Help! Powder Blue Tang looks like it is dying :(

[Hangman]

Help, I just noticed that my Powder blue Tang is just lying in the corner of the tank breathing very heavily.
I do not know what is wrong, but it looks like it is dying.

I do not see any signs of sickness on it. no ich, no scars, no bumps, it looks perfectly fine.
But it is lying in the corner breathing heavily and cannot swim.

It has been in my tank for about a year along with the Yellow Tang and the Sailfin Tang and the Maroon Clown.

It has been eating very very well as far as I can remember and I feed it three times a day and always have a nori on clips for it to graze on.

The other tangs are around it trying to get it to swim with them, but he's not strong enough to swim with them, he would try and then just fall down again.

I have no idea what can be causing this.

Here are my parameters:

Ammonia: 0.0
Nitrite : 0.0
Nitrate : 5ppm
Salinity : 35ppt

Anyone have any ideas on what I can do to help it? I feel so sad and helpless not to be able to do anything.
The only thing I can think of is that he might have been stung by the GBTA that is in the tank. The GBTA has been growing very big and is about 9" opened up and could have stung him as he was swimming by.

Do you think this is a possibility? If so, can a fish recover from an anemone sting?

-Hangman

[Darbex]

Something is messing with his gills and not allowing him to breath. Had the same issue with a mimic tang. Only thing is QT him to help relax him and maybe treat for infection if you can see anything.

[Hangman]

Thanks Darbex, did your tang make it through?

[Hangman]

Well, he just passed away. Poor guy... Don't know if I will replace him or not.

[Darbex]

No mine died. I dont have a QT tank and it was to hard just to catch him in my tank.

[Hangman]

hhmm, something is not right, now my Henochious Butterfly is showing the same exact symptoms as my Tang, only its in a completely different tank that doesn't share anything.

Yesterday and this mornign he was eating like a pig.. now he's just in the corner grasping for air breathing heavily..

[johnnymisty]

Sorry to hear about the powder blue dying

[johnnymisty]

Have you done a water change recently maybe it could be something in the water

[Hangman]

I think you are right. I did do a water change for both tanks recently. This past Saturday. Also, I noticed my TDS reading for my RO/Di filter system was way out of whack as mentioned in the other posts I did. Unfortunately, i used that water to do the water change before I noticed the readings were out of whack. I think that has to be it. I just received a new RO/Di unit yesterday and installed it and the readings are back to 000 again. But will have to wait until it makes enought water to do a full water change for both tanks. Need about 275 gallon and thats gonna take a few days for the RO/DI unit to make. :( I think my old unit had an RO/DI membrane failure..

[johnnymisty]

Could be or something changed with your water maybe some added chemicals by the water company

[rage]

I think you are right. I did do a water change for both tanks recently. This past Saturday. Also, I noticed my TDS reading for my RO/Di filter system was way out of whack as mentioned in the other posts I did. Unfortunately, i used that water to do the water change before I noticed the readings were out of whack. I think that has to be it. I just received a new RO/Di unit yesterday and installed it and the readings are back to 000 again. But will have to wait until it makes enought water to do a full water change for both tanks. Need about 275 gallon and thats gonna take a few days for the RO/DI unit to make. :( I think my old unit had an RO/DI membrane failure..

How bad was your TDS reading? If it's high enough and if that water has ammonia in it, it can kill your fish.
Can you move the butterfly fish to a small temp tank with pure water and maybe a couple pieces of live rock and a power head while you wait for more water?

[Hangman]

The TDS reading was around 155. I tested for ammonia and it came back as 0. maybe some other stuf fint he water that is killing the fish. Unfortunately, he died last night. It seems to hit them pretty quick. On both of them, they would be swimming and eating fine in the morning when I feed them before i go to work, then when I come home they are sluggish and breathing heavily, then by around midnight they would pass away. Seems to hit them within 12 hours or less. I should have enough water to do both aquarium water changes by the time I get home from work today.

[Darbex]

Its probably ammonia or chloramines because both cause the fish not to be able to breathe.