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Secrets of the Hippo Tang?

shipwrecked

shipwrecked

When I first tried hippos many yrs ago,I couldnt keep one to save my life(or the fishes) what I have done since then,(and up to date I have had 4)I had of course many hiding places,enticed them to eat by adding brine shrimp,putting algea sheets of differant kinds in alot of differant places in the tank(clips,rocks with rubber bands)the other red algea olga was a good one too.Also someone told me once to add a grounding probe,which I think is key to help keeping them from being stressed and getting ick.I hope the next thing doesnt bring the tang police out. :p I have kept tangs for awhile in a 55 gal tank,several differant kinds with no issues.Now I wouldnt reccomend doing this on a reg basis,but for a short time with intentions of upgrading is ok.Hope this helped some :)
 
J

Jenn

Hello , One of my first fish for my reef was the Hippo Tang. I Got him small . and sure enough the Ick came out. Being a newbie I put him right into my set up. I know... Very very bad to do... now impossible to catch him as I tried with way to many rocks and places to hide. But He always ate very well . Just like Pac-man.. waca waca waca ...every last drop of food. Anyway , Garlic drops on food , time and pacience , I Never used medicine and the Ick hasn't been on him now for 6-7 months. When he had his break out I did Lots of water changes and used a Diatom filter as well. None of the other fish ever got the ick , only the hippo had it. He now has trippled in size and is very healthy and happy in his reef : ) I love my little friends!
 
E

evoIX

so concensus on hippo tangs:

a) get them while they are small
b) better while kept in Reef tanks
c) QT all new arrivals especially the hippo
d) garlic extract has worked to keep immune up

anything else to help dori live?

sorry my son calls it dori everytime we go to the fish store.
 
C

calaxa

a) I disagree with getting them small. They fare better when they are 3"+. You are seeing exceptions rather than the rule with the postings here.
b) Almost all fish do better in a reef as that is their natural habitat. Hippo won't care as much. Just give him/her places to hide as they love hiding.
c) QT all....cannot be understated. All tangs are prone to ich. Hippo is just easy to spot since black body.
d) disagree with garlic. No scientific evidence. A slight topical antimicrobial that is being ingested is going to help your immune system how? The hippo's digestive system is built to break down plants (cell walls). What's going to happen to a tiny little acid in there? Garlic does help with getting appetite up which may lead to a stronger immune system cause now the specimen is eating. Otherwise, it's a false sense of security. You can read about garlic's alleged medicinal properties on the net and decide for yourself.

The most important thing as with all fish is finding a healthy specimen. Hopefully, one that is already eating so that will be one less thing to worry about.
 
JRWOHLER

JRWOHLER

I will disagree with calaxa on this one. Garlic is not "proven" to help but I think the overall belief is that it does help. It is not a substitute for QT. I also include selcor with my food as additional support and use the nori with garlic in it. I don't believe anyone could say there is a negative with garlic so the worst case might be a very small postive result.
 
C

calaxa

JR,

I like that thinking and will agree that it might help. I don't view garlic or selcon as a negative. I just think that people have this fallacy that it is some miracle cure. It's more than just snake oil, that I will attest to. I don't believe vitamin C is a good prescription for bacterial infection. It might help a strong individual naturally fight off an infection and that's pretty much how I view garlic/selcon. That's the only point I'm trying to make regarding garlic.

So I disagree with evo's original assessment that garlic extract works to keep immune system up. There might be a correlation, but I would not bet on it.
 
E

evoIX

i am definitely not a marine scientist so my comments are always based off of readings and a majority of those who say something *may* help. I have never read a bad comment on adding garlic.
 
C

calaxa

evo,

I never said it was bad. It may help but that's different from your quote. I don't want you to get a false sense of security. That's all. I come from a biochem and chem background so I am a skeptic on most of these things. I need to see concrete evidence and reproducability. On garlic in marine organisms, all I see is anecdoctal references which is inconclusive.

There's a reported case of someone using garlic in their regimen to combat opportunistic protozic disease in AIDS patient (uncontrolled study in China circa 1996). Would I say this works? Methodology and results very sketchy. Does it hurt? Maybe, maybe not. (Garlic might be poisonous to cats and dogs.)

Citations noted below:

http://gateway.nlm.nih.gov/MeetingAbstracts/ma?f=102220507.html
http://www.avma.org/animal_health/brochures/hazards/household_brochure.asp
 
Nickjr000

Nickjr000

Mine's been doing great for 2 years now. Probably more than tripled it's size. Yes it's in a reef. Likes nori and loves romaine. Started as the smallest Tang out of 5 in my tank and is now the biggest by far. He's a hog
 
E

evoIX

just bought my HIPPO TANG! 3/4", had them feed him while in the tank! to verify was eating, no ICH visible on any of the tangs in the tank or ANY other tank (at LFS).

he's the first fish after breaking down and upgrading to my 55 Reef! so i didn't QT him due to all the above stated (though i know it's a must)


dropped him in the QT and he's loving all the coPODS. i've seen others say it loves to hide but it hasn't even tried to hide yet. it's loving all the coPODS and just munching away.

pictures will be posted later.
 
E

evoIX

i just wanted to note before people start saying even though he looks fine. ich is 3staged. i have dealt with all 3stages plus stage 4.

i have high hopes that this little guy. he looked perfect and still does look great at this point.

the only thing so far is he isn't trying to hide? that's rarely heard/read of. so that's my only reason to be worried so far.
 
F

finksmart

There's no secret.

1. Make sure your water quality is top notch (most important).
2. Find a healthy fish, leave in store for 1-2 weeks and check frequently to watch it eat. Reject once it shows any sign of sickness.
3. Once brought home, QT.
4. Watch your temperature. Temperature swings can kill fish.

You should do this for all fish anyway, especially since saltwater fish are so damn expensive why rush.
 
E

evoIX

hippo still doing good. no ich but hides A LOT. he still munches on coPods + brine shrimp + mysis shrimp. i add nori (seaweed?) every 3 days. and it's gone by the next day (maybe cause of the sailfin)

from 3/4" to a little over an 1" in about 2-3weeks? he grows QUICK!
 
D

ds4x4

I got my two Hippos yesterday and they both swim together and hide.. They both love rides through the plumbing into the sump apparently.. Twice i have had to pull the pipe and let them get sucked down since they somehow get into the overflow where i cant get them
 
D

ds4x4

i have a durso too but i have to reach in there and pull the pipe out so they can go down through the bulkhead
 
E

evoIX

oOo. ha that's cool. take a video of them going down. it would remind me of that scene in nemo where they go through the "vortex of death!!!"
 
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