Hello everyone, I have heard that it is kinda hard to acclimate a blue hippo but we want one. I am well aware of the size they get and all, but I was wondering more what are some suggestions we could do to get him into the tank safely w/o ick and other possible parasites?
Of course we were thinking QT, but would you suggest copper? I’m not sure how sensitive they are to copper so just wondering, and also would you suggest a slow adjustment from hyposalinity to the range we keep it at?
Anytime you are introducing a fish to your system you should plan on a slow adjustment from their current salinity to yours. Tangs, especially Blue Hippos and Powder Blues are prone to get ick from the stress of netting, bagging, transporting, and ultimately acclimating.
Your safest bet would be to slowly acclimate, and introduce to the tank at night when the lights are off, this will reduce the likelyhood of your current inhabitants picking on him until he has had a chance to settle.
If you are going to put this fish in to your 55 please make sure you are prepared to take all of the rock out of the tank in a year or two to catch the fish as they ca get pretty big pretty fast. Most smaller tangs I have seen in the LFS are usually on the skinny side and not in the best of health - make sure the fish is eating at the store before you bring it home. This is a sign of good health and will improve your chances of keeping it successfully.
How long of an acclimation process would you say? A few days, a week, or a few weeks just wondering and secondly i cant really test to see if they are healthy b/c im getting it from liveaquaria… but they do say they send healthy specimens so we shall see… I sure hope so lol.
I am aware of the size problem, but i have had to get things like pseudos out… so I think i’d be fine w/ this guy lol. And im halving my LR b/c im taking half to my new tank (so it has more swimming room, and stuff :))
his knowledge is fantastic, and his research is non profit, read it, love it.
ps, if you scroll to the very bottom of that site, left side you can change the color layout, since they put in the blue transparent back ground its laggy, swap it back to black and its quick
Personally, i would never treat any fish with any meds or copper prophylactically. The fish is going to be stressed already, adding to it IME is just plain stupid. If your going to QT the fish then simply drip acclimate him for 1-3 hrs should be more than enough. Submerging the drip container in the tank that your acclimating to will ensure that the temp stays the same. You can direct questions about QT to Gordonious, but unless your prepared to keep the fish in QT for 8 weeks then its pointless. Eight weeks in hypo in a tank large enough to not stress the fish is the minimum. A 20L with a couple of PVC elbows will work fine for a smaller tang.
Liveaquaria is probably the best online place to get fish but tangs are bad and hippos are the worse. I bought mine about a year and half ago from a LFS and although it was perfect when i bought it it looked like death within a day. It broke out with black ich as well as a really nasty popeye. As Craig mentioned, hippos are generally one of the most sensitive tangs to acclimate but once you do they are hardy as hell. The activty level will vary so if your set on putting one in a 55g i would STRONGLY suggest you getting a small one. Entoreefer had to get rid of a medium size hippo that was in a 95g because it was just too active and kept beating itself up. It will vary a little from hippo to hippo like any fish. Mine is fairly calm most of the time but can behave a little neurotic. Lastly, once established they can become pretty nasty. If you plan on adding any smaller more peaceful fish i would suggest you do it first. Most hippos will harass the crap out of newly introduced fish, especially fish closer to its size.
a young fish with a large adult size will be just as stressed in small confines as a large one of that species, i dont know who ever started that theory of keeping the small one untill it grows large then taking it out… their deeply ingrained instincts keep them thinking they need more space weather 1" baby or 13" monster, a young hippo tang will be stressed in a 55g. you’ll see the typical unhappy sympoms over time, that link i provided has a sticky all about fish stress thats really worth reading…
for the record, im guilty of keeping a tomini tang in a 75g so im not perfect, but thats the smallest tang in the minimum recommended tank, and i feel bad about it and he’s freaking out a bit still… (he keeps his peduncular spine out and is trying to slice open my clowns constantly, hell of a weapon, im afraid to put my hand near him)
[quote=“TimH07, post:7, topic:1894”]
their deeply ingrained instincts keep them thinking they need more space[/quote]
and who exactly has researched (or proven for that matter) what a wild fishes deeply ingrained instincts are, or what they r subconsiously thinking for that matter? i guess someone should talk to killer whales about their womb size. obviously entirely too small!!! regardless of the babies size contained within… ???
[quote=“logans_daddy, post:6, topic:1894”]
Personally, i would never treat any fish with any meds or copper prophylactically. The fish is going to be stressed already, adding to it IME is just plain stupid. If your going to QT the fish then simply drip acclimate him for 1-3 hrs should be more than enough. Submerging the drip container in the tank that your acclimating to will ensure that the temp stays the same. You can direct questions about QT to Gordonious, but unless your prepared to keep the fish in QT for 8 weeks then its pointless. Eight weeks in hypo in a tank large enough to not stress the fish is the minimum. A 20L with a couple of PVC elbows will work fine for a smaller tang.
Liveaquaria is probably the best online place to get fish but tangs are bad and hippos are the worse. I bought mine about a year and half ago from a LFS and although it was perfect when i bought it it looked like death within a day. It broke out with black ich as well as a really nasty popeye. As Craig mentioned, hippos are generally one of the most sensitive tangs to acclimate but once you do they are hardy as hell. The activty level will vary so if your set on putting one in a 55g i would STRONGLY suggest you getting a small one. Entoreefer had to get rid of a medium size hippo that was in a 95g because it was just too active and kept beating itself up. It will vary a little from hippo to hippo like any fish. Mine is fairly calm most of the time but can behave a little neurotic. Lastly, once established they can become pretty nasty. If you plan on adding any smaller more peaceful fish i would suggest you do it first. Most hippos will harass the crap out of newly introduced fish, especially fish closer to its size.[/quote]
+1 on everything Shawn said. I know fish are all individuals, but my hippo needed more swimming room than a 4’ tank would allow. It grew from 2.5" to 4.5-5" in less about 4-6 months, I feed my fish well. You will need to observe your fish for signs of stress and remove it or else it will start having problems with parasites and or just plain beat it self up like mine did.
