Help BLue Hippo tang

[nubefishman123]

i just bought a blue hippo tang and he is acting really weird he hides in the littlest holes and just sits there and looks like he is dead and i cant get him to eat due to the location of his hide outs. so please help him and me!!

 

[Reddog170]

How long have you had him? How did you acclimate him? What other fish do you have? Sometime they just need a little time, Shaun

 

[nubefishman123]

i have had him for like 16 hrs and i aclamated him for 1hr. i have a tomato clown, coral beauty, yellow watchmen goby. they don't seem to even go near him

 

[ReefLady]

They can tend to be a little shy, but can you explain what you mean by "looks like he is dead"? Is the fish lying on it's side, or breathing heavily? Were you able to see the fish eat at the store? Was the fish quarantined at the store? These fish can be succeptable to ich.

Edit - could you also post your tank size & water parameters?

 

[nubefishman123]

well he looks dead because he is in a vertical postion with head down and he looks really skinny. the store does quaritine there fish for 2 weeks and no i didn't get to see him eat.

 

[Reddog170]

Give him at least 24 hours, he is stressed and will need time to calm down and get used to his new surroundings. Blue tangs are tough I imagine that he will come around. What was he eating at the lfs? He may just want a particular diet right now.

 

[nubefishman123]

at the lfs they said they were feeding him dried sea weed so that's what i bought

 

[Reddog170]

Reef lady know a LOT more than me, Listen to her first, I just read a lot of stuff right now. I had a few fish for a bit but had some problems and got them a new home. I know that my fish hid for a day or so before coming round to eating or swimming about. Shaun

 

[nubefishman123]

ok thanks for the help hopefully he will come around

 

[ReefLady]

Reef lady know a LOT more than me, Listen to her first

Not necessarily true, and your advice is solid.

nubefishman123 - I would agree with Shaun that the fish might need time to adjust, but do watch him closely. Also, it may not want to eat while it is stressed. Could you post your tank parameters (salinity, temp, - anything that you test for)?

 

[nubefishman123]

yea the temp is 75- 76 salinity is 1.025 and nitrate is zero nirite is zero

 

[ReefLady]

Thanks - everything sounds okay, just give him a little time and keep us posted. Good luck!

 

[nubefishman123]

ok thank you i guess just a little worried due to the fact thats the most expensive animal i have put into the tank thanks tho!!

 

[Reddog170]

Understandable, we all get worried when we add new stuff to our tanks. Shaun

 

[MattieS87]

Just thought I would comment (I'm brand new to RS)....but I also own a blue hippo. I bought him very small, probably a little over an inch. But when he was first introduced he was very intimidated and played dead often. Also, being he was so thin he would be able to wedge himself in between rocks and just remain there for a while. But after about a week he became less timid and always started to swim without much fear anymore. He also eats anything and everything i throw into my tank, and is now fat and about three inches. My advice, just hang in there and he will come around. Cuz i completely understand your reason for concern, and they are beautiful fish!

 

[goldenmacman]

If you could post a picture of the fish, then we could help you more.. Blue hippos, especially, are suseptable to ich.. VERY SUSPETIBLE when released into a new enviroment.. i would get some type of ich medication and qt the fish if possible, if not then add the appropriate be very careful of what type of ich medication you buy.. if you have coral DO NOT BUY ANYTHING WITH COPPER~!
thanks

 

[lcstorc]

Hippos are known for this behaviour. Anytime my got spooked he squeezed into the smallest of spaces and didn't move at all.
Give him time to become adjusted and he should come out and eat.
He will continue to do this anytime he is scared or startled.