Bitten by the tang bug

[Cocoman280]

So I was at my LFS a few weeks ago, and, I came across a hippo tang probably an inch long. The smallest I’ve ever seen, I couldn’t help myself it was the friendliest little thing, So, I picked him up he went into my 30 gallon qt for 4 weeks. The hippo was recently introduced to my 75 gallon (this is not permanent) I have a 6 ft 125 gallon and I plan on setting it up in the coming weeks or month. My main question is about the growth rate. I want to have this tank established for at least 5 months before I introduce him or any fish to it.. is this alright to have him grow out for the next few months? as I already have bought the tank and stand. I partly picked him up because nobody in my area would be able to care for it. the saltwater fish usually sit in the shop for months and get old and die due to them being the last store to get any fish in my remote area, so, I thought I could give him a good life. And a excuse to upgrade lol so two birds one stone

 

[nereefpat]

Hippo tang will be fine for a while in a 75 gallon.

Why 5 months w/o fish in the 125?

Keep in mind that the 125 still isn't quite big enough long term. Somewhere in the standard 180-standard 240 is usually recommended. They get big, and they develop strange behavior and health problems when cramped

 

[ca1ore]

Tiny hippo tangs are extremely delicate and don’t have a great survival rate. If you are fortunate and it thrives, you’ll be ok with it in a 75 for awhile.

 

[noahreefer]

Make sure you feed him LOTS of nori

 

[Jesterrace]

Unfortunately even the 125 will be too small for the Blue Hippo in the long run. You can keep him in the 75 for about 18 months if you bought it really small. Unfortunately as mentioned above really small tangs are delicate. They actually do better when they are between 3-4 inches when caught.

 

[MSB123]

+1
I recentelly moved my large blue tang out of my 180 due to his size.
At least 240 long term.

 

[Cocoman280]

I appreciate all of these comments as I have been busy, but so far so good with the little guy eating very well I feed him nori in the morning a small omnivore pellet in the afternoon and a omega one frozen with nori, mysis, squid, spirlina, etc.. about 2 hours before I change my lights settings for my coral. I should also mention my only other inhabitants are a spotted hawkfish and a green chromis (idk I'm more fascinated with the idea of one "display/show fish" and the rest corals, shrimps, crabs, sea stars) hippo tang is the star of the show

I should have been more specific, not even the 125 is a permanent residence. I thought it would buy me time, until I could decide on what size tank I would end up with. I just want to make sure the 125 is established and I have no problems keeping it stable. I'm gonna have live rock and clean up crew, but I'm more concerned about not having it established enough for my tridacna clam

although, my hippo tang is a very weird fish, I notice he picks at my polyps a little more frequently than I hoped. (I heard they were completly reef safe) I notice he nipped at my clams mantle once or twice ,but, I am assuming something he would eat fell into the mantle so he went to get the food cause it was during feeding time, he also kicked my emerald crab out of his home and lives in the left over crevice, he goes in sideways and then gets comfy in the hole. it's just the cutest thing, if you have any more questions feel free I'm open to advice and suggestions!

also the 240 gallon tank is something I'm gonna write down for later. I was thinking somewhere along 200-300 so I'm glad my research kept me in the ballpark.

thanks everyone!

 

[ca1ore]

Hippos are a most idiosyncratic fish - will do lots of weird things. Consequently, they will be the first fish to ‘tell you’ when unhappy. BTW, it’s a general misconception that the hippo is a herbivore; it’s actually a water column zooplankter. It’ll certainly eat just about anything you offer (as will most captive tangs) but it’s most important to give it meaty foods.

 

[Jesterrace]

Hippos are a most idiosyncratic fish - will do lots of weird things. Consequently, they will be the first fish to ‘tell you’ when unhappy. BTW, it’s a general misconception that the hippo is a herbivore; it’s actually a water column zooplankter. It’ll certainly eat just about anything you offer (as will most captive tangs) but it’s most important to give it meaty foods.

Funny you should mention that about a Tang. Everything says my Yellow Tang should've been an herbivore, yet what do I see him doing within 30 minutes of being in my tank? Grabbing a big meaty portion of a Turbo Snail my Wrasse had torn into and and he is gobbling it up as if it were seaweed/nori and it absolutely loved reef frenzy. Oh and @the OP, despite the Blue Tang being labeled as reef safe, there are actually quite a few documented examples of them nibbling coral. You might want to bump up your seaweed/nori feeding as that can help with the coral nibbling problem.

 

[Cocoman280]

I'll do that thanks for the advice

yeah there's always exception to rules