Regal Tang laying on tank since aquarium was moved

Hi Guys,

i have just upgraded my aquarium from a juwel rio 180 to a second hand 4x2x2 custom built aquarium about 600litres including sump.

The aquarium came with plenty of livestock and corals etc.

so i moved and set up this new tank and everything seemed okay.

within the livestock is 2 regal tangs that have apparently been living side my side for over a year.

my problem is that since adding the fish the larger Regal (around 7 inches)

has been either laying down on the rocks or completely hidden and does not appear to be eating. All the other fish are doing absolutely fine including the smaller regal.

The previous owner of the Aquarium said that the larger tang is very shy. and he will come out when he is comfortable in his surroundings.

I know this this is normal behaviour for regals but i've never heard of this happening for such a long period (haven't seen him properly since saturday)

Its not that i dont trust the previous owner but im worried that it may be something he wasent aware of and may be too late in the not to distant future.

Should i be worried? should i give it another day or so before taking action ?

Any help would be much appreciated

Thanks guys

 

Please provide basic chemistry

Ammonia......

How long has the tank been set up? How did you transfer the newer system, in detail please?

 

Hard to say for sure but as you pointed out it is normal behavior for them to lay on their side or whatever position it may be to cram into a rock or other tight structure during times of stress or at night when sleeping. My regal does it every night and when I moved tanks the tang moved in the middle of the rock because I could not catch her before she crammed in there. She was out within a 1/2 hour though but if yours is shy it may take longer.

Do you see the fish itself? Any signs it is living or dead?

 

Ammonia is at 0ppm. i've done thorough testing since it was finished and everything seems to be in check.

The system was finished around 4pm GMT on Saturday. The Fish were kept at my LFS whilst we were setting up. (i also reused the water the the previous owner was using in the aquarium for obvious reasons)


I has the filtration and skimmer running for a few hours and Once the water had reached 27 degrees C i collected the fish from the lfs
and climatised for around 30 - 40 min (letting it sit for 10 min then adding a cup of water from the main tank into the bags every 5-7 min)

all of my other fish and corals are looking very healthy and are eating well

thanks

 

ive seen it through the rocks in various places in the aquarium so he's still alive.

sometimes ill spot him through a tiny crack in the rocks and he looks lifeless
then ill see him moving slightly which reassures me he's still alive. im a bit worried about playing around in there because if he is just shy disturbing him is only going to stress him out more

so i am a bit lost as to what to do

 

I would keep testing for a cycle as you would had you not used any items from an established tank.

Also I would not disturb the fish by working in the tank.

This seems like a wait and see at this point.

Tangs will loose some coloration, hide and lay on their sides as already mentioned when stressed. This stress probably comes from the transfer.

 

okay cool.

i will keep testing and leave it for now.

How long would you say before i should start to worry ?

Thanks

 

Until the fish is showing visual signs of physical stress such as weight loss, on set of Marine Ich, heavy breathing.

 

cool,

Thanks a lot guys

 

so he's finally come out for the first time today
but it looks like he's having great difficulty swimming
swimming vertically (face down)

ive also notice indents at his stomach suggesting he hasn't been eating.

All the other fish seem fine and i really don't want to loose him

Please help!

thanks