yellow tang

my tang is sort of turning red. there is a line around his upper fin, and he looks like he's wearing lip stick.
the tank is faily healthy, i lost my skimmer about a month ago, so i figured try without one for a while. i have great growth of coraline, my mushrooms have never looked better. but there is a film that devolpes on the surface that i vaccum off every two weeks or so.
any ideas guys and gals?
dano

 

How long have you had the fish? Any idea on his origin - HI islands vs. Phillipenes?

 

i dont know where he came from. but i had him for at least 6 months now.

 

One Possibility is you are seeing a downstream, long term effect of Cyanide poisoning. Fish that are net caught in the HI islands are not exposed to Cyanide during capture, those from SE Asia are on occasion (thus the origin question). If Cyanide does not kill the fish during capture, it can wreak havoc on the fish's liver and have long term effects. Here is a link with a little info on this issue. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/chelmonfaqs.htm This link does not match your scenario exactly, but its the same idea..a fish is doing fine for months, and then starts to decline while all other factors remain the same. About 10 years ago, I stopped buying yellow tangs for exactly this reason. However, now that net caught fish are on the market, yellow tangs are once again a viable option. Again, not saying this is your problem, but it is a possibility

 

How is your water parameters, w/o a skimmer, I suspect they are going downhill....ammonia, nitrite, nitrate? Phosphate..etc...

 

Could also be an O2 problem as the skimmer injects a lot of O2 into the water

Just a guess though

J

 

i have not checked the phosphates yet but all others are fine. the o2 is a great thought. i need to get a skimmer i know, but the funds are low. i thought i would go skimmerless for a while since ive heard alot of success stories.

 

Well, the jury is still out on going skimmerless...depends on what you want to keep. SPS corals...forget about going skimmerless!

LPS, with lots of water changes....

Lagoon and turbid water corals....you might be able to.

But folks who have gone skimmerless had that designed into the system...they may use ozone, and they probably have at least 2 pounds of LR per gallon..base rock doesn't really make the grade for a number of years....

DSB for denitrification...etc....

I would invest in a skimmer...check the ebay or for sale used equipment...you may happen upon a good deal!