be liquid test kits. The least accurate are going to be the test strips. 
I'll keep my eyes open for your answers to the questions so I can help asap. 
I would strongly suggest moving that tang to a quarantine tank, and once I know what the water params are I can then suggest a helpful and safe medication to beat that bacterial infection.


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