Blue hippo tang help

Offthehook89 · Jun 9, 2014

I purchased a juvenile Blue Hippo Tang and introduced him to my tank 4 days ago. I already had 2 clown fish, 1 yellow tang, 1 mandarin goby and 2 cleaner shrimp...the hippo tang was the last fish to go iin. All of my other fish have been doing well the last 3 weeks. This Hippo Tang stays in my live rock most of the day...almost wedging himself at times it seems lol...He's about 2 inches in length. When he does come out he swims and looks great but then spends most of the time in the rocks....Is this normal? Again he's been in the tank about 4 days. He comes out and eats with the other fish too.

Naiad · Jun 9, 2014

Completely normal. You will swear they are dead sometimes. Give him time to adjust. They will also sleep this way when small. You really should qt these guys though they stress easy. What size tank is it?

Offthehook89 · Jun 9, 2014

It's a 55 gallon. Im new to the hobby. I plan on setting up another 125 gallon in a few months in another room. Lol when i purchased the hippo tang the guy told me they like to play dead sometimes. He also mentioned how they loved to swim and might be territorial towards the clown fish. But he spends most of his time in the rocks. I was getting a lil nervous but when he does come out his coloring is fine and hes active

Reefing Madness · Jun 9, 2014

He's gotta get comfortable with his new tank, then you'll see him more.

cpayne015 · Jun 9, 2014

Two tangs is way too much for a 55 gallon. Tangs usually do best in off numbers also. Being thst small could get him bullied too

Naiad · Jun 9, 2014

Yes if you don't get that 125 set up soon I would find a new home for the hippocampus. They get stressed in confined spaces and a stressed tang can lead to a tank disaster. I'm having trouble with a single tang feeling cramped in a 120. My six foot tank setup can't get done fast enough it seems.