New hippo in QT

[Daveb300]

So the little hippo tang I added to my quarantine tank yesterday seems to be doing well. He is small about the size of a quarter. He doesn't seem to have any interest in his algae sheets. I have tried a algae clip and a rubber band and a small rock. He has been picking at the glass and the few small rocks I have in the tank. I have also seen him eat mysis shrimp and marine cuisine frozen food. Today I tried a little garlic on the algae sheet rubber banded it to a rock but still no interest in the algae sheet.

 

[Fish Think Pink]

So the little hippo tang I added to my quarantine tank yesterday seems to be doing well. He is small about the size of a quarter. He doesn't seem to have any interest in his algae sheets. I have tried a algae clip and a rubber band and a small rock. He has been picking at the glass and the few small rocks I have in the tank. I have also seen him eat mysis shrimp and marine cuisine frozen food. Today I tried a little garlic on the algae sheet rubber banded it to a rock but still no interest in the algae sheet.

keep putting a small fresh piece on clip each day, removing uneaten food each night. Eventually he will figure it out. The only thing my tangs took to immediately was red ogo macroalgae (live) likely because they were already familiar with it in the wild.

I credit my wrasse for teaching my tangs that nori clipped to sheet was for tangs... Wrasse mostly wanted the fun of tearing it up, but it helped the tangs notice it, and once they finally tasted it - then i started putting more on the clip because they'd eat it (finally).

 

[Daveb300]

I called the LFS and they said he was wild caught as I assumed most are. I ordered some live macro algae from algae barn some I hope that will help him get a custom to aquarium life.

 

[Fish Think Pink]

I called the LFS and they said he was wild caught as I assumed most are. I ordered some live macro algae from algae barn some I hope that will help him get a custom to aquarium life.

which did you get?

Some are too tough (chaeto) for tangs. He is small, so tender ends of ogo might be all he can manage. Mine love red ogo, and I'm tempted to start also growing green ogo for tang snacks but right now we're playing with our refugium

I've also tried sea lettuce and dragon tongue. Dragon tongue was too tough for mid-size tangs, so I don't have that any more. Sea lettuce mine didn't like at first and I swore they made faces (think kids eating vegetables they dislike... LOL) but eventually they came around (i bought it so eat it...) but when Vibrant wiped out both nuisance and macro algaes in my tank, then I only replaced red ogo as it seemed their favorite snack and grew really great in my sump

 

[Daveb300]

I ordered some of the red ogo and I also just seen him rip a piece of the algae sheet off and eat it from the rock.

 

[nereefpat]

That species of tang isn't an algae eater in nature, but a planktivore. They will usually take to nori in time, but don't worry as long as it is eating meaty frozen and some flake/pellet.