Black Blue Hippo Tang

[dpetty]

3 months ago I got a Tiny Blue Hippo Tang. I put it in a QT for a month with a new Flame Angel and they seemed very healthy and happy. I moved to my display tank and a few weeks later the Tang has turned mostly black, see the attached picture. He seems to be healthy and know one has bothered him that I can tell, he is actually the aggressive one. I have read this is due to stress? I had a bubble algae and some hair algae outbreak just before I got the Tang and used Brightwell Micro Bactor and Razor which got rid of the algae problem. I was only using a small maintenance dose when I added the Tang to the main tank. I lost a lot of snails, crabs, Hammer, Acan and a Lawn Mower Blenny when dosing Micro Bactor and Razor. I have stopped using these products and have been dosing NOPOX instead to help control algae. Everything looks pretty good even added 10 more corals, however the Tang is still black although seems healthy.

Any thoughts?

Salt: 1.025
Temp: 77.6
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 15 plus or minus 5 (I am trying to dial in the NOPOX)
Phosphate: 0.0 - 0.1 (I do run phosban reactor)
Alkalinity: 8.7
Calcium: 400 (trying to get a little higher)
Magnesium: 1240 (trying to get a little higher)

Auto Dose: All For Reef, Seachem Fusion 1, Red Sea NOPOX and just started using Reef Energy+.

 

[Reefing_addiction]

In the QT tank what types of lights did you run? What types of lights are over the display? Could lighting be the key here?


How big is he?

 

[dpetty]

In the QT tank what types of lights did you run? What types of lights are over the display? Could lighting be the key here?


How big is he?

The Tang is only about 2 to 2.5 inches. In the QT tank the lighting is a very simple low led light that comes with the 20 gallon Aqueon tank. In the DT I have a Reef Breeders Photon V32. I have never checked the PAR but I do not have them set very bright.

 

[bossman818]

What are you feeding him ?

 

[dpetty]

Fish Food
San Francisco Bay Brand Frozen Saltwater Multipack, mysis shrimp, Ocean Nutrition Formula Two Flake Food and some seaweed/algae sheets every now and then.

 

[Should I]

if you do a google search they can be this colour here is an example of someone on R2R who posted in 2022
looks like you lucked out gratz

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/black-hippo-tang.953389/

 

[fishywishy]

Wow! that’s extremely rare, Take good care of it.

They do that sometimes, i dont think anyone actually knows why but I could be wrong. Sometimes they stay black like that forever and sometimes they eventually turn blue again.

 

[Lineatus]

Gorgeous!

 

[Peanut]

Amazing

 

[Should I]

if you would pref the normal looking 1 i'm sure someone would pay good money for this black 1 off you

 

[dpetty]

Wow! that’s extremely rare, Take good care of it.

They do that sometimes, i dont think anyone actually knows why but I could be wrong. Sometimes they stay black like that forever and sometimes they eventually turn blue again.

Thanks for the info!