treesprite February 25, 2015 Share February 25, 2015 I have had this yellow tang maybe about 6 years. It has always been plump, eating like a pig right from my hand. Today I looked in the tank and he was/is having trouble swimming, and looks emaciated when he did not look that way yesterday. At this point the tang is hanging upside down by the overflow and I am wondering if I should euthanize him or let him hang there (how do I know if he is feeling suffering of the sort calling for euthanasia?). Well.... there he goes got blown by the flow and is bouncing around, probably getting stung by the hammer. I don't know what happened. Can internal parasites suddenly make a fat tang super thin? It looks like there is a bump of something inside his body, but I don.t know if it is part of him or if it is something inside his gut.... yesterday I did not see that bump, but yesterday the fish was eagerly eating and looking well fed. There is nothing else going on with the tank or any inhabitants.There have been no changes in my routine either, tank is relatively stable except that I no longer have a working temp controller, so the temp may be fluctuating a couple degrees here and there. I feel like my tank is nothing without my yellow tang. Should I stick the fish in a cup of water in the freezer to end its suffering? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squishie89 February 25, 2015 Share February 25, 2015 Do you have clove oil? Clove oil would be preferred to just going to the freezer as it puts them to sleep, then you can put him in the freezer to euthanize him. It does sound like he is at the end by your description. I am so sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite February 25, 2015 Author Share February 25, 2015 I don't have clove oil. I never heard of it putting fish to sleep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite February 25, 2015 Author Share February 25, 2015 What if I grind up a piece of oxycodone to put in the water? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcreefer February 25, 2015 Share February 25, 2015 I am really sorry to hear about your tang. I personally would let nature take its course. If you have a hospital tank, maybe move him to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squishie89 February 25, 2015 Share February 25, 2015 I am not sure if that will work on him. You can freeze him if you feel his suffering is just being prolonged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtelles February 25, 2015 Share February 25, 2015 Really sorry about your tang. I recently had a kole tang succumb to illness and he never recovered from the treatment and was going through similar motions. You can find clove oil at most vitamin stores including places like GNC. There are pretty straightforward instructions online, but you essentially put them to sleep and then increase the dosage until they pass. It really is difficult to watch them struggle for long periods and that may be your best bet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite February 25, 2015 Author Share February 25, 2015 Just found him dead. Even on close examination, there is nothing on his body to indicate illness of any kind other than the sudden thinness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos February 25, 2015 Share February 25, 2015 Sorry to hear that....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flooddc February 25, 2015 Share February 25, 2015 Sorry to hear! by best guess is it's time is up. yellow tang life span is estimated between 5-7 years in an average aquarium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtelles February 25, 2015 Share February 25, 2015 Sorry to hear, man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishie February 25, 2015 Share February 25, 2015 sorry to hear...he/she had it good for 6 years under your care Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami February 25, 2015 Share February 25, 2015 Sorry for the loss, Forrest. I have no idea what could have happened that it would get thin and expire in the span of 24 hours. Could something with its swim bladder have suddenly cropped up, and made it look thin? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctenophore February 25, 2015 Share February 25, 2015 Sorry to hear! by best guess is it's time is up. yellow tang life span is estimated between 5-7 years in an average aquarium. Do you have a source for this? I ask because i lost my orange shoulder tang a few months ago in a similar manner, except it took a few weeks to thin out and die. Never stopped eating a lot of algae and mysis the entire time. So something was going on. I got that fish from Jamesbuf about 6 years ago. Sorry to hear I'm not the only one that had this happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunWyrm February 25, 2015 Share February 25, 2015 (edited) I used clove oil recently to euthanize... works ridiculously well. A sick and panicky fish is instantly peaceful and breathing as if it was asleep. Very sad process but it helps so much. I'd have to find exact measurements, but a few drops mixed well in two or three increments, and they are asleep (I've heard this used on puffer fish for tooth surgery) and a few more drops to euthanize completely... while I cry like a baby over the bucket :(So very sorry to hear about your loss; they had a wonderful life with you.Edit: I found the source that I used: http://www.oscarfishlover.com/euthanise-your-oscar Edited February 25, 2015 by SunWyrm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flooddc February 26, 2015 Share February 26, 2015 Do you have a source for this? I ask because i lost my orange shoulder tang a few months ago in a similar manner, except it took a few weeks to thin out and die. Never stopped eating a lot of algae and mysis the entire time. So something was going on. I got that fish from Jamesbuf about 6 years ago. Sorry to hear I'm not the only one that had this happen. http://www.fishlore.com/Profiles-YellowTang.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_tang Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctenophore February 26, 2015 Share February 26, 2015 Thanks. The Wikipedia article has published literature as a source for wild lifespan: "Life expectancy in the wild can exceed 30 years.[1] Captive lifespan is typically at least 2–5 years to as long as 20 years in a very large aquarium, with 5–10 years in the average aquarium being typical." The second part is probably just speculation and anecdote. I agree that diet probably has a lot to do with these types of long lived fish deaths. Even though my orange shoulder grazed constantly on both red and green turf algae, it could have been missing something that finally caught up with it. Same might be for Forrest's yellow. I also wonder if eating so much mysis every day might have been detrimental, sort of like people living on a diet of pure steak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite February 26, 2015 Author Share February 26, 2015 (edited) The tang actually lived for about a year in Gary's tank. My old 75 broke and the tang, then only about 3", was freaking out in the 40 hex after just a couple days. I was going to move in several months and so didn't want to set up a new tank yet, so I sold the tang to Gary. I was so sad about it that he told me I could have him back when I got a new tank. I didn't a my 75 set up for a few months after nmoving (had 2x 40 hexes and a 29 and a 10 crammed with stuff), and after it was all ready, Gary let me have the tang back. I didn't know the life expectancy for captivity was so short. I want another one, but not sure what I need to do differently. I thought I knew enough about them, but it will certainly not hurt to do more research. I would like to hear from people here about how old their captive tangs are, along with nutrition details, tank sizes, health history, etc (I guess that's another thread....) I wonder how long it will take for algae to start up in my tank. Right now I have zero. I guess I will have to wait for warmer weather to get another tang. Hopefully one that is very small. Would also be nice if it only cost $13 like the one that just died. Edited February 26, 2015 by treesprite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime February 26, 2015 Share February 26, 2015 Sorry to hear about your tang. Why do you have to wait for warmer weather? If you can find a yellow tang for $13, I think there are more than a few of us that would also like to buy one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwweber February 26, 2015 Share February 26, 2015 LOL Tell em the tang was never the same after he came out of my tank! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtelles February 26, 2015 Share February 26, 2015 Purchased mine from tropical lagoon for about $25. Taking inflation into account, I'd say that it's pretty close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite February 27, 2015 Author Share February 27, 2015 there was a sale at Aquarium One. I bought two tiny yellow tangs $13 each. Came home one day and the powerhead in the qt was dead. Next day one tang was dead. So this tang proved itself from an early age. I wonder if that incident of oxygen deprivation had a long term effect on health and longevity of the tang that just died. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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