want to buy a blue hippo but im scared HELP

Hello, I want a blue hippo tang bad, my tank has been running since february 2010 so almost a year. I know that blue hippo are ich magnet and I am scared of it because my tank has not had ich yet.

So here my concern,
My fish store received a shipment 3 days ago, the day they got the shipment I told them to hold a blue hippo for me and I would go and look at him in a couple of days. So last night I went to the store and it appear that the hippo I wanted had 2 white spot on him and look like it was itching. In that tank there was 2 more hippo with him, and then I left all confuse because the store told me that Ich is always in the water.

Now if that fish has ich and they treat him should I still get him, would that fish be more prone to ich?

If I get that fish should I quarantine him, does quarantine put more stress on the fish?

And if I wait for another shipment there would still be a risk for ich because those fish are ich magnet.

My other concern is that I have a yellow tang and he show sign of aggression would those 2 be ok together?

I have done a lot of research on ich and you can tell me if im wrong but I think thats what Im gonna do.

I will buy my fish quarantine him for a month because if he has ich i will treat him, the white spot are just one stage of ich and when they fall off the fish which we can not see thats when its time to kill the parasite and if those parasite can not find a host they die, would that make my fish free of ich? but I have also read that ich can be dormant and can live on the fish for months?

I m so confuse and dont know what to do
Tell me what are your thoughts and what would you do?
Thanks

 

the first question I have is how big is your tank?

 

i have a hippo tang and yellow tang with no issues first off it is very true they are prone to get ich if stressed out at all you can just look in the tank and if its scared it will cause ich. if you stick your hands in the tank to fix things and what not it will cause ich. my hippo just came down with ich but with garlic food it has nearly gone away. it has not spread to any other fish currently and it has seemed to be improving daily. they are hard fish to keep and often die. do research first always but it is a fact hippo fish do get ich easily

 

hey marie you are in my area kinda which store did you go too. They are right most fish have ich but stress generally really brings it on. I always QT my fish now and i have bought a pair of firefish showing signs of ich cause i knew i could cure it. And in QT with copper and rid-ich treatments over 2 months never saw another sign. Hippo's do get the award for generally being highly stressed and bringing on ich. As for your yellow tang he should be fine they look completely different and in tangs the only time i have seen true aggression is when they look similar. i personally say its a risk but for sure i would QT him for about 2 months and no it really shouldn't stress him more. Hope it helps.

 

I go to ABC reef in syracuse ny. Where do you go for your fish?
I found that ABC is the most professionnel place around and they are pretty reliable from my experience.

 

I have a 120 gallon deep with currently
6 chromis
3 banggai cardinal
2 clowns
1 yellow tang
2 shrimp
and some coral

 

been to abc before but being in rochester i am in carribean forest a ton or now i am ordering 99% of my livestock online. I would say buy with caution since hes showing all signs of having it. But with a good QT and proper care he will kick it.

 

Thanks for the info, glad your tank is large enough to support the Hippo. When put in smaller systems they can easily develop ich/disease due to stress and being cramped.

You may experience some type of initial aggresion (common when adding any new additions) until the pecking order is established, depending on the size of both Tangs. I would think that as long as you have enough places for the fish to hide then they'll adjust to each other and be fine over time.

I had kept a small Hippo in a 55g way back when I wasn't that knowledgeable in the hobby. Mine never got ich or any other disease, did very well, until I removed it after it got too large.

Make sure to get a healthy fish that's eating well in the store, which you prob already do, best of luck!

 

That's what I was thinking would be best and safe would be to finally set up a quarantine, so one month would not be long enough I should do 2.

Thanks Im a little releive

 

Something like this?

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2007/01/images/hippo_200.jpg

I would be scared too...