Hippo Tang Advice

imho i believe a hippo will be fine in a 55 until it outgrows it in a few years.

i personally have a hippo a yellow and a naso in my 72 without any issues.

so i would say go for it.

 

What are your minimum tank size ideas for long term once they get pretty big? I've heard anywhere from 75 to 180

 

How long has the tank been "Ick Free" not that any tank is, but how long since the last out break?

 

I have had several in the past and have one now in my 75. never seen any of them being aggressive in anyway. Even the one I have now was housed in 1/2 of a 33 long for several months while I finished my 75 and it cycled. It was in there with a GSM Clown and never once did it have any issues.

Now that it is in the 75 he is showing some really bizarre behavior, it is protecting the GSM like mate would. There is a pair of ocellaris Clowns in the same tank and anytime the approach the GSM the tang get into a very defensive posture in front of the GSM and it seems to be protecting it....

 

I personally have a hippo in a 40 and it does fine. They are VERY slow growers, it would likely take at least 6-8 years to outgrow your tank if you got a fairly small one.
On another note, a lot of them are very psychotic and will hide constantly, attack random objects, etc. I would recommend watching them closely at the LFS and choosing one that doesnt have a tendency to run and hide when you approach the tank.

 

Ok that was simply hilarious

 

Go for it!

I have three small hippo tangs in my tank they all school together it is awsome.

 

How long has the tank been "Ick Free" not that any tank is, but how long since the last out break?

Our tank has been symtom free since Sept 4. I know it is a gamble with a hippo tang because they do stress very easily.

What are your minimum tank size ideas for long term once they get pretty big? I've heard anywhere from 75 to 180

If we decide in the future to build a bigger tank, we've already decided we would do a 120. However, that would be a VERY long time into the future.

 

get some neon gobies tangs love them and do a awsome job with ick