Are Hippo Tangs pretty hardy?

[hscott]

I have two children who are Nemo Nuts and they want a Nemo and Dory. My next order through SWF.com is going to be 2 percula clowns and I'm thinking about a Hippo Tang too. Are they pretty hardy? I've had bad luck with fish dying of shock (3 days after they arrive) and want some hardier pets.

 

[steelchromis]

From what I know they are susceptible to many diseases, especially HLLE.

 

[hscott]

Thanks~ I'll keep that in mind

 

[oregonbud]

I believe the majority of hippo tangs available are aquacultured which makes them a bit hardier then ones caught in the wild, with that said, it is still a tang and susceptible to the common tang problems when conditions allow. The majority of tangs are very susceptible to ich especially when stressed, HLLE (Head Line Lateral Erosion - i think is what it stands for) is another common condition found in tangs. I believe HLLE is usually caused by lack of adequate room in the tank (could be mistaken - if i am anyone please correct me). Since you have a 140 adequate room should not be an issue.
Reading some of your other thread I would suggest waiting on getting the tang until you figure out what is killing the other fish you have/had, and correct that issue first.
HTH
OB

 

[hscott]

OK, i confess... I don't know what HLLE is. I thought I could look it up on the acronyms page, but it wasn't there.

 

[hscott]

I plan on waiting for at least a few weeks to try to see if I can figure out why my fish died. I'm just trying to get information about these fish that my kids want so desperately...to see if they'll work out (when we actually get them).
From what I've gotten from the message boards, and people at the LFS store, I think that the 'stress' reason makes most sense. I'm still going to wait a few weeks, and maybe try to get a blue chromis/damsel at the LFS, but acclimate it the SWF.com way.
Maybe that will help ease the stress. We are going on vacation next week and my brother will feed our inverts while we are gone. I'll see how the tank is looking after that and then think about getting the damsel.

 

[karajay]

There was a really good post in the disease forum from Beth on HLLE...try doing a search. I think it's related to a poor diet as well as various stress factors. I think with your large tank and the proper dietary supplements you would be successful.

 

[zibnata]

I have had a hippo for about 8 months now.It was about 1" when I got it and is about 3 " now. If I could keep it alive,anyone could.It seems very hardy. It made it through the power outage although I lost a yellow tank that I had longer.It is an unbelievable eater.When I feed, it will get more food than all the others combined.It also loves the green seaweed sheets.Feed a couple of inches of seaweed everyday.It spends alot of time hiding and if you walk by the tank it startles easily.My kids love it and it is the favorite of everyone who sees the tank. I recommend it.

 

[stumpdog]

How are your water parameters? What all have you lost? How long has the tank been up for?
Just wondering-
Jeremy

 

[zibnata]

Tank has been running for about ayear. Its my first tank.I havent lost many.Couple clowns,damsels,yellow tang.cleaner shrimp,boxfish. Readings are good except nitrates have always been high,20-40-80 ppm.I am suprised thst the corals do so well with high nitrates. I am in process of removing CC.I have 70-80 lbs LR and am going to put in aragonite.

 

[bdhough]

I think the regal tangs are more succeptable to ich than anything. Yellows and Purple tangs tend to get head and latteral line disease.

 

[cinhark]

I am also thinking about getting a regal tang I have a 90 gal tank and a yellow tang in it already, Is my tank big enouph for both tangs?

 

[bdhough]

Well yes and no. There are other factors too. I would get a small regal if you are going to get one BUT the yellow may not like him to much so they may not match. It's also contingent on the other fish in the tank. Both tangs get very big and while a 90 is big enough for both can become very small once they get big.

 

[cinhark]

The only other fish I have in tank is a small perc clown, cleaner wrasse, damsel, red flame scallop, feather duster, cbs, peppermint shrimp and a sally lightfoot crab.

 

[rgaquarist]

This fish has a few names. Hippo - Regal - Pacific Blue Tang. They are very infamous ich magnets. They are captured from a region where cyanide is one of the collecting methods and they will not live long if they were caught with cyanide. If they were net caught, they have a good chance of survival, but it's best to keep these in a sick tank for about 3 or 4 weeks to see if ich shows up before you let ich overtake your main tank. If ich shows up, there are several medications available. The copper treatments are most harsh for the fish and I always prefer other medications or hyposalinity, which is a whole topic by itself. I never use copper treatments.
Tangs are not bred in captivity. The closest you may find is the ones that were captured as very small juveniles and raised in captivity. If you have hole in the head problems, it is often because of nutritional deficiency, poor water quality or possibly stray voltage in your tank. The most common problem I've seen with these fish besides the ich is that they squeeze into very tight hiding places and scrape their color off and it doesn't grow back.
If you decide to buy one or more, I think a 6 or 7 ft tank is a minumum size tank length because they grow quickly and reach around 10 inches or something in that size range. They like a lot of hiding places, some vegetation in their diet, although not as much as most other Tangs and meaty foods like Formula 1 and 2 and Mysis shrimp. Algae products should be a daily part of the diet and it would also be very helpful to soak their food in vitamin products at least a few times a week.

 

[oregonbud]

Originally posted by RGaquarist
Tangs are not bred in captivity. The closest you may find is the ones that were captured as very small juveniles and raised in captivity.
Sorry didn't mean to imply that this tang was bred in captivity, the "aquacultured" specimens I was referring to are typically caught very early on (post larval stage) then raised in captivity. Thanks for the clarification on this post.
OB

 

[terminus est]

Hippo tangs are many things but hardy is not one of them. They are ich magnets and are considered expert level fish. A 90 gal will support a juvenile but you will need to upgrade to a 100 or 125 later on. And you have the problem of yellow tangs being very territorial and prolly wont like the blue.

 

[gesswhosbak]

My hippo went through a cycle when i changed the cc to sand. He died about a week ago from something. Still havent found out, maybe it was just his time.

 

[rgaquarist]

If the dead Tang wasn't around 12 or 15 years old and about 10 inches long, it wasn't his time.
When these fish stop eating and mysteriously die in a few days, it's likely due to cyanide collection. If there are no other signs of disease, cyanide is the likely suspect.