blue hippo tang in 55 gallons

jeffinman2

New Member
also have 5 damsels and 5 snails with basic filtar and protein skimmer
will this sufice and make them healthy?
 

reefreak29

Active Member
Originally Posted by jeffinman2
also have 5 damsels and 5 snails with basic filtar and protein skimmer
will this sufice and make them healthy?
i wouldnt put a blue hippo in anything less then a 90
 

miaheatlvr

Active Member
Originally Posted by jeffinman2
also have 5 damsels and 5 snails with basic filtar and protein skimmer
will this sufice and make them healthy?
you might receive negative feedback, unfotunately.
Ive seen comments here of no smaller than a 120g tank long.
 

poniegirl

Active Member
As a 55 owner myself, I have to say that you will need to upgrade or trade your tang.
Your five damsels, with good care, feeding and no urge to kill, trade or hope they jump....sorry.....are close to max for the 55.
I have owned a hippo in a 150 and, while small, they are fun to watch. When they are full grown their stress is very alarming to watch, even in a tank that size.
 

rbrockm1

Active Member
6ft long tanks or longer are the the "best" houseing for any tangs. very active and need room to swim. it all comes down to what you want to do with your tank. i personally wouldn't but the hippo in the 55 but its your choice.
 

david24

Member
If it's a 4 foot long 55 gallon a Yellow or Purple Tang would be a better choice, but even one of those will eventually out grow your tank.
You should also only have one Tang in a tank that size, if more then one a war will be raged and even the winning fish will lose in that situation because of stress and injury.
Again when it comes down to it it's your choice on what you want to put in your tank. If you decide to get one don't get the small dime sized ones because they are very difficult to raise at that size but get one quarter sized or a little larger.
This hobby is addicting if you stay with it and have some success you'll be getting a bigger tank soon i'm sure.
 

kanicky

Member
I just noticed that about 30 minutes before you made this thread, you made another one, asking the same exact thing, except you also wanted to add a starfish, and said you had two damsels and one tomato clown, and not five damsels...

You also never said whether or not you have LR, LS, etc. Just that you had a protein skimmer and basic filtration...
So, let's cover things again:
1.) You should not put a starfish in your tank until it has been established for a long period of time. Your LR should be very mature, and you should have a LOT of it, as they graze like cows. If you wanted a sand-sifting starfish, you should have a very mature sand bed and a tank with a larger footprint, so there is more in the way of volume...
2.) Since it appears from your last thread that you already have the Blue Hippo Tang, you should take it back to your LFS. If they won't take it, try another store. If no store will take it, post on here, and I'm sure someone in your area would be happy to take it off your hands. Tangs are very active fish, and like to jet around. They will quickly outgrow a 55 gallon, even a 75 gallon... While some say it's better to put a very small one in a smaller tank, if provided with the right diet and environment, they grow like weeds, and deserve a bigger tank so they can "stretch their muscles."
In the end, I wish you luck on your tank. It sounds like it's a new venture for you, and I can assure you that you've found the right place. Ask lots of questions and do lots of reading

Good luck!
 

mike22cha

Active Member
No tang should go in a 55g unless an upgrade is on the way. I would trade or just give a lfs the damsels. They are taking all the room that you can have and there are a lot better fish to chose from for a 55g.
 

dskrezyna

Member
Originally Posted by MIKE22cha
No tang should go in a 55g unless an upgrade is on the way. I would trade or just give a lfs the damsels. They are taking all the room that you can have and there are a lot better fish to chose from for a 55g.
As responsible as someone can be I still don't believe people should buy a fish until they have the proper tank size. Upgrading and moving a fish, knowing it will need to go into a bigger tank, just brings more undue stress and isn't practical.
 

farslayer

Active Member
I will say I at least commend this fellow for ASKING FIRST! How many times do you see the post "Hey, I just added a cool hippo to my 24g aquapod!"
I'll commend him for asking, now let's see if he listens :)
 
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