How Did My Convict Tang Die?

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Pazzoman

Piranha
MFK Member
Apr 5, 2009
3,001
48
81
New York
Hey Everybody,

After coming home from an already bad day of detention, I look at my tank and notice my convict tang not swimming in the open like he always does. I looked around, and noticed he was pinned against the wall by a little rock. I gave pics in on the scratches of him, because I just want to make sure if he just died of something and ended up between the rock or he swam very fast and just got snagged by the rock. This really sucks, I really like this tang....my favorite however **** happens... now I know I got to adjust that little rock and any other rocks that need to be "tang proof"

Also just in case my tank readings are:

Ammonia 0 ppm
Nitrite 0 ppm
Nitrate 5.0 ppm
PH 8.2-8.4

Should I perform a water change anyway?

Here are some pics (red toothpick pointing to injuries)

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Thanks A Million

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I honestly hope he wedged himself and killed him self, seems awful that I would prefer that however if he died of a disease then it could very possibly wipe out my other fish witch would be much bigger lost.
 
Hmmm... I'm not sure about this one... the "spots" look to me like the early stages of HLLE (head and lateral line erosion)... but I have seen fish with far worse HLLE survive... so even if it is HLLE it isn't likely what killed him... but if the spots aren't HLLE then I'm not sure... I suppose it could be damage from rocks. Assuming the outside damage isnt the cause of death (as I feel like its unlikely, not enough damage) it's possible he had an internal parasite of some sort, which is impossible to tell without autopsy, and I cant really explain what you need to look for so thats not really an option. Suffice to say I'm stumped... which is unusual, as I'm usually "on the ball" when it comes to disease ID.

How long have you had him? Did you notice anything different prior to his death? Any recent additions livestock wise?
 
Kevin8888 said:
Hmmm... I'm not sure about this one... the "spots" look to me like the early stages of HLLE (head and lateral line erosion)... but I have seen fish with far worse HLLE survive... so even if it is HLLE it isn't likely what killed him... but if the spots aren't HLLE then I'm not sure... I suppose it could be damage from rocks. Assuming the outside damage isnt the cause of death (as I feel like its unlikely, not enough damage) it's possible he had an internal parasite of some sort, which is impossible to tell without autopsy, and I cant really explain what you need to look for so thats not really an option. Suffice to say I'm stumped... which is unusual, as I'm usually "on the ball" when it comes to disease ID.

How long have you had him? Did you notice anything different prior to his death? Any recent additions livestock wise?
Click to expand...

Hey kev, i had this tang for about 5+ months thier was never anything wrong with him.He was always an eager eater...the night before he passed he was his usual stuff and i didnt see these markings on his face. Like i said, i think it would have been that maybe he darted behin this rock and got caught...i actually had to use force to get him out...

I should of kept the body...is thier any precautions i should take now?


Could it be that the gills coudnt open between the rock and the glass and then suffecated?
 
Pazzoman said:
Hey kev, i had this tang for about 5+ months thier was never anything wrong with him.He was always an eager eater...the night before he passed he was his usual stuff and i didnt see these markings on his face. Like i said, i think it would have been that maybe he darted behin this rock and got caught...i actually had to use force to get him out...

I should of kept the body...is thier any precautions i should take now?


Could it be that the gills coudnt open between the rock and the glass and then suffecated?
Click to expand...

Well, if he wasn't showing any signs of illness then its probably nothing that can be passed on, though there are a few infections that kill over night, but its unlikely that he would have gotten this after 5+ months in a tank. So there is probably nothing you need to do, besides make sure the water stays stable the next few days.

If the marks wheren't there before its likely scraping damage from the rocks then... I suppose its possible he litterally jammed himself in there, but I've personally never seen it happen. But if he couldn't move his gills then he could very well have suffocated... just strange as he would have had to really jam himself in there. It's also possible he got himself stuck enough that he burned himself out trying to escape, this happens when fishing so I can't see why it couldn't happen to a stuck fish. It's odd... but I suppose stranger things have happend. Just keep an eye on the tank carefully to make sure it isn't a disease.
 
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