[quote=“TimH07, post:9, topic:1894”]
a bird builds a nest why???
these fish travel 25-40 miles per day, tell me how being confined in a 55-100 gallon tank is NOT stressful
i argue this, find me the research that supports keeping said fishes in small tanks.[/quote]
a bird builds a nest for shelter, breeding, raising babies, etc. (which is proven!!)
and there is no research supporting these fish r ok in small tanks. but im not he one spouting that there is!! im asking for proof from you, supporting YOUR statement. and thats your rebuttal? (where’s mine?)
i rest my case.
just think about the type of species you see at public aquariums…do you see any pelagic fish in their large displays(swordfish,marlin,large tuna) etc?..certain species have just evolved higher metablolisims and swimming requirements which can’t be duplicated at this point. …another anology from the mammalian world would be housing a cheetah in a small inclosure or not properly excercising a grey hound. its fact that paracanthurus hepatus requires large tank volumes to live successfully.
Lol hey guys I thank you for all of your responses.
I didn’t mean to spark up a debate hehe, but… we decided to get a half black. We wanted to stay Far away from dwarf angels b/c of problems in the past, and we worry about the problem of angels nipping at corals, but we shall see how it goes.
I understand where hippo’s come from, and what types of swimming patterns they have. I wont go so far as to say they cant stay in 100g tanks… That is a stretch IMO. If you look on reef aquarium forum, there is a guy with a Beautiful 600 g tank that’s either 6’ or 8’ long but he has 27 tangs. I think you need to provide ample room for them to swim and have fun, but i also think it has to do with the individual fish, the secondly what you provide it.
In any case, I would have felt bad keeping the little guy in the tanks we have, and feel that until we get a larger tank we will stay away from tangs. I have seen Many tangs thrive in tanks in the 75-100g range… but that might be the fish… and I DONT wanna take that chance b/c lol… i have a much smaller tank than that
Hopefully half black wont eat all our corals :/… We shall see Ill keep you all updated! And once again thank you for all of your opinions!
[quote=“andrewk529, post:12, topic:1894”]
another anology from the mammalian world would be housing a cheetah in a small inclosure or not properly excercising a grey hound. its fact that paracanthurus hepatus requires large tank volumes to live successfully.[/quote]
i agree that a FULL GROWN hippo needs swimming room. but a small tang… ANY small tang, would be plenty happy in a 4’ tank. if caught at such a young age, is the fish really used to having miles of ocean to travel in? u could very easily house a YOUNG/SMALL cheetah in a smaller enclosure. but would have to upgrade b4 its full grown. thats my point…
Whether its “proven” or not, its common practice for the hobby/zoos/aquariums/breeding programs etc to keep ALL baby/juvenile animals in smaller habitats. For a lot of animals it can be very stressful to keep a baby/juvenile in a habitat thats to large. Their “instincts” are to seek out shelter and security. Ths might not be “proven” but its very easy to see in marine fish breeding. When breeding Kaudern’s Cardinalfish a fake urchin is often put in the tank and the baby fish immediately hover within its protective shelter. The point, however, is almost moot in modern tanks becuase a baby/juvenile fish can seek refuge within the confines of our live rock structures.
I think its very legitimate to keep a juvenile fish in a smaller tank that will knowingly outgrow the tank. However, personally i think it should only be done when you have a larger established tank. I dont agree with people playing musical fish with their LFS, but thats just my opinion. Personally, i think some hippos can work in a 75g. Ive had mine for a little over a year now. I also have a 265g FOWLR across the room incase things go south. I think there are several tangs that will work just fine long term in a 75g tank provided that the husbandry is up to par and the rock is aquascaped with the swimming habits of tangs in mind. I think yellows, koles, some tominis/bristletooths, convicts and even hippos in the right tank can work just fine.
The length of your tank is only one part of the equation. Any tang in a healthy, well maintained 4’ is going to be better off than in a nasty, polluted, 6’ tank. I always get a chuckle from the guy flaming the other guy about keeping tangs in a 4’ only to show pics of his 6’ that looks like a petco tank on a bad day.
i 100% agree with you. have a plan prior to getting the fish. and a short period in a tank that will be too small for the adult will not cause a problem. but, moving the fish a million times is extremely stressful and not advised. i dont think once, from one tank to another shouldnt be a problem.
[quote=“andrewk529, post:12, topic:1894”]
another anology from the mammalian world would be housing a cheetah in a small inclosure or not properly excercising a grey hound. its fact that paracanthurus hepatus requires large tank volumes to live successfully.[/quote]
i agree that a FULL GROWN hippo needs swimming room. but a small tang… ANY small tang, would be plenty happy in a 4’ tank. if caught at such a young age, is the fish really used to having miles of ocean to travel in? u could very easily house a YOUNG/SMALL cheetah in a smaller enclosure. but would have to upgrade b4 its full grown. thats my point…[/quote]
would it still be humane for that cheetah if that enclosure was a cage? hippo tangs are primarily algae grazers meaning they need to forage for food in the wild over great distances even as a juvenile their species will still reside over a large area feeding on plankton…in the wild plankton is free floating and doesn’t hold position in a 4’ box
