Hippo Tang last try

this is good stuff. i appreciate it.

i guess its too late to do the damsel/tang introductions.
and you are saying add "more" live rock? i was thinking if the tank is too small wouldn't more live rock shrink his swimming room? and you are also saying the live rock ups the oxygen levels which is important because tangs poop more?

ugh. i wonder if i should just get him out and start over with something else before its too late.

a family has raised this fish from a quarter size up to the 5 or 6 in he is now (for a year). i was hopin' to get lucky but your reply makes it seem like this may not end well.

not sure what to do

 

if its 5 inches now , i would do what youre thinking and try and find a new home for him. hes already too bigit would be better for the fish and for you. but thats just my persoanl opinion. theres lots of other fish that would be an excellent center piece. good luck reed.

guy

 

I would not recomend small. They have not fully gotten their slim coat yet and get ick very easy. I have had serious issues with my smaller tang which when I bought it was around 2 inches. I bought a bigger one (which is around 6 inches) and have never had one problem with it. Gets along great with all of my fish and never got ick. So i say bigger the better for this fish.

 

If you have a sump, you could put more liverock in the sump. That way it would increase filtration without impinging on swimming room. But no, the rock does not increase oxygenation, just biological filtration. Increasing oxygenation involves increasing flow and addition of a sump and protein skimmer.

Basically, your tank is too small for this fish. If you want a nice "crown jewel" for a 55g, try a dwarf angel (such as a flame angel or a coral beauty, or even a bicolor angel).

 

A 5-6" hippo tang is already too big for a 55g.

That said, it should be eating any food you put int he tank and not just nori or other algae. It may be stressed due to the tank's size, and that might be keeping it from eating regular food. I am assuming that it ate well in it's old tank, which is why it grew from a tiny one to a 5-6 incher.

All the hippo tangs I have seen that are healthy eat like pigs.

 

im on my 4th or 5th i cant remember but this guy is doing great im feeding spetrum thera+a its great stuff he eats like a pig.. remember that blue/ hippo tangs love to eat man you have to feed them like twice daily especially at the start i never use to do this and i rekon its one of the main reasons i was losing them as for the size thing im not a beleiver of the whole needs a giant tank thing. I Have a yellow and a blue tang in my tank and its 250 litres/ 66 gallons there happy as and fat as. They do produce a lot of waste ive heard them described as the cows of the ocean or something lol try dosing myxazin just once or twice when you introduce him you are going to have to be careful as damsels will give him hell if he goes into there rock work and clowns can be very terretorial as well, and as you may knoe these fish are harder to keep because they are very prone to ich(white spot) try the food i told i havnt had a fish that wont eat it. Do keep in mind that im prolly a lot newr to this than some of thse guys im just telling you what has worked for me

 

Don't listen to this guy up here. He hasn't had these things work for him, in case the "this is my fourth or 5th tang" didn't tip you off. 4 tangs later, and he still doesn't get that the tank is too small for a 5 inch blue tang alone, then he also has a yellow tang.