Hippo Tang Help

BillB83 · Nov 5, 2025

Hello,

I have had the same stock in a mixed reef for about 1.5 years. No new fish just inverts here and there and last week i noticed my Hippo tang who i have had for about 2.5 years randomly swimming like a fish was chasing her but no one was. She would spaz out a bit and spook the other fish into hiding and she would go hide in the rocks and then come back out and it would happen a fairly often. Two days ago she lodged herself in a rock where i cant get to her even if i wanted to. I stuck a tweezer down in the rock and got her to come out for a few seconds and she just swam like a maniac into the glass and ping ponged all through the tank hitting herself against stuff only to lodge herself back into the same rock. I assume she will pass here soon but has anyone seen this before? All the fish are healthy its almost like she has some neurological thing going on.

Any advice or experience with this would help

Thanks

vetteguy53081 · Nov 5, 2025

BillB83 said:
Hello,

I have had the same stock in a mixed reef for about 1.5 years. No new fish just inverts here and there and last week i noticed my Hippo tang who i have had for about 2.5 years randomly swimming like a fish was chasing her but no one was. She would spaz out a bit and spook the other fish into hiding and she would go hide in the rocks and then come back out and it would happen a fairly often. Two days ago she lodged herself in a rock where i cant get to her even if i wanted to. I stuck a tweezer down in the rock and got her to come out for a few seconds and she just swam like a maniac into the glass and ping ponged all through the tank hitting herself against stuff only to lodge herself back into the same rock. I assume she will pass here soon but has anyone seen this before? All the fish are healthy its almost like she has some neurological thing going on.

Any advice or experience with this would help

Thanks

I have and funny is, mainly with tangs and a couple of wrasses. Something triggered this fish to this state and more info such as occupants, breathing (normal or labored) or can be irritant such as flukes

BillB83 · Nov 5, 2025

Its like the most basic mixed reef tank ever and the only minor aggression i ever saw in the tank was when i had a dusky wrasse in the tank and it was between the dusky wrasse and the wantanabi chasing each other but never any fin nipping. The hippo was one of the larger fish so no one would ever bother her

135G 6ft tank
2x Clowns
1 Yellow Tang
1 Tomini
1 Melanarus
1 Wantanabi Female
1 Royal Gramma

Breathing is almost impossible to see because where she sleeps is a up in a rock where i can only see her eyeball poking out. I tried to get her out i was gonna try to get her out and throw her into a QT tank but i have been very unsuccessful getting her. She is a very skittish/docile fish to begin with.

Jay Hemdal · Nov 5, 2025

BillB83 said:
Its like the most basic mixed reef tank ever and the only minor aggression i ever saw in the tank was when i had a dusky wrasse in the tank and it was between the dusky wrasse and the wantanabi chasing each other but never any fin nipping. The hippo was one of the larger fish so no one would ever bother her

135G 6ft tank
2x Clowns
1 Yellow Tang
1 Tomini
1 Melanarus
1 Wantanabi Female
1 Royal Gramma

Breathing is almost impossible to see because where she sleeps is a up in a rock where i can only see her eyeball poking out. I tried to get her out i was gonna try to get her out and throw her into a QT tank but i have been very unsuccessful getting her. She is a very skittish/docile fish to begin with.

That is weird. The time frame tends to rule out most external diseases. Cyanide poisoning during collection can cause a fish to become overly shy, but your fish is well past the time that would show up.

So - the fish is not coming out at all? I guess that precludes getting us a video.....

BillB83 · Nov 5, 2025

Jay Hemdal said:
That is weird. The time frame tends to rule out most external diseases. Cyanide poisoning during collection can cause a fish to become overly shy, but your fish is well past the time that would show up.

So - the fish is not coming out at all? I guess that precludes getting us a video.....

Correct, the fish is acting like shes in fear for her life exactly like a fish would act if another fish was beating up on it but that just isnt the case i have never seen something like this ever.