Blue Hippo Dead Overnight

[flaireaichi]

We got a blue hippo yesterday along with some other tank mates. Everyone went off and hid right away. Hippo didn’t survive the night. I think the bump is sand from when I scooped it out but the marks above his fin are those signs of it having been attacked?

 

[Sharkbait19]

Aggression is possible, but could also (more likely) be damage from scavenging overnight.
How were the fish acclimated? Were they quarantined? Is anything else acting off?

 

[vetteguy53081]

We got a blue hippo yesterday along with some other tank mates. Everyone went off and hid right away. Hippo didn’t survive the night. Are those. I think the bump is sand from when I scooped it out but the marks above his fin are those signs of it having been attacked?

Does look like sand but I also see fish is quite thin and tail is severely bitten. What other tank mates are in with it?
Additionally, you added a few fish - Were they quarantined?
How did you acclimate them and for how long ? Did you match salinity?
What is age of your tank?

 

[flaireaichi]

They weren’t quarantined. Is this super bad? I always thought you should but my husband and friends seem to say it’s not 100 percent essential.

They were acclimated according to a guide from the fish store. with lights off, bags floating in tank to get up to temperature, then tank water added to the bags in intervals until volume was doubled then just the fish added to tank by net. Not quarantined. Added in the hippo and three warasses (adorned, Christmas, social fairy) to a tank with a one spot fox face, a brsitletooth tang and a convict tang that are all peaceful friends as well as a Midas blenny and some fire fish.

No one else is acting off

 

[Pickle_soup]

I believe all fish need to be quarantined. You're taking a stressed out fish, and putting it into a stressful environment. No matter what fish, other, established fish will be curious about the new guy. Hippos are pretty fragile fish. Even if they appear healthy, some infections or parasites might not show up for weeks. If you don't want to medicate the fish right away for potential ailments, at least observe it for 30 days. I have dealt with multiple wipeout because I had similar attitude as your husband and friends. Tangs are very prone to ich, there is a very good chance that every time you buy a tang, if not properly QTed, it has ich. It might not show on the outside, but it can be imbedded in fish's gills. I completely get not medicating the fish without symptoms, I don't do it either, but at least watch it, and let it settle down and get comfortable, get eating, before throwing into a very stressful environment.

 

[Reef Devils]

They weren’t quarantined. Is this super bad? I always thought you should but my husband and friends seem to say it’s not 100 percent essential.

They were acclimated according to a guide from the fish store. with lights off, bags floating in tank to get up to temperature, then tank water added to the bags in intervals until volume was doubled then just the fish added to tank by net. Not quarantined. Added in the hippo and three warasses (adorned, Christmas, social fairy) to a tank with a one spot fox face, a brsitletooth tang and a convict tang that are all peaceful friends as well as a Midas blenny and some fire fish.

No one else is acting off

You should alway quarantine no matter what anyone tells you. It is best for the fish and for your tank in the future.

 

[flaireaichi]

Does look like sand but I also see fish is quite thin and tail is severely bitten. What other tank mates are in with it?
Additionally, you added a few fish - Were they quarantined?
How did you acclimate them and for how long ? Did you match salinity?
What is age of your

I believe all fish need to be quarantined. You're taking a stressed out fish, and putting it into a stressful environment. No matter what fish, other, established fish will be curious about the new guy. Hippos are pretty fragile fish. Even if they appear healthy, some infections or parasites might not show up for weeks. If you don't want to medicate the fish right away for potential ailments, at least observe it for 30 days. I have dealt with multiple wipeout because I had similar attitude as your husband and friends. Tangs are very prone to ich, there is a very good chance that every time you buy a tang, if not properly QTed, it has ich. It might not show on the outside, but it can be imbedded in fish's gills. I completely get not medicating the fish without symptoms, I don't do it either, but at least watch it, and let it settle down and get comfortable, get eating, before throwing into a very stressful environment.

thank you for taking the time to help inform! I’ll be passing on info to the husband this evening. I’d hate to lose a whole tank when it could be prevented. And I’d also like to avoid stress for the fish where possible.

 

[flaireaichi]

Does look like sand but I also see fish is quite thin and tail is severely bitten. What other tank mates are in with it?
Additionally, you added a few fish - Were they quarantined?
How did you acclimate them and for how long ? Did you match salinity?
What is age of your tank?

No they weren’t quarantined. Been informed more about that in other replies and will be passing the info on.

