Is my tang crazy?

[fmgeek]

I have this yellow tang, and I'm pretty sure something's wrong, but I don't know what! He was in a 55g with some crabs, a 4-stripe damsel, a clownfish, and 3 engineer gobys. They've all been together forever (2-3 years) though I did just put the whole community into a new tank a 2 months ago. Went from a tall 55 to a long one, to give the tang more room to swim.

Anyway, he started freaking out a week or so ago, darting like he was terrified everytime anyone came near. When we stayed out of his sight, he just darted nervously, mostly trying to hide, but we thought maybe the crab was driving him out of his hiding places.

So when this got really bad, I moved him to a 30g reef setup with lots of hiding places, and now he just hides all the time.

2 videos I took today:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iy_7eHI1XAA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYuvriNFhpc

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated! His name is Bart!

 

[Kevin8888]

Did anything else change recently? lighting, pumps, powerheads, general ambient noise in the room? As its possible different conditions around the tank could cause him to be uneasy.

 

[fmgeek]

Hi Kevin, thanks for the ideas... A friend that I asked said maybe it was tank size. (If so, his new environs are worse.)

It's only been a couple of months since it was placed in a house with children, so that's a big change, and the crabs (the big scary one, anyway) are also new to it, but it's been away from all of that in this 30 gal in my superquiet office for 3 days and still won't come out at all. I'm mostly afraid it's going to starve! (I guess it can go a week or two though... still!)

 

[kevinster_1]

saltwater fishes tend to hide when there is a sudden change in their environment. nothing to worry about. Normally time will just let him go back to his normal ways.
Also ck to see if the little damsels or other fishes are picking at him. if so maybe he has some kind of bacteria.
not really sure what it could be if the water condition is good. just wait a few more days and it should be ok. good luck

 

[Kevin8888]

saltwater fishes tend to hide when there is a sudden change in their environment. nothing to worry about. Normally time will just let him go back to his normal ways.
Also ck to see if the little damsels or other fishes are picking at him. if so maybe he has some kind of bacteria.

Agreed, the changes will definatly startle the fish and it will take time for it to adjust. Children, well behaved or not make alot of noise which means unusual vibrations in the tank. The other fish could be bugging him so keep an eye out for that.

He could be sick, but you would likely see other signs as well.

 

[fmgeek]

Yeah, I don't see any other signs of distress than the constant fast-swimming motion but in one place. (And the not eating... )

He looks pretty frantic in his little hidey-hole, but his color is good, so I assume he's physically healthy, if hungry. I think the kids freaked him out good. Maybe he just needs more time in seclusion.

His tank-mates now are a pajama cardinalfish, a very chill blue damsel, and a pink tomato who's paired up with a condy. I was wondering whether I was doing him some further harm by putting him in this much-smaller tank, but since he doesn't ever come out to see it, I can't imagine that it matters.

 

[Jeox]

Out of curiosity, what kind of crabs?
I wouldnt put him in a very small tank, as it would be liable to making him more uneasy, and the water quality would diminish faster.

 

[fmgeek]

You think that could be the culprit? It's fairly good-sized... :

Just kidding. It's a Dardanus megistos. Red hermit crab. Pretty big... in a shell about 2" across.

 

[fmgeek]

So you'd move him back into the 55 with the crab? (And the kids?)

 

[Kevin8888]

It mite not be good for you to move him again as hes clearly rather stressed, I would say give him some time, and just keep a close eye on the water conditions and if they start to get bad deal with them haha. Just wait untill hes less stressed before moving him unless it clearly becomes a problem being in the small tank.