Help with hippo tang.

[One Eye]

I was at a local store Friday night. They had received a shipment that morning. A hippo tang was not doing well. It was spitting water t the top of the tank. Swimming, more like skipping along the surface. Resting against a power head and jumped out of the tank.

They said they knew it would die if left there so they gave it to me.

I have it in a 20 long covered with a heater, small power head and PVC to hide in. It is swimming a little better but rests at the bottom leaning against some pvc most of the time. It still occasionally swims to the surface, rest against the power head, skims the surface and tries to jump out. It is also bumping into pvc when it swims. I thought it might be blind but it doesn’t hit the sides of the tank.

Any ideas? I’ve never seen this kind of behavior.

 

[aresangel]

That’s very strange. My first guess is parasite in the brain? But that is the “monsters inside me” paranoia!

Keep us updated on if there are any other outward signs. I will see if I can find anything in my books tomorrow at school.


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[Chris A.]

It might have been caught with cyanid.

 

[One Eye]

That can’t be good for it.

 

[One Eye]

It has improved since Friday night. It spends some time swimming normally.

 

[Chris A.]

If it’s getting better it’s definitely not cyanide.
Just monitor the ammonia so it doesn’t spike if that’s a fresh setup.

 

[One Eye]

It didn’t make it. Didn’t think it would but wanted to give it a chance. I’m thinking that cyanide is probably right. That tang was trying to jump out of its own skin....scales. It was never breathing right and even when it was swimming more normally it would bump into everything, pvc, even the nori clip.

I use water from my main when I set up the quarantine. I empty it after. I took the filtration chamber out of the fluval tank that I broke. Cut about 3/4” off the bottom of it and put it in a 20 long so I have room for a small skimmer, heater, return pump and a chamber for carbon or any other media. It works well, all self contained.

 

[Chris A.]

You tried, that’s all anyone could do.