They were acclimated to the tank following info from the lfs. I don’t have a copy of guide to know the exact timings between steps because it’s really my husbands hobby and he has the picture on his phone. I just enjoy the fish. But I know the process goes like this:

with lights off, bags floating in tank to get up to temperature (I think this is 15 minutes or 30 not sure which), then tank water added to the bags in intervals (maybe 5 mins between each?) until volume was doubled then just the fish added to tank by net. Not quarantined.

Tank was started around April/May and left to do its thing for months before adding first couple of fish (clowns) in mid August.

 

[flaireaichi]

Aggression is possible, but could also (more likely) be damage from scavenging overnight.
How were the fish acclimated? Were they quarantined? Is anything else acting off?

So sorry meant to reply directly to you before and posted incorrectly. But I tried to say:

“They weren’t quarantined. Is this super bad? I always thought you should but my husband and friends seem to say it’s not 100 percent essential.

They were acclimated according to a guide from the fish store. with lights off, bags floating in tank to get up to temperature, then tank water added to the bags in intervals until volume was doubled then just the fish added to tank by net. Not quarantined. Added in the hippo and three warasses (adorned, Christmas, social fairy) to a tank with a one spot fox face, a brsitletooth tang and a convict tang that are all peaceful friends as well as a Midas blenny and some fire fish.

No one else is acting off”

 

[vetteguy53081]

No they weren’t quarantined. Been informed more about that in other replies and will be passing the info on.

They were acclimated to the tank following info from the lfs. I don’t have a copy of guide to know the exact timings between steps because it’s really my husbands hobby and he has the picture on his phone. I just enjoy the fish. But I know the process goes like this:

with lights off, bags floating in tank to get up to temperature (I think this is 15 minutes or 30 not sure which), then tank water added to the bags in intervals (maybe 5 mins between each?) until volume was doubled then just the fish added to tank by net. Not quarantined.

Tank was started around April/May and left to do its thing for months before adding first couple of fish (clowns) in mid August.

It appears lack of quarantine and insufficient acclimation was a contributor. When purchasing fish, we have to assume they all have something on them. With acclimating , there are many methods out there. Im Not a fan of drip method, Just alone, you would have floated bag to equalize temperature and you want to empty bag and fish into a CLEAN bucket and they add tank water until AT MINIMUM you matched the salinity in the bucket with that of the tank. I add a cup of water every 15 mins until you have assured salinity, ph have been equalized
My acclimation method (not the only one out there):
I generally:
Float for 20-30 minutes
Transfer fish and water into a clean bucket
Then . . . .
Measure the Ph, salinity and temperature of the bag water. If you can, make up some water in a container that has exactly the same measurements as the bag readings and move the fish right over, then you can add a cup of tank water to bucket every 15 mins 6 times (almost 1.5 hours)
Then check salinity in bucket and compare to tank. If no match or very close, add a cup of water every few mins until youve reached salinity and trap fish in same cup and pour off water and release into display. Release under LOW light before lights out.

 

[Pickle_soup]

So sorry meant to reply directly to you before and posted incorrectly. But I tried to say:

“They weren’t quarantined. Is this super bad? I always thought you should but my husband and friends seem to say it’s not 100 percent essential.

They were acclimated according to a guide from the fish store. with lights off, bags floating in tank to get up to temperature, then tank water added to the bags in intervals until volume was doubled then just the fish added to tank by net. Not quarantined. Added in the hippo and three warasses (adorned, Christmas, social fairy) to a tank with a one spot fox face, a brsitletooth tang and a convict tang that are all peaceful friends as well as a Midas blenny and some fire fish.

No one else is acting off”

Tangs behavior can alter very quickly when adding a new tang to the aquarium. I had a Hippo that very chill, and kept to himself. When he saw a convict added, he grabbed him by the back fin and started shaking him violently. I took him out immediately and took him back to the store. Tangs are very tricky when adding new ones.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

They weren’t quarantined. Is this super bad? I always thought you should but my husband and friends seem to say it’s not 100 percent essential.

They were acclimated according to a guide from the fish store. with lights off, bags floating in tank to get up to temperature, then tank water added to the bags in intervals until volume was doubled then just the fish added to tank by net. Not quarantined. Added in the hippo and three warasses (adorned, Christmas, social fairy) to a tank with a one spot fox face, a brsitletooth tang and a convict tang that are all peaceful friends as well as a Midas blenny and some fire fish.

