What kind of fish with a Blue Hippo/Regal?

[jla9508]

I have a 55 gal with one Blue Hippo Tang(about 2 in.) I am going to buy atleast 40-50 lbs of live rock before adding anymore fish. I was wondering if I put a small Coral Beauty and a small Six-Line in the tank would they be fine with the tang? If this combo is ok, could i put a couple more small fish in the tank? If so what would you suggest?
Also, I have my tank setup listed below. Is this setup ok? Should anything be changed/added?
55 gal
Emperor 280 filter(about to be changed to a 400)
Prizm Skimmer
2 Maxi-Jet 600 Power Heads
3in sand bed(Quickcrete Kiddie Play Sand)
1 Blue Hippo Tang
10 Turbo Snails
3lb live rock(in the process of getting more)

 

[grouperhead]

Blue Hippos are notorious ich magnets, so you don't want any agressive fish in there. A sixline would be a good addition, they are passive fish that like to just weave their way in and out of the live rock. A coral beauty might work, but I'd keep a close eye on him, and make sure he doesn't bother the tang. Bo

 

[jla9508]

Anyone else have any ideas??
I am thinking about trading in the Tang and get a Coral Beauty, Long Nose Hawk, 6-Line Wrasse, and a pair of firefish. Would his be a good combo.? Should I get these fish in any order?
Is my setup good enough?

 

[catera]

JLA I HAVE A FLAME angel in my tank and seems very passive to the sponges and other stuff on my l/r. i just got him but he doesnt bother any of my fish either. In my opinion they are more colorful than the coral beauty. (which i almost got) How about a gold banded maroon clown. i love mine and it has a great personallity.
stocking issue i have a 55 and i feel that i have gold banded, flame, lawnmower and i want a blue hippo, and that should be it. i also have two damsels but im taking them out when i get the hippo or yellow tang.
as for the order, i would think the coral beauty last but always put the most aggresive last.
hth this helps im new but this is what i feel i have read and experienced ver the last 6 months

 

[rhomer]

Glad to see some others with hippo's in a 55. I really had a hard time with this one. Most here say a 55 is too small for a hippo. Mine is about 4 inches, and seems fine. I will have to see how fast he grows.
I would like to add a flame hawk, and a jawfish. This would give me a neon goby, a bicolor, a hippo, and those two others.
Any objections?

 

[hondo]

you need to be careful adding that much LR as your tank may cycle again and good bye tang. add the Rock slowly over time even if the rock is supposed to be already "cured". and don't add the coral beauty until all the rock is in and the tank is well established.

 

[asm1134]

JLA9508 I have question for you. I see that you have a 3-inch sand of Quikrete play sand in it. Did you have any problems with it? I have been looking for southdown play sand, but I cannot find any. That is why I am asking.
Thnx

 

[krux]

Firefish are real nice tankmates for hippos, as are jennifers or royal grammas. You gotta watch that you dont get too many fish that will be aggressive toward each other though..... even if they ignore the hippo, their tearing about and squabbling will freak your fish out. There is a nice display tank at my lfs that has a smallish hippo and a couple golden boxfish..... they all seem to ignore each other nicely if you are looking for some oddballs.
I had a 1.5 inch hippo that I had to take back to the store because my perfectly friendly clownfish were so curious about him that the hid behind my powerhead trying to escape their play and wouldnt come out, even for live brine...
GL

 

[jla9508]

asm1134
You can't find Southdown anywhere. From what I understand the company was bought out by another and don't sell it anymore. I have not had any trouble with the Quickcrete. I would wash a small ammount of sand at a time in a 5 gal bucket. Then I would put some sand it a ziploc bag and empty it slowly to on to the bottom of the tank. Adding one large bag full and waiting about 20 min. before adding more. It is a very slow process but I did not have any clouding.

 

[asm1134]

JLA, Thanks for the info. I have called home depots all over the place, and cant find it. Call 3 local HD and called 4 out of state HD and they dont have it. I found the web site to Southdown and I paln on giving them a call tommorow and see what they say, but more than likely I will use the Quikrete.
Once again, Thnx.

 

[jim672]

JLA,
Hondo gives good advice. Hippos are easily stressed and adding that much LR will cause serious stress. Ick will be the result.
One of the other notes in this string also cautions about having a Hippo in a 55. Everything I've read indicates tangs shouldn't be placed in anything smaller than a 75. I tried one a my 45 and he was happy for about 6 months until he grew to 3-4". With the other fish I had, I was inviting an Ick outbreak and it happened.....I lost all my fish.
Right now you're in a Catch-22....IF you want to try to keep a Hippo tang you need lots of places for him to hide. To create lots of hiding places you need lots more lr. (Probably not what you want to hear but) if you are going to add "lots" of LR to your tank now, I'd try to return the hippo to the lfs where you bought him. Don't add any livestock until you're finished adding lr and your tank has finished re-cycling.
Sorry to sound so negative but I hate to have you go through the kind of problems I had.
Good luck!!
Jim

 

[seasquirt]

I'm going to agree with Jim672... I have a very juvenile hippo tang (about 2 inches), and he is so active that he uses every inch of my 135-gallon tank. Way more active than my yellow tang. He made it through a bout with ich, which I used garlic to treat (it worked very well, and I continue to use it as a preventative). His tankmates are a pair of false perculas (he thinks he's their child and hangs out with them all the time), five green chromis (he likes to make them "scatter" but otherwise leaves them alone), a large yellow tang and a medium-sized kole tang (he ignores both of them), a royal gramma, 6-line wrasse, and watchman goby (he ignores all of these as well).

