My sohal has been rubbing for the past couple of weeks. I've done two water changes but my nitates are still very high. Could this be the reason or do you think he has something? The other fish are fine. This is a fish only tank. Once I get better educated I may take the leap to a reef tank.
sohal tang problems
- Thread starter rmenkes
- Start date
Why are your nitrates so high? How long has this tank been set up? How and what other fish do you have in your tank?
You should be looking for evidence of white dot like parasites. Look at the fish lengthwise as it is easier to spot them.
I think it would be a good idea to start a garlic treated food regimen just in case.
You should be looking for evidence of white dot like parasites. Look at the fish lengthwise as it is easier to spot them.
I think it would be a good idea to start a garlic treated food regimen just in case.
NO3 off the scale? That's more like you staying in a smoke filled bar all day long! Can you tell us a bit more about your current setup? Do you have DSB? Are you using wet dry? Using CC instead of fine sand? How much LR? What are you using as nutrient export?
Other then finding temporary fix for your fish, I think you should work on improving the water quality. I think the stress on your fish is environment related. NO3 that high will have impact on keeping the PH stable.
Other then finding temporary fix for your fish, I think you should work on improving the water quality. I think the stress on your fish is environment related. NO3 that high will have impact on keeping the PH stable.
whats the buffer for ? 8.0 pH is just fine FYI.
yeah yeah 'desired is 8.2' that does not mean you have to dump buffer when it drops under 8.2
it all depends on time of day you tested
Early AM, my pH is on the low side, les say 7.9 to 8.0, by evening it could be as high as 8.3, and I didnt buffer anything.
Also, A/C running tends to keep the pH a bit low, open a window or two for a few hours, you ll see your pH climb a bit.
also your no3 is off scale ? have you done a waterchange of a significant percentage ? if this is a 75 gallon (which I hope is not) lets say 125 gallon (which is more proper for a shoal tang) do at least 25 percent or so, 30 - 35 gallons if you can, match pH, temp, and SG before doing it.
Age your saltwater a day before you pour in tank, make sure salt is mixed thoughly.
yeah yeah 'desired is 8.2' that does not mean you have to dump buffer when it drops under 8.2
it all depends on time of day you tested
Early AM, my pH is on the low side, les say 7.9 to 8.0, by evening it could be as high as 8.3, and I didnt buffer anything.
Also, A/C running tends to keep the pH a bit low, open a window or two for a few hours, you ll see your pH climb a bit.
also your no3 is off scale ? have you done a waterchange of a significant percentage ? if this is a 75 gallon (which I hope is not) lets say 125 gallon (which is more proper for a shoal tang) do at least 25 percent or so, 30 - 35 gallons if you can, match pH, temp, and SG before doing it.
Age your saltwater a day before you pour in tank, make sure salt is mixed thoughly.
rmenkes":38qnui9y said:
Your nitrate is over 160, I'd call that a problem! 8O As Danmhippo already said, get your tap checked for nitrate. Also check your water with a few other quality test kits and see if you're getting a true reading, occasionall when a reading is really ridiculous, something's up w/ the reagents.
Short term remedies for all that nitrate would include a series of good sized water changes with aged seawater mixed from purified water or trying one of the many nitrate removing resins, filters, etc.
Long term remedies would include purchasing a good ro/di unit, installing a refugium or 2 with large amounts of macroalgae, installing a deep live sand bed either in the main tank or in something else connected to it, and thinning out your fish population and/or reducing feedings. Aggressive protein skimming will do wonders also.
Questions:
1. How many fish and of what size are in this tank?
2. What and how much food are you feeding?
3. How big is this sohal? A 92g corner tank is about 4ft long at its longest point which is cramped for a sohal tang.
4. What kind of protein skimmer, if any, are you using?
My berlin skimmer hasn't been working properly. I have a large sohal, medium, puffer, medium lion, copperband butterly, medium naso. The lion is new and I've been feeding shrimp, scallops, formula 1 and 2 and freeze dried jumbo shrimp. Before the lion I only fed formula 1 and 2 and occasioanl dried shrimp. Do the liquid NO3 removers they sell in the LFS work?
Very simply you have too many fish for the size of ;your tank.
I would recommend you return the sohol tang to the LFS that sold it to you for a full credit.
Do regular water changes including cleaning your wet dry (no more than 50% at a time). Keep all filters clean as well as the coral 'sand bed' if that is what your bottom is composed of. Do not overfeed.
SPC is 100% right. You are looking for problems.
I would recommend you return the sohol tang to the LFS that sold it to you for a full credit.
Do regular water changes including cleaning your wet dry (no more than 50% at a time). Keep all filters clean as well as the coral 'sand bed' if that is what your bottom is composed of. Do not overfeed.
SPC is 100% right. You are looking for problems.
The sohal is about 7 inches long not counting his three inch streamers. I just did a 30 gallon water change. Plus, I added Kent Marine Nitrate sponge to my cannister filter. The sohal is rubbing a lot. Not sure what he has. All the diseases sound and look alike...and I've been reading a lot about them. Should I treat with Copper? I am leaning against it. How about stop-ich or any other products? How about netting him and doing a freshwater dip?
Sponsor Reefs
We're a FREE website, and we exist because of hobbyists like YOU who help us run this community.
Click here to sponsor $10:
