Yellow Tang or Blue Hippo Tang?

[stanleo]

I would have gotten both in a tank that size. You could still get a yellow but don't wait till the blue gets much big and establishes itself. You would be asking for trouble.

 

[Uncle99]

So that’s something almost everyone agrees is bad practice. That’s fairly ridiculous. Don’t have to be tang police to see that... Just modestly conscientious. At least don’t promote it on the boards were new folks are likely to attempt it....

It’s quite easy when done right.
They have been best of friends right from QT, now 2 years +
They both have grown slowly, say 3/4” at best.

 

[Uncle99]

Wow, are you gonna upgrade though? How big are the fish now?

They have grown at 3/4” per year, bought them both at 1.5”, so the yellow is 3” and the blue slightly larger.
They were the last fish put in, QT together, Added together, only 4 other fish and a mandarin in the 65g.

My LFS allows for trade ins, this is my 5th rebuild, one every five years, maybe upgrade but all going so well I don’t want to touch anything.

Some say irresponsible, does my tank really look like that.

 

[Paul B]

Hippo tangs are one of my favorite fish and yellow tangs are one of my least favorites because, like said, they are just to common. I see them all over the place and when I am underwater they are also all over the place.

I don't see a problem keeping either fish though.

 

[Squidward]

IME, the Lavender Tang is a great fish... ALWAYS busy, no aggression to speak of, has a pretty engaging personality, and is VERY pretty (that photo and video are not showing its coloration whatsoever).

I agree. They are very pretty and underrated. I've seen a few that are just stunning. Sadly for me, I'm on my 6th try. All previous ones have not made it past Qurantine. Hopefully this one will make it.

 

[bdesign]

I agree. They are very pretty and underrated. I've seen a few that are just stunning. Sadly for me, I'm on my 6th try. All previous ones have not made it past Qurantine. Hopefully this one will make it.

IME... When I travel for longer than just a couple of days, I have someone else feed the tank, and, as a precaution, I only have them feed once, maybe twice, a day.
Upon my return, the Lavender Tang is VERY thin while all other fish look great:

I was gone from 11/12-11/17 and this is how it looked upon my return:

It takes about a week of my 4-6 times per day feeding to thicken it back up.

11/21... much better already, but the lateral line is still pronounced due to less body thickness:

I'm also not a big fan of quarantine.
<darts back into the shadows in an attempt to hide from the imminent backlash>

 

[Duffer]

Yellow tang. Blue hippo are receptive to ich

 

[bobonakamoto]

Need both to be a legit reef

 

[nereefpat]

Yellow tang. Blue hippo are receptive to ich

I've seen plenty of yellow tangs with ich

 

[Phycodurus]

Arghh. I can't decide between the two ... they are both really beautiful fish IMO.

Even in my 180G, the blue hippo slices thru the water with such effortlessness, and it was mesmerizing to watch (this was my original set-up years ago now). They really do benefit from a long tank.

I love seeing yellow tangs in small groups.

 

[dani5]

They have grown at 3/4” per year, bought them both at 1.5”, so the yellow is 3” and the blue slightly larger.
They were the last fish put in, QT together, Added together, only 4 other fish and a mandarin in the 65g.

My LFS allows for trade ins, this is my 5th rebuild, one every five years, maybe upgrade but all going so well I don’t want to touch anything.

Some say irresponsible, does my tank really look like that.

That is a nice tank. It looks like you have no sump? I don't do sump either.

 

[Paul B]

I don't either.

 

[Mmun]

Hi everyone!

I"ve been a lurker for a while and finally decided to make an account. I was looking at LiveAquaria's Tangs and narrowed down my options to Yellow and Hippo. I know Yellow are too common these days but I really like their flashy color. I just can't choose which one is a better choice for me. I heard Hippos are easier to get ich though.

FYI my tank is a 180g mix reef which was set up a year ago. Fishies are a school of anthias, 2 clowns, and some other wrasses.

Thanks people I appreciate the help!.

Hippo gets ich real easy. Any of the bristletooth tangs eat algae better than the rest

 

[Sashaka]

It’s quite easy when done right.
They have been best of friends right from QT, now 2 years +
They both have grown slowly, say 3/4” at best.

Agreed. Multiple tangs in the same tank have been successfully kept in many tanks here at R2R. Tank size, amount of available food, available hiding places, size of fish, timing-when the fish are added, knowing some tricks such as using an acclimation box, mirrors, and rearranging the tank decor as needed to diffuse aggression, as well as overall stocking list and the the experience of the fishkeeper must be taken into account. The truth is there are many factors that play a role in the successfully adding of multiple tangs to a tank. IMO, a 180 gal is big enough to house both tangs if one has a little knowledge about how to go about it.

Earlier responses about rate of growth for the Royal tang rings true in my limited experience (3 royal tangs through the years and only one made it out of quarantine). My royal was only slightly larger than my yellow when I got it. It is now three or four times bigger than my yellow. It is a pig...fat...and happy. It is what I consider a gentle giant in the tank, and there is no aggression between my three tangs at all. My Kole tang is the most aggressive of my tangs (and this has been the case with all three Koles I've had over the years) but it's not aggressive against the other tangs in the tank; it's against other fish in the tank, especially my wrasses.

Just keep in mind that fish are like dogs, like cats, like people in the sense that they all develop original personalities. Some are jerks and some are just more accepting than others.

If you like both tangs, get both. Just research how to do it with better chances of success and keep in mind that some matches will never make it while others can and will be successful.

 

[ca1ore]

Hippo is among my favorite tangs, and in a genus all on its own. A somewhat idiosyncratic fish and a bit of a clutz. I wouldn’t personally keep one in anything less than a 6’ tank. Mine was a fragging machine and has topped out at about 7”. Although the hippo will eat nori, it’s mostly a water column feeder and won’t graze.