Hippo Tang

[worm]

Just purchased a juvi hippo tang yesterday from my LFS. thanks Adrian I acclimated him for about 3 hrs and was wondering why he dives down on the sand and rock? When I say "dives down", I mean he rubs his body on the sand and rock. Just the one side tho. Did I not acclimate him long enough, meaning signs of stress? He is actually rubbing the blue off of himself. What to do? What to do?
And oh, Adrian, the seeweed you gave me, sheez, all the fish love it!
thanks!

 

[heavenly damsel]

Does he have any signs of ich? Sometimes when they are getting ich they rub on the rocks. Do a search for garlic, I feed my tank garlic once a week. Have 3 yellow tangs with no ich ever. I swear by the garlic prevention.

 

[ed r]

That type of tang will often lie on its side or lean against the glass. If he is not actually rubbing or scratching, he may be perfectly healthy. This behavior is not common for other tangs and can scare new owners who shudder at the thought of a fish lying on a rock or the sand. Give him a chance. I suspect he is fine. If he starts to eat normally, there should be no problem.
I guess I didn't read close enough the first time. You say he is actually rubbing the blue off of one side. Ich is the first suspect, but it could be nerves/stress. Are any other fish bothering him?

 

[adrian]

Did you drip acclimate it? Tangs are quick to get ich if not properly acclimated. If it does indeed have ich you will notice small white spots, as if salt has been sprinkled on the fish. Garlic is said to work very well on ich, although Ive never used it, fresh water dips are also very effective, although they must be done carefully, the pH and temp of the fresh water must be the same as the tank water, and you have to keep a close eye on the fish and remove it if it becomes overly stressed. Making sure your temp and salinity do not fluctuate too much will prevent it from getting out of hand. Keep us posted. GL

 

[worm]

Day 02 -> Hippo is no longer "rubbing" rocks. He is very socialable with his tank mates. The rubbing "scars" he has are still white, though. I will start using garlic water during feeding to help prevent disease. I am hoping the white scars will go away and he will grow to be a healthy, beautiful tang...
I will keep everyone posted.

 

[cmonkey]

Where did you buy him from? Please not Noahs.

 

[rhomer]

I've had a hippo for over a year, and I have noticed that they will get ich, and get rid of ich very quickly. I've had thee bouts of ich with him, and each time they will show up within a day about 5-10 small white spots, and after I apply some garlic to some seaweed, it seems to be gone in a matter of hours.
I have also noticed that he will scratch himself against the rock when he is stressed. This will generally happen when I have a lot of people over to the house, or when I do some significant tank maint.

 

[gonchar]

My 29g tank has recently become infested with ich after my UV sterilizer went down and I added a fish that I think must have brought it into the system. I found my yellow tang rubbing himself on rocks as you said your fish was doing. This batch if ich is especially tough. It's taking me awhile to get rid of it and I've had 1 casualty of my oldest fish. Does anyone have any suggestions for a hearty solution for a fish only tank? I was also wondering how people go about adding garlic to the tank for ich prevention.

 

[rhomer]

Garlic most likely won't help if the problem is really bad, you might try hyposalinity, do a search, there is plenty-o-info.