 

[jla9508]

Jim,
I am planning on taking the Hippo back to the lfs and seeing if they will give me some in store credit for the fish. Then I will buy some lr. Because of my lack of funds since I'm in high school and haven't worked since June of last year, I am going to have to buy small ammounts at a time. There is a lfs about 30 min. from my house that has VERY nice cured lr for $7 per lb. I though I would go up there and buy about 15 lbs. this week and keep going back every week or every other week and buying a little at a time. If I did this I would not have to worry about my tank re-cycling right?? After I get all the lr I want to add the following fish and these fish will be the only fish in the tank.
1 Six Line Wrasse
1 Coral Beauty
1 Long Nose Hawk
2 Firefish
Would these fish be ok together? Is my tank big enough for these?
I am planning on adding the six line or the firefish first because one lfs has a six line thats about 1 inch for $25 and they have several firefish. The only fish I'm worried about is the Long Nose. Will it be ok with these fish?
Thanks for all of your help!

 

[jim672]

JLA,
Okay, let's try this a step at a time.....
First: based on your post you're not going to be using your LR as your primary bio-filter, so you have to decide how much LR you want. The LR will help filter but there's no need to follow the 1 lb.per gallon rule-of-thumb. Your 55 will probably look really good with 30 to 45 lbs. of LR and that amount will provide lots of hiding places for any fish you might want to keep. If, however, you add the LR in stages (say, 10 to 15 lbs. per week or two) you will likely cause a cycle the first time you do it and might cause another cycling the next time(s). After adding the LR, test your water regularly for at least a week or two. If you notice increased ammonia, 'trates or 'trites, you're cycling.
After you're sure you're done with your last cycle and you're finished adding LR, then you can contrmplate adding fish....
Second: The six-line is a good choice and so are the firefish (although a little less hardy than the wrasse). I don't have any experience with hawkfish but do a search on the BB for info. I do know that a Coral Beauty should only be added to a mature tank (they require stable water conditions and are grazers so they needs lots of algea to eat.) Add one of these LAST. Oh, and please only add one fish at a time, after an appropriate quarantine period of a couple weeks. (If you don't have a quarantine tank, see if your lfs will let you buy the fish and leave him in their tank for a few weeks.)
You've done very well up to now asking questions and being patient! Keep up the good work! It sounds like you have a really good plan. Continue to be patient and all the best!!
Jim

 

[jla9508]

I really appreciate all the help. I have one more question and hopefully this will be it for a while. I know a place where I can get 45lbs for 159.00 shipped. I could take the tang back, put all of the lr in my tank and let it re-cycle. Then buy the fish one at a time. I'm thinking that this would be my best bet. If I did this, with that much live rock it should not take a real long time to cycle, should it?

 

[jim672]

JLA,
That's a great price for LR!! It's only a little over $3.50/lb. Find out what the dealer charges for shipping and handling before finalizing the deal. They might charge alot for that amount/weight so be careful there.
Is the LR cured? It should cylce faster if it is. Adding that amount, all at once, will enable a faster cycle than adding it at three or four different times and adding all the cycle times together. Remember though that a cycle isn't anything standard. Every cycle will vary. It's the amount of time it takes your tank to achieve balance in the bio-load.
Your original post indicates the hippo is your only fish so after you add the LR, throw half of a shrimp in your tank to start the cycle.
Again, good job with your planning and patience.
Jim

 

[jla9508]

Jim,
The 159.00 for 45 lbs. includes shipping. They say that the lr is pre-cured and will be shipped in newspaper to keep it moist. The rock is washed for several weeks before it is shipped out. I couldn't believe the price when first saw it but I have looked at all the fine print. Should I take my snails(10 turbo)out also?

 

[jla9508]

I just found out that I can get 45 lbs of premium cured ready-to-go hand picked rock the exact sizes, shapes, and colors I want for 179.00 shipped to my door, no extra charges.

 

[jim672]

JLA,
Your snails should be fine. The LR price is super!
As a parent I just have to ask......if you're still in high school why are you on-line and not in school today? Day off? I'm sorry....none of my business....old habits die hard!!
Jim

 

[jla9508]

lol, I had school today but I'm a senior and get a "break" around lunch time and I just go home from school about 30 min ago. I didn't skip, not today anyway.