new fishies are scared and hiding :(

[krautburner]

well......
monday, (it's now thursday night)
I traded in my only fish that came with the tank, old (and agressive) tomatoe clown
and picked up my first 2 fish:
a 3.5" Blue Hippo Tang, and a 3" Yellow Tang
after acclimation, I placed them into the tank,
within 30 min, they both found really good hiding spots (and havn't really come out since)
the yellow has poked his head out a couple times (verry briefly)
but the blue hasn't come out since he went in

he is moving around behind the rockwork, I can't tell if he's eating or not

my water seems to be the same as it was before I put them in,
amonia: 0
N2: .5
N3: .0
Ph: 8.3
s/g: 1.026
Temp: 80.5-81.5

 

[keri]

"eeee-oooo-eee-ooo...." I hear the Tang Police!
But before they get here: hiding can be normal, it can take a long time for your fish to adjust. Have you tried different foods?

 

[krautburner]

I read that the blue hippo can be timmid when first placed in a tank (but I was wondering if this was getting to be too long
I've put in Freeze dried Brine shrimp (which my tmatoe clown loved)
and 2 different types of Flake food (I cant remember what, I'm at work right now)

 

[keri]

Try some of the frozen formulations, I find that really helps with the picky eaters, as well as nori (algae sheets). Do you see them picking at your rocks at all?

 

[krautburner]

Originally Posted by Keri
http:///forum/post/2506534
Try some of the frozen formulations, I find that really helps with the picky eaters, as well as nori (algae sheets). Do you see them picking at your rocks at all?
when I fed them last night,
they were definately moving around (behind the rocks)
I've seen the Yellow picking at the rocks

 

[sh00tist]

Both of those fish are major algae eaters and will most likely eat algae before anything else. I would suggest you go get an algae clip and some nori algae. Place it somewhere they wont feel threatened at first but somewhere they will see it. Im not going to lecture and Im afraid to look at your tank specs but the 2 fish may be hiding out from one another as much as anything,mixing tangs is tricky business, though I know its done all the time its best to do a lot of research and see how well these types will get along,gl with your tangs.

 

[ophiura]

OK, just to start... I don't see the need (a new trend) to start out with "oh I hear the tang police coming!" It is unproductive, and unecessary, and a good way to flame a possible fire, get a jab in, and then complain about it later. This is not the first thread I've seen like this today. So as I'm still a bit annoyed by the recent flare ups on this very sort of topic, I would ask people to read this thread . Thanks

It is nothing personal, but it is fuel for a fire and I have a low tolerance for it right now.

Anyway, IMO, throwing food in to a tank is not the solution for this. Especially because you have nitrites. The fish are NOT going to starve. Is this a tank that was recently moved? How many fish did it have in it (just the 1?) and what is the biofilter? I would be concerned about the stability of the tank.
I would maybe keep the lights off for awhile. Since you have not QTd the fish, you are, IMO, at high risk for possible ick and you need to watch this closely. Do not add fish for quite some time as tangs, IMO, are a major strain on bioload in a possibly unstable tank.
Take things very slow, watch your parameters very closely, and don't over do it on feeding or stocking. Be ready to act in case parameters get out of hand...have salt and water ready, or at least an ammo-lock product in case things SERIOUSLY get out of hand.

 

[krautburner]

the tank was moved (almost 3 months ago)
it only had the one fish (tomatoe clown) and soome verts and corals
we were able to keep almost half of the origional water.
as far as the two clowns hiding from each other....
they were in the same community tank at the lfs
and they were hiding together almost all the time
here's what happened:
after about the 3rd day,
I definately noticed "action" behind the rocks whenever I fed them.
but they wouldn't come out from behind the rocks (except for a tiny glimpse)
also
my reef package came from swf.com (hermits, snails, clams, crabs, and shrimp)
along with a red lipped belini, coral banded shrimp, and a couple corals
day 4
the yellow tang started coming out...
looked pretty bad (reddish-brown behind his fins/gills, tail looked torn up, brownish red spot on his forhead)
day 5
blue hippo started coming out
he looks skinney
both fishies are eating at this point,
get excited about 1-2 min after feeding
still timmid about being out from the rocks
day 6
same as 4/5
amonia was at the 2nd colored bar on the test kit (can't remember the number) I started doing a 5 gal water change
at the end of the day (right before the lights went off)
I moved the rocks around in the tank, and changed another 5 gal
day 7
amonia was down to the first colored bar (above "0")
fish are still hiding alot, but come out for feeding (2x that day, small feeding)
yellow fish looks worse, but eating
blue fish still looks skinny, but really excited by the food
morning of day 8
yellow tang was dead at the bottom of the tank
chem was same as day 7
blue tang is getting more active, still looks skinny
still hiding whenever there's movement outside the tank
last night was day 9
I didn't check the chem
and the blue hippo seems to be doing better (still looking skinny)

 

[krautburner]

needless to say,
I'm really sad that I lost my yellow tang

I'm not sure if it's something I did wrong, or a sick fish, or what

and the loss of $20
I had some more coral come in today, I went ahead and put it in (I don't have anywhere else to put it)
I was hoping to pick up an anenomie and a pair of GSM clowns this week
but I will definately be waiting a couple weeks (if not months) before adding anymore life to the tank

 

[txfishman]

ig by gsm you meen gold striped maroon clowns I willl warn you they are the most aggresive clown out there!

 

[krautburner]

Originally Posted by txfishman
http:///forum/post/2515840
ig by gsm you meen gold striped maroon clowns I willl warn you they are the most aggresive clown out there!

I've read that
I've also read that Tangs can take care of themselves
that will probably be it for my fish (in this tank)

 

[krautburner]

Quote:
Originally Posted by txfishman http:///t/310500/new-fishies-are-scared-and-hiding#post_2515840
ig by gsm you meen gold striped maroon clowns I willl warn you they are the most aggresive clown out there!
well,
I got the tank all settled and picked up the pair of GSM's
they have been happy in the tank for about 3 years now.
no agression issues after the first month.
not long after these posts (May/June 2008) I picked up a rescue Sailfin tang from a tank teareown
he and the blue hippo got along well (along with the gsm's) for about a year and a half.
then the sailfin became very agressive with the blue hippo. I believe the sailfin was getting a bit large for the tank (noted him pacing a few times)
so we decided to get him out of the tank and off to a bigger tank.
while pulling rocks and chasing the sailfin the blue hippo got himself stuck (wedged) in a rock
after about 20 hours, I ended up taking the whole rock (with blue hippo wedged into it) into the LFS, where they broke the rock appart only for the fish to die (probably from stress) a day later in there QT
traded the sailfin in at the same time towards some foods and such.
sometime before this I traded in the tomatoe clown too.
the tank has been without any tangs for quite a while now.
and I've been kicking around the idea of picking one up again.
leaning towards the smallest one I can find, as the largest fish in my tank now is the female clown (about 3")