shy hippo, please help!

[satcmofish]

i just got a hippo tang about 4 days ago. he seemed very healthy, was eating, no evidence of malnourishment or sickness. when i put him in the tank he went straight to the back & has been there ever since, all he does is hide. occasionally he pokes his head out but not very far. he still seems healthy, but i haven't seen him eat & i am getting worried. please help.
thanks,
russ

 

[miaheatlvr]

Originally Posted by satcmofish
i just got a hippo tang about 4 days ago. he seemed very healthy, was eating, no evidence of malnourishment or sickness. when i put him in the tank he went straight to the back & has been there ever since, all he does is hide. occasionally he pokes his head out but not very far. he still seems healthy, but i haven't seen him eat & i am getting worried. please help.
thanks,
russ
Give it some time my friend, Hippo when introduced to new tanks are thee most shy of the TANGS, this is not unusual behavior, mine also hid for a few days, he is just getting used to his environment, try to entice him with some NORI, soaked in garlic, when he gets hungry enough and familiar with his surroundings, he will come out i guarantee it! Good Luck and let me know!

 

[jam1e]

I have a juvenile Blue Hippo in my 65 gallon .. sure he used to come out to eat .. but that was it .. now he swims freely all over the tank .. and him and my Fuzzy Dwarf Lion are best friends .. but it took him like a month to get over the shy stage

 

[sleasia]

Hippos by nature love to hide in the rocks. Provide him with enough roomy places to hide, when he feels more secrure with tankmates he will begin swimming around more freely. Mine took about 2 weeks before he began leaving his hiding place and hanging out with his tank buds. Now he/she swims around with the naso tang alot.

 

[cgrant]

my hippo's did the same thing, now they are all over the tank.
Just give him/her some time to adjust and they should be fine.
They are actually very funny to watch, I have a 9" golden puffer and my 7" hippo dont take no crap from him.
My puffer was trying to do the "I rule the tank" thing and my hippo kicked his butt and actually had him hiding in the corner of the tank, they didnt hurt each other but it sure was funny to see a 9" puffer running away from a hippo tang!

 

[durgeonman]

i have i hippo and it did the samething for almost 2 weeks. after while he just came out for food then darted back into the rockwork. now he is all over the tank. it is in there nature to hide when first intodued. just give him some time.

 

[jam1e]

satcmofish .. any news on your Blue Hippo .. I'd like to know if he's gained confidence yet ..

 

[satcmofish]

nothing has changed. in fact, he seems more skiddish now. i am at atotal loss as to what i should do.

 

[miaheatlvr]

Originally Posted by satcmofish
nothing has changed. in fact, he seems more skiddish now. i am at atotal loss as to what i should do.
Does he eat properly and is he agressive in eating? That but just be his personality then. I dont know what to say. Im stumped

 

[stanlalee]

nothing but time to get comfortable and avoiding spooking it as much as possible will change the behavior. hippo especially small ones are skiddish. they are however greedy so if nothing else it should be coming out for food.