dead fish :'(

[acura247]

I'm pretty devastated, I just left for college and about a month ago I bought a blue hippo tang and a lemon peel angelfish. I got phone calls from my parents telling my they both died. The lemon peel was first but before I left for school I noticed his left eye had popped. The blue hippo seemed fine and was eating normally. I noticed a week before I left that both of my fish were scratching themselves on my live rock. Doing research it might have been ich? Im not 100% sure. My green chromis who I've had ever since I cycled my tank is still alive and seems to be doing fine. Can someone confirm this? I have about 15 red/blue hermit crabs, but im pretty sure they werent the killers.

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by acura247 http:///t/392890/dead-fish#post_3491643
I'm pretty devastated, I just left for college and about a month ago I bought a blue hippo tang and a lemon peel angelfish. I got phone calls from my parents telling my they both died. The lemon peel was first but before I left for school I noticed his left eye had popped. The blue hippo seemed fine and was eating normally. I noticed a week before I left that both of my fish were scratching themselves on my live rock. Doing research it might have been ich? Im not 100% sure. My green chromis who I've had ever since I cycled my tank is still alive and seems to be doing fine. Can someone confirm this? I have about 15 red/blue hermit crabs, but im pretty sure they werent the killers.
Stressed fish succumb faster to ich, while healthy fish are able to resist. I'm afraid the Hippo tangs sre so easily stressed they are called ich magnets, if the parasite was in the system it will get it. If the Lemonpeel already had popeye or whatever it was, he was already sick and ich would have done him in.
Sorry for the loss, hopfully the others will be alright.

 

[btldreef]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Flower http:///t/392890/dead-fish#post_3491647
Stressed fish succumb faster to ich, while healthy fish are able to resist. I'm afraid the Hippo tangs sre so easily stressed they are called ich magnets, if the parasite was in the system it will get it. If the Lemonpeel already had popeye or whatever it was, he was already sick and ich would have done him in.
Sorry for the loss, hopfully the others will be alright.
I agree here.
Chromis are also really hardy, and can live much longer with ich present. Hippo tangs and lemon peel angels are fairly delicate and can't handle stress or parasites nearly as well. But on a side note, what size tank did you have them in? How old was the tank?

 

[acura247]

The tanks been up for 5 months, and I cycled with my chromis. It's a 55 gal tank

 

[btldreef]

Quote:
Originally Posted by acura247 http:///t/392890/dead-fish#post_3491818
The tanks been up for 5 months, and I cycled with my chromis. It's a 55 gal tank
The tank probably wasn't mature enough to support the lemonpeel (or the tang for that matter). Dwarf angels and tangs really need established tanks so they can graze on the filamentous algae throughout the day. They need more than just being fed by a human.
What size was the hippo tang?
A 55G tank, really isn't the right environment for a hippo tang, and it's likely that this added to its stress.

 

[acura247]

The hippo tang was about 2.5 inches, thanks for the info, I'll try adding another dwarf angel after my tank is more established

 

[btldreef]

Quote:
Originally Posted by acura247 http:///t/392890/dead-fish#post_3491827
The hippo tang was about 2.5 inches, thanks for the info, I'll try adding another dwarf angel after my tank is more established
I was afraid to hear it was that small.
Hippo tangs under 3 inches barely survive in captivity. This is especially true if they get stressed or aren't fed a proper diet. The issue with young hippos diet is that they prefer more small meaty food, which isn't typical of most tangs, so people often don't feed them the right thing which aids to their slow deterioration. But as a general rule, stay away from a hippo under 3 inches, and for your tank, no tangs at all.