Sqauretail Bristletooth Tang Not Doing Well

LonitzCMU · Jul 16, 2022

Hey All, I am relatively new (had the tank for 2 years but still learning.) I have a Bristletooth tang who has been fine until today (he's an original to the tank for the past 2 years.) I did my cleaning today and my pump died after I unplugged it to clean. It took me about 3 hours to get find a new one and get it back in the tank. Once it was in and working the rest of the fish are doing fine. I noticed the tang never really came out of hiding and when he finally did he is basically laying at the back of the tank breathing heavy. I changed about 20% of the water like I do every time. Nothing else I can think of other than the water sitting for a bit while I replaced the pump. Help?!

TurboTang · Jul 16, 2022

LonitzCMU said:
Hey All, I am relatively new (had the tank for 2 years but still learning.) I have a Bristletooth tang who has been fine until today (he's an original to the tank for the past 2 years.) I did my cleaning today and my pump died after I unplugged it to clean. It took me about 3 hours to get find a new one and get it back in the tank. Once it was in and working the rest of the fish are doing fine. I noticed the tang never really came out of hiding and when he finally did he is basically laying at the back of the tank breathing heavy. I changed about 20% of the water like I do every time. Nothing else I can think of other than the water sitting for a bit while I replaced the pump. Help

Add Airstone / airpump

fishski13 · Jul 16, 2022

What kinds of other fish do you have in this tank? What most likely happened is if the water was standing there with no movement oxygen was not getting into the tank which stressed it out.

ASIN28 · Jul 16, 2022

Sounds like oxygen depletion to me. If I were you I’d throw in an air stone / Airpump for a little bit

vetteguy53081 · Jul 16, 2022

LonitzCMU said:
Hey All, I am relatively new (had the tank for 2 years but still learning.) I have a Bristletooth tang who has been fine until today (he's an original to the tank for the past 2 years.) I did my cleaning today and my pump died after I unplugged it to clean. It took me about 3 hours to get find a new one and get it back in the tank. Once it was in and working the rest of the fish are doing fine. I noticed the tang never really came out of hiding and when he finally did he is basically laying at the back of the tank breathing heavy. I changed about 20% of the water like I do every time. Nothing else I can think of other than the water sitting for a bit while I replaced the pump. Help?!

As long as you bring tank back to temp and water movement, it should look better in 12-24 hours. Three hours is Not a long interval with air Off as long as temperature did not increase drastically and would be equivalent to the time to transport a new fish from a distant pet store. IF and If your ammonia was elevated before this, there may be toxicity but I am doubtful

LonitzCMU · Jul 16, 2022

fishski13 said:
What kinds of other fish do you have in this tank? What most likely happened is if the water was standing there with no movement oxygen was not getting into the tank which stressed it out.

I have 3 chromis, a maroon clown, and a neon dottyback along with the tang.

LonitzCMU · Jul 17, 2022

Thank you guys for your help. I moved him to a hospital tank with an air pump etc. Unfortunately, he died today.

TurboTang · Jul 17, 2022

LonitzCMU said:
Thank you guys for your help. I moved him to a hospital tank with an air pump etc. Unfortunately, he died today.

Really sorry to hear that. The fish should have been able to handle the 3 hrs, but perhaps there was something else that contributed to the stress. An airstone and extra small power head to ripple surface water goes a long way in an emergency like this. Wish you better luck in future

vetteguy53081 · Jul 17, 2022

LonitzCMU said:
Thank you guys for your help. I moved him to a hospital tank with an air pump etc. Unfortunately, he died today.

NOoooo. Thats crazy. 3 hours of no circulation should not impact any fish. Assure your ammonia and nitrate levels are normal, not elevated even if you have to take a water sample to a trusted LFS that does Not use api kits to assure youre not getting false readings