Small hippo tang

ninny

Member
We just got a small hippo tang probably not even an inch long. We are feeding it brine shrimp eggs. I normally only feed my fish every other day, but since this fish is fo small should I feed it everyday, or will it be ok on the every otherday feeding? It is in a 135 reef tank with 10 other fish. Thanks for any advice.
 
hey sounds like an awsome little fish lol do you have any pictures also do you fint it hard to keep track of such a small fish in such a big tank?
 

joslinhome

New Member
i had the same thing...it was barely eating, had it for 2-3 days and it died, think its hard to keep those babies alive. Also, i recommend eat everyday. My LFS (actually only one man) he advises feed fish 2-3 times a day. Whatever amount you would feed once a day, break that up to 2-3 portions and feed sametime daily. So i never feed more just often.
 

nycbob

Active Member
a hippo tang that small needs to be fed at least 2x per day. many small hippos dont make it for this reason.
 

mantisman51

Active Member
In my experience with both fresh and salt fish, Bob is very correct. Fry need to eat several times a day. I raised and sold cichlids for quite awhile and had to feed the fry 5-6 x a day. Under-feeding is far worse for an explosively growing animal than over-feeding.
 

srfisher17

Active Member
Originally Posted by ninny
http:///forum/post/3043951
We just got a small hippo tang probably not even an inch long. We are feeding it brine shrimp eggs. I normally only feed my fish every other day, but since this fish is fo small should I feed it everyday, or will it be ok on the every otherday feeding? It is in a 135 reef tank with 10 other fish. Thanks for any advice.
DON'T feed any fish brine shrimp eggs. I've never heard of this being done. These eggs need to be hatched, then the baby brine shrimp are fed to very small fry. Your little hippo should do well on Cyclpo-eeze, finely chopped Formula II,maybe frozen baby brine shrimp (hatched) etc.He should also graze on the LR in your tank.I would feed this fish a few times a day. I doubt that this fish is a "fry"; it is a very small juvenile tang. BTW, very small hippos have a very poor survivability rate, good luck with him.
EDIT: I forgot about decapsulated brine shrimp eggs. I've never used them. but they should be a good food for very small fish.
 

flower

Well-Known Member
Hippo tangs are algae eaters, try an algae sheet...it can nibble all day long. When I got my hippo it was the size of my pinky fingernail. It is nearly 4 inches now.
It's an ich magnet but very happy. If I see an outbreak I give it some garlic lased shrimp and it does just fine.
 

stanlalee

Active Member
Originally Posted by Flower
http:///forum/post/3044471
Hippo tangs are algae eaters, try an algae sheet...it can nibble all day long.
juvenile hippo tangs are exclusive zoo plankton carnivores. they dont begin to graze algae until they are about the size shown below. at 1" they school in coral heads eating zooplankton.
Small tangs are a pain in the rear to raise healthy, just fragile. you should actually be feeding a tang any smaller then below 3-6x a day. the ones that are going to survive will eat anything just like larger hippos. try meaty foods with extra algae like the formula 2's or spirulina enriched brine/mysis.
I got this guy at 1" started out in a 3ft 30g and eventually to a six foot tank after the first year.

didn't take long to become a teenager
. it became a VERY settled in fish (hand fed) until I broke my tank and had to sell him.
 

unleashed

Active Member
I agree with the cyclopseze .. i would would also get some formula 2 cubes once they thaw they can be mushed up very fine for the little guy to be able to feed.. or left in cube form for it to graze upon
 

flower

Well-Known Member
Looks like I was luckier than I thought that my little guy survived. LOL I had no idea they didn't eat algae until about 1" The zooplankton and mysis shrimp I fed my corals and clam probably kept him alive.
I didn't discover this site until way later. I learn something new everyday. Thanks.
 

stanlalee

Active Member
Originally Posted by Flower
http:///forum/post/3045150
Looks like I was luckier than I thought that my little guy survived. LOL I had no idea they didn't eat algae until about 1" The zooplankton and mysis shrimp I fed my corals and clam probably kept him alive.
I didn't discover this site until way later. I learn something new everyday. Thanks.
I dont doubt they would eat algae and its good for them at that size but in the wild really small they dont have the balls to go around grazing I guess.
 

jmrents

Member
I was lucky enough to find a juvenile Hippo about a year ago
now...it was less than an inch long and very shy.
I know these fish have a poor record when they are that small
but I thought it would die where it was, so the price was right and now after a year it has more than doubled in size.
Blue hippos are not much on grazing like most tangs at any size...they will forage on micro algae on the rocks but most like zoo-plankton and meaty bits, they do like noori and spirulina flake as well.
I rotate the diet in my tank from a home made blend of clam, mussels, shrimp and noori, which I freeze then use a grater on and mix with the tank water, the fish love it and it lasts quite awhile. I also give the tank cyclopeeze, and the above mentioned spriulina flakes, along with mysis shrimp.
The tank is thriving and all the fish seem to enjoy which ever meal floats their way.
The Hippo, is still the smallest tang and one of the smallest fish too, but it is not as shy and has no problems with any of its tank mates.
 

shlap

Member
I have a blue tang 1" or less that eats like a horse! It grazes on the copods on the back glass all day long and eats marine cuisine, mysis, and forumla 1 and 2 flakes.
I love it; it thinks it's a clown and swims with my two little ocellaris' all day. It is shy though and drops to the bottom of the tank and plays dead if I have my hands in the tank.
Have you noticed that under natural light, the stripe in front of their eyes and around the rear are somewhat transparent? I can only notice it when the lights are off in the tank. It looks freaky!
Here's mine swimming with my juvenile clowns.
 

emmanuel

New Member
Noted small white spots on the body and eye of my Hippo Tang last week. The remainder of the fish did not exhibit similar signs. All fish are feeding well. 90 Gallon FOWLR w the following Parameters pH 8.3, DK 7.5, SG 1.021, Amm 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0, Ca 460. I removed him and placed him in a 10 gallon QT Tank and have been performing 20 Gallon water changes every other day for 5 days now. The Parameters in the QT Tank are pH 8.0, SG 1.012, Amm 0.25, 0 Nitrite, 0 Nitrate. The fish in the main tank (Maroon Clownfish, Yellow Tang and Dwarf Lionfish) still are wout signs of Parasite w stable water Parameters and hardy apetites. The white spots on the Hippo Tang are just about gone, However He appears Lethargic and isn't eating well. The QT Tank has a basic HOW filter, Air Pump and some PVC pipes for hiding (No substrate). All feeds in both tanks are placed in Garlic. Questions:
1. Was removing him the right thing to do?
2. Having a difficult time keeping the parameters in the QT Tank stable and the Hippo Tang which previously was acting fine now is lethargic. Should I assume the parasite is in the main tank despite the remaining fish not exhibiting signs?
3. If yes to 2, would it be better to reintroduce the Tang into the main tank given more stable water parameters? (That's assuming the parasite is already in the main tank).
4. What works better, Hyposalinity or Copper? Can both be utilized?
5. Will Copper destroy my Biologic Filter if I re-Introduce the Hippo Tang and go w Copper Therapy instead?
6. If yes to 5, would a product Like Bio-Spira allow me to Re-establish a Bio Filter once the fish are adequately treated?
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