Blue tang

Megella48 · Nov 15, 2019

Just bought a blue hippo tang 2 days ago and introduced it to my tank. It is constantly hiding and will not come out of the rock to eat should i bee concerned or just leave it be.

Paul B · Nov 15, 2019

No, that is normal for them.

Megella48 · Nov 15, 2019

Ok i was just concerned because it look like it was stuck and thought it might have been dying m.

Jon Fishman · Nov 15, 2019

How big is the tang, and how big is your tank? Based on your other posts about your corals, the tank looked new. Have you tested to ensure it’s cycled?

Size of tank will matter too, because a tang will make a big dent in your bioload

Paul B · Nov 15, 2019

He may be dying, I don't know from here but they don't get stuck in coral as they do that constantly even after they are in a tank for 10 years. Hippo tangs like all tangs live in schools and the other members of it's school are an extension of it's own self. They don't know how to make decisions on their own and look for the school to do everything together.

Kind of like college students looking for something to protest.

If he is healthy he will eventually venture out to grab something to eat, but then he will quickly dart back into the rocks. In a new tank with no growth he may almost never come out into the open as they hate those types of tanks.

Megella48 · Nov 15, 2019

Jon Fishman said:
How big is the tang, and how big is your tank? Based on your other posts about your corals, the tank looked new. Have you tested to ensure it’s cycled?

Size of tank will matter too, because a tang will make a big dent in your bioload

Tank is cycled and tang is about 1 in long in a 16.5 gallon bio cube

Paul B · Nov 15, 2019

One more thing. If that hippo lives he will grow to outgrow that tank in a few weeks or a couple of months. They get over 8" long but in a tank they tend to stay closer to 5".
I have had them live over 10 years and thats as large as mine ever got but I am sure in a bigger tank, they would grow to their full size.

Jon Fishman · Nov 15, 2019

Paul B said:
One more thing. If that hippo lives he will grow to outgrow that tank in a few weeks or a couple of months. They get over 8" long but in a tank they tend to stay closer to 5".
I have had them live over 10 years and thats as large as mine ever got but I am sure in a bigger tank, they would grow to their full size.

I don’t make it a habit to disagree with people who are not only much more knowledgeable and experienced than myself, but also those who wrote books in the field, but are you sure you’re not talking about Atlantic Blue Tangs?

I have seen many Hippos at local shops that are easily 10”. Max “they” say is a foot.

Blue Tang: Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums

m.liveaquaria.com

Either way, I agree, they grow fast, and I wouldn’t put a hippo in my 8’ tank because I don’t think it’s big enough, and I’m pretty sure we would all be hard-pressed to find someone that would argue that a 16.5g Biocube is a suitable habitat for one even short term.

Take the fish back or give it to your friend for coral if his tank is suitable. That thing will be stressed and diseased in no time.

College Students looking for something to protest.......your analogies are always spot on!

NotFishyFishGuy · Nov 15, 2019

Hmmmm though he seems small now (1 inch) he will definelty grow quite big. I would recommend getting a bigger tank for now, even if you are going to upgrade soon. Also, be careful, the tang police may find you lol

Halal Hotdog · Nov 15, 2019

Megella48 said:
Tank is cycled and tang is about 1 in long in a 16.5 gallon bio cube

Why would you put a hippo tang in a 16 gallon tank? Any research on this fish shows that you would need something 10x larger than what you currently have. Your best bet is to return the fish or give to someone who can provide an acceptable home. It will not be able to thrive in the environment you are providing.

NotFishyFishGuy · Nov 15, 2019

Halal Hotdog said:
Why would you put a hippo tang in a 16 gallon tank? Any research on this fish shows that you would need something 10x larger than what you currently have. Your best bet is to return the fish or give to someone who can provide an acceptable home. It will not be able to thrive in the environment you are providing.

Tang police alert lol. I’m just kidding i agree that even a 1 inch one shouldn’t be there...

Paul B · Nov 15, 2019

Jon Fishman said:
I have seen many Hippos at local shops that are easily 10”. Max “they” say is a foot.

It is a foot but I have never seen one that big even in multi thousand gallon tanks in public aquariums. I normally see them about 8" in big tanks and as I said mine in a 125 gallon tank grow in 10 years to about 5". Maybe they smoke and it stunts their growth but I know why won't get real big in a small tank. And in that tank he may not even come out of the rocks.
As I said, I had one in my first 40 gallon tank in 1974 and he lived fine, but was stunted. I know many people (tang police) will say they will grow 12 feet long in a pint of water, but they won't and I don't want to argue about it as I have been keeping them for decades. You can see in my log book here my Hippo tang and I don't think that was the first one I had.

They are also one of the few common aquarium fish that I didn't dive with as they come from the Indian Ocean and I never dove there so i am not an expert on the size of them. I like first hand information so I will have to listen to Wikipedia to tell me their size.