fish problem

[GOTAREEFTOKEEP]

After acclimatizing (sp) my sml regal tang and adding him to the tank he has taken to stuffing himself between 2 rocks, and if i'm honest when he does swim about it's almost as if hes blind swimming into rock work other fish even corals.

Now i'm wondering if the fish is suffering osmotic shock or is blind ??

Can a fish acting this way be showing symptons of osmotic shock ? And if so what should i do ???

Matt

[Wombat]

I'd guess stress if it is new in. I'd suggest lights off and hands out overnight and re-asses in the morning

[instantsquid]

Certainly the "stuffing himself between 2 rocks" is common behaviour for Regal Tangs trying to hide - particularly when stressed. Ditto what Wombat says, leave the new guy alone and see if he's settled down a bit tomorrow.

- Ian

[GOTAREEFTOKEEP]

This fish went in on sunday @ 4pm ish and when into tank went headed into the rock work, found him like this yesterday night when home from work and thought i'd leave him to settle in but he's just the same tonight when i got home and thought this is just not normal !!

Matt

[fras]

imo there's very little you can do but make sure water quality is right, that there's no bullying and to let the fish try and sort itself. Small regal tangs are difficult to keep from everything I have read, I hope it works out for you.

[SCOOB]

to be honest, doesn't sound too odd to me. my regal lays upside down in the rock work, they all do, regals love to get stuck in the smallest of gaps in all manner of positions. unless he is smothered in spot, i would expect a couple, i would leave for a bit and just keep an eye and check parameters.

if you dont already, stick some nori in a clip and place in the tank. the sooner he is feeding like a demon, the sooner he will get to whizzing around annoying the hell out of you.

[jimmy911]

i think every thing is covered by other ur member except his colour whats it like they tend to look almost albino when stressed im sure if he was white you would have posted but a good way to see if he is happy or not, saying that some tend to turn white at the slightest disturbance so don`t be alarmed if this happens, just keep an eye on the lttle fella and follow the other advice leave the tank as much as pos

good luck
tony

[Jon B]

How's he doing mate?

[GOTAREEFTOKEEP]

not good moved him to my extra water vol this morning where it's dim lighting, low flow and with no one to bother him, hes just sat at the bottom and is just the same not moving just sitting still and no movement from him even when i went to pick him up in the net to check if he was stil alive just flopped in the net as if he couldnt see it comming, just not right at all.

As for his color he is royal blue and yes i agree that they like to wedge in to tight places but a fish that doesnt go like the clappers when there is a net in the water trying to catch them and is not responsive to feeding and is is pretty much lifeless ????????????

If i look at his eyes close up they have a very faint gold/bronze ring aroud the outer edge that i havent seen on any regals before, still thinking it could be osmotic shock ???

Matt

[jimmy911]

sounds like your doing all you can mate just keep offering a variety of foods

good luck mate

tony

[Horse29uk]

place an airstone in the tank without stressing him if possible and lower sg if high. He will not use excess energy expelling salt but repairing himself if sick.

[Wombat]

I'm beginning to think it could have been cyanide poisoned, it is possible that he was caught with cyanide from the reef (it's rare these days but still happens).

Blindness and loss of orientation are common problems following cyanide capture and it does take a fair few days for symptoms to show after capture.

I don't think it is osmotic shock unless your tank and the dealer's tanks are way, way out of sync and you didn't acclimate it at all. I've freshwater dipped regals before with no problems and that is a radical osmotic shock event. They have pretty good kidneys and even if there was some osmotic shock they will have adjusted to their new osmotic environment after 24-36 hours or so

Keep it quite, keep it dark, keep if fed if possible and keep your fingers crossed

[ricordea]

Matt, knowing the excellent conditions of your tank, I would suspect it is something to do with the way it was caught. As they are shallow water fishes, I suspect the effects of a poison rather than quick pressure changes in water as it was brought to the surface...but you are doing all you can.

..good luck.