Blind Tang

I recently got a powder blue tang, which now seems to be blind. He seemed fine when I added him a week ago, but today he ran into the glass (swimming very fast I might add) and is now swimming along the glass and sides of the tank and bumping into things. I've been reading about causes for blindness in fish, and so far the main causes I've come up with are malnutrition, excessive lighting, parasites/illness, or trauma of some type.

Currently I feed pellets every other day. They are the New Life Spectrum Thera +A and on the days that I don't feed with these I use frozen mysis and cyclopeeze (rotating between the two).

I don't see lighting as being a problem since I run the lights for 14 hours every day and I've never had any problems with fish due to lighting.

As for parasites, I think this must be the cause. Currently the tang does have a tiny bit of ich visible on his left pectoral fin, but he eats fine (or he did until he went blind) and his behavior has been normal (again until his blindness). I've looked for signs of parasites on his eyes and in his gills, but I can't see anything in/on his eyes and the same with his gills.

The only trauma I can think of would be him running into the side of the tank this afternoon, while swimming rather fast and making an audible thump. I'm sure this could have caused blindness, but then there's the question of why he ran into the glass, suggesting that he was blind before this happened.

Current tank parameters are as follows:
Specific Gravity 1.025
Ammonia & Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 5ppm
Calcium 440ppm
Alkalinity 8.5 dKH
pH 8.2
Temperature 78F-80F (day/night)

Anyone have any idea what could be causing his blindness? Is there any chance he could regain his eyesight? If not, is there a chance he'll be able to survive?

He's only rubbing up to the glass. There is a small film of algae on the glass and that's what I originally thought he was up to, but I can stick my hand in the tank right in front of him and he'll just run into me and then whip around and try to get away but doesn't seem to see me move my hand back in front of him. He is rubbing the glass mainly with his mouth, and it doesn't look like his eyes are bothered. I really didn't want to believe he was blind, but considering that he runs into things, I'm wondering. He did seem a little better this morning, but he's definitely not acting normal.

Adam Blundell wrote: They can easily live blind. I'd be worried about the simple fact that it is a powder blue tang to begin with. Adam

I know powder blues are notoriously difficult to keep because they are so susceptible to parasites and disease, but I really do love them and I'm hoping that feeding with anti-parasitic food, as well as garlic, and running a UV sterilizer will help. I also have my tank grounded since tangs are supposedly more sensitive to electrical currents in the water. I really can't think of anything more I can do (or that would be practical for this tank) to maintain such delicate fish. I am planning to add a carbon reactor soon too, so that should also help maintain water quality, and after that I don't know that there's much more I can do.

Anyways, thank you for the response Adam, and I certainly hope you're right, and he's not blind. I'll have to watch him for a while when I get home tonight. Any further advice would be great! Thank you!

Mark Peterson wrote: I agree, sometimes there is very little we can do for our sick fish. As in people, things happen. We can be perfectly healthy one day and the next day the effects of growing disease can put us out of commission or even dead. It's sad but it's life. Next destination - Heaven.Â

Well said. On the bright side, the more fish I lose, the bigger my tank will be in the next life!

Laird wrote: I went through kind of the same thing with my beloved powder blue that I had had almost 3 years. I was more upset about losing it then I was every other fish and piece of coral I've ever lost combined.

Dang powder blues!...we love 'em so much and yet they all seem doomed in our tanks.