New Hippo Tang Problem

[dominican]

I just bought a new medium sized Hippo Tang from my LFS yesterday. Aside from occasional ich issues, this has proven to be a pretty reliable LFS. This hippo had just arrived, and like others I'd seen there, he was doing everything he could to hide behind/in/under rocks. I figured they're just an unusually shy species. Well I got 'im home and in the QT, and he continues to act batty. I have a piece of live rock in there, and he immediately went horizontal and slid into a crevice underneath. This was expected. But when I put a little food in there this morning, he was still there and didn't come out. When I came home at lunch (now) he was still there, so I found a piece of PVC of the appropriate size and guided him to it. He came out and is swimming around like he's blind and just freaking out in general - bumping into the glass and constantly swimming. Earlier he was swimming sideways and such. Now he's swimming around , but seems drunk. Is there something wrong with this fish, or are hippo tangs schizophrenic when you first get them? He's beautiful, but if there's something wrong with him, I'm taking his crazy ass back to the store!
Thanks in advance for your comments...
Regards,
Dominican

 

[dominican]

Oh, and this is an independent LFS, not chain.. just fyi...

 

[clarkiiclo]

My Lopezi tang wouldnt even come out for over a week. I was afraid he was gonna die. Then all of a sudden he decided it was ok to come out and now he follows me all over. He eats out of my hand.
Just give him a bit to adjust. How big is your QT?

 

[dominican]

Over a week?!? Ok thanks Clarkii, that makes me feel a little better... I've just never had a fish act so erratically before. I worry that there's no way he's gonna eat acting like this... The QT is only 20g. I know it's small, but he'll only be in there long enough to make sure he's not sick of course... So far he's just sick in the head!

 

[smoney]

I have a hippo tang, and I was told it was better to QT it, but I decided not to and just put it in my tank, and for a few days or so it hid in the rock, but honestly i think it started socializing with the other fish i the tank like on day 4 or so. I really dont believe in QT anything really cuz I really believe the fish get depressed being alone in a QT. Plus with the hippo tang it needs a lot of room to swim. so 20 gallons is really pushing it. I currently have my hippo tang in my 50 gallon tank with my yellow tang, and they both do just fine, some would say 50 gallons is to small for a hippo tang, but the little buggers' only like an inch.

 

[dominican]

I know 20g is pretty small, but he's in there with a pseudochromis and doesn't acknowledge it, or me when I walk up to the tank, or anything. Even when I crack the door and peek into the room, he's still actively swimming into the corner of the tank. My main tank is 150g, so he'd be fine there. I just don't want to risk putting him in if he's nuts or damaged and I have to try and get him back out.. not that he's guaranteed or anything, but as long as he's alive, my LFS will give me credit on something else. I just want him to quit freaking!
I QT everything now because I had a new fish set off an ich epidemic that wiped out most of my tank about six months ago... I know, I know... ich is always there, etc.. Well if a new fish has it, he's getting hypo in the QT before he gets into the main. Lesson learned the hard way...
Regards,
Dominican

 

[osufarker]

Hippos are strange in that they love to hide in rocks, especially when new. They also like to "lay" in the rocks sometimes. I bought a 6" hippo about 4 months ago. It hid constantly in the QT and would dash away if you approached, but once it was added to the display tank, the fish stopped doing that.

 

[sw65galma]

Originally posted by SMoney
I have a hippo tang, and I was told it was better to QT it, but I decided not to and just put it in my tank, and for a few days or so it hid in the rock, but honestly i think it started socializing with the other fish i the tank like on day 4 or so. I really dont believe in QT anything really cuz I really believe the fish get depressed being alone in a QT. Plus with the hippo tang it needs a lot of room to swim. so 20 gallons is really pushing it. I currently have my hippo tang in my 50 gallon tank with my yellow tang, and they both do just fine, some would say 50 gallons is to small for a hippo tang, but the little buggers' only like an inch.
1st off QTing depends on how vital you feel your display tank is.
Take for example someone with a 200+gallon tank and $5,000.00 in live stock..it would be completely idiotic NOT to QT a fish an tank the chance of killing off your display, plus all the trouble.
For a small tank though it may not be bad.
Also its no problem for a tang to be in a small tank for a short while.

