blue hippo tang question

[scrapman]

Just got a 2" blue hippo tang for my well established 90 gal display tank with refugium. Good parameters all over.
I drip acclimated the new fish OK..... He has been very shy since his introduction to his new environment five days ago. He's swimming very little mainly at to bottom of caves in the rocks. Don't know if he is eating despite my spot feeding for him. He has been very well received by my other fish: a medium yellow tang, a six line wrasse and a coral beauty. My cleaner shrimp loves the blue hippo.

any advice to make him swim like a real blue hippo?
Thanks

 

[jay0705]

First there very skittish at first so its normal. Second it will out grow your 90 fairly fast unfortunately. Cleaners do like tangs, hopefully in your case its not bc its picking all kinds of nasties off it

 

[florida joe]

With all due respect to my good friend Jay i have been a keeper of tangs in my tank for years and have never had to remove one because it out grew the tank. fish size is predicated on wild caught fish not fish kept in a closed system infinitely smaller then the open ocean

 

[jay0705]

Were friends? Lol i joke. With certain tangs i do agree joe. However naso species especially the blue spot, grow like weeds. Mine was 3" and hit 12" with in a yr. She was the reason i upgraded my tank. Now yellows,kole, scopas, sailfin, purple in that family i tend to agree with you. The hippo honestly i have no personal experience just going by a few i have seen

 

[lmforbis]

My hippo has gone from 1/2 inch to almost 3 inches in 10 months. I hope she slows down soon.

 

[florida joe]

Jay i totaly agree about the Naso they can grow to over a foot in the home aquarium. BUT if we go by Imforbis within a very short time her hippo will grow to over 12" I have seen a lot of home aquariums and NEVER have i seen a hippo that size.

 

[lmforbis]

Mine is one of the super tangs. It has slowed down considerably in the last couple months. It was so tiny when I put it in the 125 I was worried it would get thrown around in the current and not be able to compete for food. Went from smallest fish to biggest fish in less than a year. I'm not so concerned it will physically too big but that it will need more space to swim.

 

[jay0705]

Alot i think is aqua scaping. Alot of open space and open cuts. A 125 is still 6ft. So its not horrible. A hippo was on my list for a long time. Its funny all the tangs i have where never on my list. More a good deal or sympathy

 

[florida joe]

Mine is one of the super tangs. It has slowed down considerably in the last couple months. It was so tiny when I put it in the 125 I was worried it would get thrown around in the current and not be able to compete for food. Went from smallest fish to biggest fish in less than a year. I'm not so concerned it will physically too big but that it will need more space to swim.

I know nothing about super tangs tell me more please

 

[lmforbis]

They grow super fast and max out at 10 feet in the wild.

 

[florida joe]

UMMM Are YOU talking about the Christmas island Hippo tangs, yes they get big. 12 to 13 inches i believed but 10 feet REALLY 10- FEET.

 

[lmforbis]

I think she's more likely from bikini atoll area, all that radiation does strange things to fish. Turns them into super fish.

 

[florida joe]

Look on the bright side when you turn off the lights you get that beautiful glow

 

[lmforbis]

 

[one-fish]

Think someone found the cooking sherry 10 FEET.....Lol

 

[deejeff0442]

I have a hippo 4 inches and a blond Naso 3.5 inches in my 90 reef for a year now. over the years I noticed in smaller tanks they don't grow much. had a purple in a 90 for years once she got to the 150 she grew 2 inches in a year. long story but I am separating from the wife after the holidays . I plan to move out. going to get a 6 foot tank soon.

 

[lmforbis]

Sometimes it is important to give Joe a hard time.
Her yellow belly does kind of glow in the blue light though. I really doubt she'll exceed 8 inches. I never intended to get a hippo tang. She was accidentally included in an order of mine. I kid you not she was about the size of a dime. I put her into QT and through a full 2 weeks of tank transfers. I was sure that she would not make it but had to try. That was in february. She has grown a huge amount since then.

 

[2quills]

Relax guys. I did the research and according to SWF.com all you need for a hippo is a 55g. So it's all good.

 

[lmforbis]

That's an improvement I believe at one time it was a 40 gallon.

 

[florida joe]

Sometimes it is important to give Joe a hard time.
Her yellow belly does kind of glow in the blue light though. I really doubt she'll exceed 8 inches. I never intended to get a hippo tang. She was accidentally included in an order of mine. I kid you not she was about the size of a dime. I put her into QT and through a full 2 weeks of tank transfers. I was sure that she would not make it but had to try. That was in february. She has grown a huge amount since then.

My good friend Meowza would give me a hard time all the time, but that's a story for another time