No one else is acting off

The key to acclimation is knowing the salinity the fish were in at the store compared to your home tank. Do you know these two numbers?

Jay

 

[flaireaichi]

The key to acclimation is knowing the salinity the fish were in at the store compared to your home tank. Do you know these two numbers?

Jay

Thanks Jay! I know the salinity of my tank is 1.026 but I will have to check with my husband what it was for the store. Once you know the two numbers, if they differ, how do you acclimate properly?

 

[flaireaichi]

It appears lack of quarantine and insufficient acclimation was a contributor. When purchasing fish, we have to assume they all have something on them. With acclimating , there are many methods out there. Im Not a fan of drip method, Just alone, you would have floated bag to equalize temperature and you want to empty bag and fish into a CLEAN bucket and they add tank water until AT MINIMUM you matched the salinity in the bucket with that of the tank. I add a cup of water every 15 mins until you have assured salinity, ph have been equalized
My acclimation method (not the only one out there):
I generally:
Float for 20-30 minutes
Transfer fish and water into a clean bucket
Then . . . .
Measure the Ph, salinity and temperature of the bag water. If you can, make up some water in a container that has exactly the same measurements as the bag readings and move the fish right over, then you can add a cup of tank water to bucket every 15 mins 6 times (almost 1.5 hours)
Then check salinity in bucket and compare to tank. If no match or very close, add a cup of water every few mins until youve reached salinity and trap fish in same cup and pour off water and release into display. Release under LOW light before lights out.

Thank you for this! I really appreciate the detail. This is definitely a lengthier process than the advice from our lfs.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Thanks Jay! I know the salinity of my tank is 1.026 but I will have to check with my husband what it was for the store. Once you know the two numbers, if they differ, how do you acclimate properly?

As I mentioned, you are adding water from intended tank to that of the new fish until they are both equal

 

[flaireaichi]

Tangs behavior can alter very quickly when adding a new tang to the aquarium. I had a Hippo that very chill, and kept to himself. When he saw a convict added, he grabbed him by the back fin and started shaking him violently. I took him out immediately and took him back to the store. Tangs are very tricky when adding new ones.

I have heard that about tangs that sometimes they are tricky. We were ready to pull it back out if needed but sadly if it was agression it happened overnight. Maybe next time I should stay up with them.

Now I’ve been watching the fish all morning and getting no work done because I’m paranoid. Everyone else seems okay except the most skittish fish being in hiding and the adorned wrasse chasing the Christmas wrasse a little. Also haven’t seen the social fairy wrasse yet at all today.

 

[flaireaichi]

As I mentioned, you are adding water from intended tank to that of the new fish until they are both equal

Yes I replied to Jay before I had seen your detailed explanation. Essentially the store had us just doubling the water volume of the bag they were given in. But based on what you said that might not be sufficient. Especially since there was no mention of testing the salinity for a match. So thanks for including that!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Tangs behavior can alter very quickly when adding a new tang to the aquarium. I had a Hippo that very chill, and kept to himself. When he saw a convict added, he grabbed him by the back fin and started shaking him violently. I took him out immediately and took him back to the store. Tangs are very tricky when adding new ones.

Tangs can be jerks but my last 7 added were tangs and I have not had a single issue, You have to introduce after acclimated well with lights out and feed first thing in the morning.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Yes I replied to Jay before I had seen your detailed explanation. Essentially the store had us just doubling the water volume of the bag they were given in. But based on what you said that might not be sufficient. Especially since there was no mention of testing the salinity for a match. So thanks for including that!

Doubling water volume will help accomplish this but you still want to verify the salinity prior to release of fish intio new tank and most cases - Quarantine tank

 

[JohnNYC8]

I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your fish. I agree with all of the replies above.

If you don't have a quarantine system and you want more piece of mind you can use a service like Dr Reef's (google: Dr Reef's Quarantined Fish). Dr Reef has a lot of vendor feedback on this forum if you want to do your due diligence. They'll acquire your fish and quarantine/observe them for you. They post their procedure on the web site--it's fairly thorough. No quarantine is 100% effective and there's still shipping stress and acclimation but it's cheap insurance if you don't have a QT tank.

For aggression you can purchase an acrylic isolation box to put in the tank so the other fish get acquainted with their new tank mate. That's also not 100% effective, and harder to do with large fish, but it's an extra precaution.