 

[smoney]

O, I do care a lot about my display, and i was just saying that is what I did, Also IMO, i just believe that by QTing the fish it just stresses them way out.

 

[steveoutla]

My hippo did the same thing when I added new lights. He would stay in one corner and swim up and down and kept bumping into the glass. After about a week he was just fine.

 

[dominican]

Thanks for the responses. I'm gathering that he'll calm down. I just have to get 'im to stop long enough to eat! Starting to worry... Hasn't touched flake. I didn't check on him at lunch today, but am gonna try putting some nori & garlic in there when I get home....

 

[sw65galma]

Originally posted by SMoney
O, I do care a lot about my display, and i was just saying that is what I did, Also IMO, i just believe that by QTing the fish it just stresses them way out.
Like i said..Your choice..
Possibly Stress out one fish
or
Take the chance of Killing your entire display with a disease.
Blue hippos are Known Ich Magnets. Even if they don't show signs of ICH, they may have some living on them in different stages of life not able to see, which they would introduce to your display.

 

[aquafox]

Look out....your tang may never stop acting nutty! I agree, the behavior is definitely normal for them...I have a pair and they act like I pulled them directly from the looney bin myself! lol From sleeping upside down to nearly flipping out the top of the tank while speeding wildly around as fast as they can go....they are the best candidates for straight jackets I have ever seen! But I love them...they are amazing to watch....and their antics have made them the centerpiece of my tank!

 

[dominican]

Ok guys, I have to be completely honest and admit that I wussed-out. The hippo hadn't eaten after 4 days and was still acting wacked out, so I took him back for 90% credit. They sold him the next day. Considering all your advice, I feel like a quitter, but I didn't want to sit around and watch him starve... With the store credit I got several blue chromis and an auriga butterfly. The hippo is still in my future, tho, just not that one.. :notsure:

 

[hewetton]

It's always better to start off with a small specimen because they tend to adjust better to a new environment than larger ones. Hippo tangs are, in general, shy when newly introduced to a tank. I've seen one that wouldn't come out of crevice for more than a week. It's not very unusual, though.

 

[dominican]

Ok, here's the question then... and what caused me the most consternation... If they're jammed up in a rock for a week - or otherwise flipping out (especially when you're trying to QT and observe them), how long do you let them go without eating? I folded at 4 days... I guess I'm just trying to figure it out for next time. Thanks!

 

[sw65galma]

Originally posted by Dominican
Ok guys, I have to be completely honest and admit that I wussed-out. The hippo hadn't eaten after 4 days and was still acting wacked out, so I took him back for 90% credit. They sold him the next day. Considering all your advice, I feel like a quitter, but I didn't want to sit around and watch him starve... With the store credit I got several blue chromis and an auriga butterfly. The hippo is still in my future, tho, just not that one.. :notsure:
The chromis are great, but I thought the butterflys were really REALLY picky eaters...I could be wrong though.

 

[dominican]

On the contrary. I had a threadfin (auriga) before; am in the process of rebuilding from an ich catastrophe about 6 months ago (which taught me the value/necessity of QT). One of those I lost was a threadfin, and he was a pig. The one I have now is eating flake, formula-1 pellets, frozen mysis and cyclop-eeze...

 

[aquafox]

You are going to want to throw something at me for this since you already took your tang back....but I just remembered the trick I used to get mine to eat and actually come out of hiding when they were new to the tank! We took a sheet and wrapped it completely around the tank, covering it almost completely except for an area where we could peek in without them seeing us very well. Then when feeding time came, we dropped some food in and peeked through our "access" hole....it didn't take long for them to think they were all alone and come out exploring. I honestly don't remember how long it took for us to get them to eat but I do remember the sheet doing the trick. They thought they were alone so they were brave enough to come out.
Also, just from my personal experience, I disagree with the statement above on getting a younger tang. I tried getting younger tangs - ie, much smaller, and had great difficulty in keeping them alive for the first few weeks of ownership....but in aquiring older, larger tangs, I had much less trouble with ick, infections, or stress. Just my personal opinion....I think everyone has their own experience to share.