sick kole tang

[groan]

funny thing is i have never seen it eat what i put in. it always fed off the rocks.
I wonder if it starved itself and is going into shock because of it.

[Hookup]

Sorry to hear about this.  Looks like stress, but i'm no doctor. 

try some pellets with Garlic - Garlic is great for their fishes immune system. I toss in a few in the morning, stock up the nori 2xper day, and feed mysis at night... but i have multiple tangs in the tank.

I have a kole too - one of my favorite fish.

Not actually true.  Garlic is only proven to create a feeding response.  In all studies where garlic was used/added to foods there have been no documented cases of garlic actually doing anything for the fish.

However, if your fish isn't eating, or if you want to introduce new foods for variety, garlic is a great way of getting it done.  I used it on some Faunamarin Health food for a fish with an eating problem to help get them into my system... works most every time...

[groan]

So to do this how do you go about it?
Just crush garlic in a bowl, add your food and let it sit, remove food and put in tank?

You don't put the garlic in with it, do you? (noob alert!)

[Hookup]

I've done it by crushing a clove garlic in a press, adding some small amount of tank water to it in a small cup/bowl.  Then I let it sit for an hour (or so) mixing once in a while to make the water "garlic" flavoured...   Then I remove the garlic from the water (small strainer) and soak the pellets in the garlic infused saltwater for a few min... no too long or the pellets go mushy.  I try to use the smallest amount of water that lets the process work.

Faunamarin creates a spray that is the same thing but even more stinky..   Its faster so i switched to using that, for how long it lasts and what you use it's pennies so garlic wasn't worth the hassle for me.

[salvini55]

I did the same thing, crush a clove of garlic and soak it in the water. I feed the garlic bits too, they seem to like it. Like Tim though it was a hasle and i switched to the store bought stuff, seachem I think works great. I suggested the clove just incase you were in a pinch... good luck

[groan]

sadly my kole tang passed away during the day but i did learn alot from this thread.

Thanks for your help.

[Hookup]

Sorry to hear that...

[groupie02]

sorry about the loss

[salvini55]

Thats a crappy deal, I feel your pain as today when i got home from work my 3 and a half year old betta died... 

[bitterman]

Sorry for your loss

[PowderBlueTang]

Also sorry for your loss. When you bought the Tang from the LFS, did you see your Tang eat.

[ordi260]

Sorry to hear that!

[groan]

Also sorry for your loss. When you bought the Tang from the LFS, did you see your Tang eat.

it did eat at home. my guess was a spike in the tank after scrubbing rocks of hair algae. i just lost a fairy wrasse last night and I am told they can be quite succeptable to spikes in nitrates or trites, i cant remember which.

I just bought a new test kit and will be testing tonight.

in a matter of a month I've lost 4 fish. grr.

my watchman gobie and 2 clowns all seem fine. tougher fish i guess.

[PowderBlueTang]

If you lost 4 fish in a month, I would keep an eye on your tank. If you had a fish that introduce a bacterial or disease in  your tank, it could be still lingering. I would watch the clowns and goby for a month before any new additions.
I have a Kole tang in my 65 gal. I put that guy threw hell in QT before I let him in with my other fish in the 65 gal. 4 weeks of copper and 2 weeks of prazipro.
Also I dont think scrubbing your rocks will cause a spike that will kill your fish. I just bought alot liverock with hair algea and aptasia. I take the rocks out of my reefs and inject vinegar for the aptasia and use a steel brush and scrub the algea and aptasia infected areas, then pour boiling water on the areas and throw the rocks back into the tanks.
I have seen many fish at lfs in poor health lately, mainly flukes, that can wipe out your whole tank slowly.