Juvenile hippo tang in a 40 cube?

SteelRain · Sep 7, 2019

Hey all! Due to my SO moving, I will need to keep our brand new juvenile hippo tang (1 1/2 inches) in my Nuvo 40 gallon for approximately 8 months until she can get her tank back up and running. He is currently in my SO's 100 g. I have an anemone, some small lps and zoas, two clowns and a watchman goby currently in the tank. Is this ok? We are really attached to him and would hate to have to gift him away, but if this is a very serious issue, the health of the fish comes first.

Peach02 · Sep 7, 2019

Disclaimer: tang police he is putting it in here for a short period of time

Yes it is okay but be prepared to have to take the whole aquascape apart to catch him and I would recommend drip acclimating him

Purplelobst92 · Sep 7, 2019

it can be done like most things but in my opinion its not rewarding as in the end blue tangs are nervous fish who seem to get stressed easily not to mention they commonly develop head and lateral line erosion in small tanks from a lack of food, you gotta feed them a lot of enriched goodies

Auquanut · Sep 7, 2019

Should be fine as long as the 40 is well established. Just make sure he has plenty of hidey holes. He'll probably be pretty nervous for a while.

Jon Fishman · Sep 7, 2019

I would imagine he will get so stressed, he will get sick and die prior to the end of 8 months

ZoWhat · Sep 7, 2019

What's the end goal here?
To own and care for this Hippo thruout its whole lifecycle?

I started with a juvy hippo in my 6ft 180g 3yrs ago. The first 9-12mos it easily doubled in size.

Now at the 3yr mark it's a full 6+ inches long and is the absolute BOSS of the tank. Major bully. Always first in line at feeding time. Chases away other fish so it gets to the food first.

Sooooooo. What I'm selling is the idea of a fully grown hippo in a 4ft tank doesnt have a good success rate IMO.

Now that I have cared for a Hippo from a tiny juvy hippo to a full adult....I think it's a disservice to you and the Hippo to put it in a 4ft tank. The territorial disputes are toooooo tight. It will be a trainwreck IMO.

.

Jon Fishman · Sep 7, 2019

Yep. Probably shouldn’t have been in the 100g in the first place

Jon Fishman · Sep 7, 2019

Duplicate

Saltyreef · Sep 7, 2019

I successfully kept a very small juvenile blue tang in a 40 breeder for a few years before it got too large and I had to re-home @ 3".
I dont think youll have any issues for 8 months but the cube will severely limit its travel side to side so just be aware.
Also if it shows signs of stress before the 8 month mark it may be time to re-home. If the tang police have an issue then they can buy your fish some temporary real estate lol.
Like they've never had to live a studio apartment.....pleaseeeeee haha.

Mogwai · Mar 19, 2022

SteelRain said:
Hey all! Due to my SO moving, I will need to keep our brand new juvenile hippo tang (1 1/2 inches) in my Nuvo 40 gallon for approximately 8 months until she can get her tank back up and running. He is currently in my SO's 100 g. I have an anemone, some small lps and zoas, two clowns and a watchman goby currently in the tank. Is this ok? We are really attached to him and would hate to have to gift him away, but if this is a very serious issue, the health of the fish comes first.

I too have a Juvenile Blue Tang in my Fusion 40. 1 inch and change. Once he/she gets too big, I'll gift the fish to whomever wants it. If not, I'll gift it back to the pet shop I originally bought it from. The Tang, Fire Goby, Yellow Watchman Goby and 2 clowns seem to be all well behaved and don't bother each other at all. Tang sleeps under the rock with my Kenya Tree and the clowns on one side. I know the Tang will outgrow that tank but it's a great addition to the tank for now.