Hippo feeling blue

[tmoschetti]

:help:
We have a newly arrived blue hippo who won't eat and seems to be very unhappy.

He sometimes swims around but spends most of his time lying on his side under a rock ledge at the bottom of the tank, moping. We added him and a blond naso at the same time, one week ago. The first day our passer angel was very mean to them both. But he stopped that and the naso has adjusted just fine. :thinking:
We are feeding a variety of food: mysis, frozen formula food cubes (variety pack), spectrum and arctic pods.
We are fairly new at this. In addition to the fish mentioned above, we have two black perks, two goby (fire fish), sailfin tang, lawnmower blenny, coral banded shrimp and snowflake eel.
Any advice would be much appreciated. We want him to be happy like our other fish. :happyfish
Thanks!
Tony & Dusty

 

[miaheatlvr]

Originally Posted by tmoschetti
:help:
We have a newly arrived blue hippo who won't eat and seems to be very unhappy.

He sometimes swims around but spends most of his time lying on his side under a rock ledge at the bottom of the tank, moping. We added him and a blond naso at the same time, one week ago. The first day our passer angel was very mean to them both. But he stopped that and the naso has adjusted just fine. :thinking:
We are feeding a variety of food: mysis, frozen formula food cubes (variety pack), spectrum and arctic pods.
We are fairly new at this. In addition to the fish mentioned above, we have two black perks, two goby (fire fish), sailfin tang, lawnmower blenny, coral banded shrimp and snowflake eel.
Any advice would be much appreciated. We want him to be happy like our other fish. :happyfish
Thanks!
Tony & Dusty
Very common with these shy fish,, its a getting use to period which can last up to a couple of weeks, once he feels comfortable and hungry, he will definately come around. p.s the lying on his side is completely normal. welsome to the boards

 

[myreef05]

These two tangs get LARGE big time. Hopefully you have atleast a 180 gallon to house them in. They are open water swimmers so they could be feeling confined if in a smaller tank.
If the tank is adequate size then they should feel better and not so shy shortly.
In the mean time, start supplimenting their foods with garlic (fresh squeezed or minced) to boost their immune system.
Hopefully too you have them in quarantine.

 

[mace]

180 would be nice but dont have to have that, 6 foot tank yes.....

 

[nicetry]

Originally Posted by tmoschetti
:help:
We have a newly arrived blue hippo who won't eat and seems to be very unhappy.

He sometimes swims around but spends most of his time lying on his side under a rock ledge at the bottom of the tank, moping. We added him and a blond naso at the same time, one week ago. The first day our passer angel was very mean to them both. But he stopped that and the naso has adjusted just fine. :thinking:
We are feeding a variety of food: mysis, frozen formula food cubes (variety pack), spectrum and arctic pods.
We are fairly new at this. In addition to the fish mentioned above, we have two black perks, two goby (fire fish), sailfin tang, lawnmower blenny, coral banded shrimp and snowflake eel.
Any advice would be much appreciated. We want him to be happy like our other fish. :happyfish
Thanks!
Tony & Dusty
Give some more info on your tank; how long has it been set up, tank size, filtration. I'm curious as to how new your set up is with such a large fish load.
Do you have live rock in the tank and if so how much? Also post your water parameters, specifically nitrate, temp, salinity and pH. I'm assuming there is no detectable ammonia or nitrite. Hepatus tangs are touchy and can go south very quickly. They are quite prone to parasites so if you didn't quarantine this fish first, you may be in for a rough ride.

 

[tmoschetti]

Sure. We added the first fish to our 90-gallon tank (5 feet?) about three months ago. The tank was set up about two months prior to that. We have live rock and live sand. We have a skimmer in the cabinet under the tank and two Tunze pumps. My water has tested fine. (yes, zero nitrite and ammonia) Salinity had been a little low but that was rectified Saturday. The temperature is approximately 77 degrees. pH approximately 8.4.
Actually, today the little guy is perking up and started eating a little.

Now, one thing you mentioned was quarantine.

No, we did not do that. Nor do I even know how to. :notsure: We just followed the instructions on this site for acclimating the fish.
Thank you all for your advice!
Dusty & Tony

 

[nicetry]

Originally Posted by tmoschetti
Now, one thing you mentioned was quarantine.

No, we did not do that. Nor do I even know how to. :notsure: We just followed the instructions on this site for acclimating the fish.
Thank you all for your advice!
Dusty & Tony
Check out the FAQ section in the Disease Forum. Read up on quarantine. It is really the only way to ensure you don't place a sick fish in your tank.