Dead Quarantine Convict Tang (w/picture). WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED?!

[shawnriv]

Hello All,

I’ve had a Convict Tang for the past 10 days in quarantine with a Sunburst Anthias and two Bandai Cardinals. The Convict was a model citizen - very active, eating nori, and eating frozen mysis. I fed the quarantine tank this morning and no one acted unusual…until about a half an hour ago. I went over the tank and noticed the Convict was dead. I cannot wrap my head around it. Although I did notice a large white spot on one side of his body - see picture. Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks! @Jay Hemdal

 

[twentyleagues]

no pic.

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

Cyanide. Welcome to the club.

 

[shawnriv]

Cyanide. Welcome to the club.

Should I remove the other fish from the quarantine tank? I just performed a 50% water change on the tank.

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

Cyanide. Welcome to the club.

Probably what happened

 

[shawnriv]

no pic.

Sorry, just updated the forum.

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

Should I remove the other fish from the quarantine tank? I just performed a 50% water change on the tank.

If cyanide poison from the convicts capture is to blame, that doesn't transfer to other fish.

 

[shawnriv]

If cyanide poison from the convicts capture is to blame, that doesn't transfer to other fish.

Is that common with Convicts? How can I make sure I get a Convict w/o cyanide poison?

 

[twentyleagues]

Cyanide. Welcome to the club

Cyanide. Welcome to the club.

That was my thought also. But was waiting on pic. Typically if they die in qt without any symptoms in the first 30 days its a pretty good indication

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

Is that common with Convicts? How can I make sure I get a Convict w/o cyanide poison?

Yes unfortunately it still is.

You really can't Make Sure unless you know where, when, and how it was caught. Unfortunately this is so uncommon that QT fish guys lose their ***** on convicts that seem healthy, then just die.

It happened so many times to me. I stopped trying for one.

 

[shawnriv]

Yes unfortunately it still is.

You really can't Make Sure unless you know where, when, and how it was caught. Unfortunately this is so uncommon that QT fish guys lose their ***** on convicts that seem healthy, then just die.

It happened so many times to me. I stopped trying for one.

I’m right there losing my s**t. I quarantine all my fish and never have seen this happen with a fish so active and eating well. I bought him from an online vendor and that will be my last time. He came in relatively small so maybe I’ll trying finding one from a LFS that’s a bit bigger. But at the same time, I’m a bit nervous to give it another go.

 

[shawnriv]

That was my thought also. But was waiting on pic. Typically if they die in qt without any symptoms in the first 30 days its a pretty good indication

That’s so crazy it takes that long for cyanide to fully kick in. Could have that of been treated with copper? I usually give new arrivals roughly ten days medication free before beginning.

 

[twentyleagues]

That’s so crazy it takes that long for cyanide to fully kick in. Could have that of been treated with copper? I usually give new arrivals roughly ten days medication free before beginning.

Its a "slow" process, damages the heart, respiratory system. By the time you get them its already been poisoned for some time. Nothing to fix it unfortunately. Fish can seem fine then dead. Its almost like they dont know they are dying most dont really show symptoms.

 

[exnisstech]

Sorry for your loss. Its probably not the vendors fault.
I would try to find one local that has been there a while. I love mine. It's a great grazer and very active. Been with me a little over 2 years.

 

[shawnriv]

Sorry for your loss. Its probably not the vendors fault.
I would try to find one local that has been there a while. I love mine. It's a great grazer and very active. Been with me a little over 2 years.

It looks like you go lucky with your Convict. I just got off the phone with a well respected fish quarantine expert in hobby, and even he said he doesn’t carry Convicts because of cyanide poisoning being too common. He said roughly ten days is that sweet spot where Convicts perish. I am going to ask my LFS if they’re open to the idea me putting a deposit down and waiting two weeks before picking them up.

 

[shawnriv]

It’s a "slow" process, damages the heart, respiratory system. By the time you get them it’s already been poisoned for some time. Nothing to fix it unfortunately. Fish can seem fine then dead. It’s almost like they dont know they are dying most dont really show symptoms.

So sad. After doing some research it looks like around ten days is when most Convicts perish because of cyanide. I’m going to see if my LFS will order me one and hold it for two weeks.

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

Sorry for your loss. Its probably not the vendors fault.
I would try to find one local that has been there a while. I love mine. It's a great grazer and very active. Been with me a little over 2 years.

This is the closest one can get to a guarantee. I frequent many fish shops, often and when I see a healthy looking convict, I always ask how long they have had it. If I found one that was there 90 days, I'd bring it home. Unfortunately they are always " we just got it in the last week"

 

[jamie1210]

I didn't know that cyanide is used so frequently to capture convict tangs. Are there other types of tangs (or other fish for that matter) that are frequently caught with cyanide?

 

[blecki]

Tangs of all kinds. I've seen a bunch of posts about naso's lately. And personally had a sailfin that went from perfectly fine -> dead overnight like that at about 3 weeks QT. Only way to tell is to cut them open.

If you google the topic all you get are environmentalist groups pushing lies like '90% of aquarium fish are caught using cyanide'. It's actually pretty rare.

 

[Northern Flicker]

Tangs of all kinds. I've seen a bunch of posts about naso's lately. And personally had a sailfin that went from perfectly fine -> dead overnight like that at about 3 weeks QT. Only way to tell is to cut them open.

If you google the topic all you get are environmentalist groups pushing lies like '90% of aquarium fish are caught using cyanide'. It's actually pretty rare.

How do we know its rare?