blue hippo help

[steeldoc]

So i purchased a beautiful and healthy looking blue hippo yesterday. I did an hour lond drip aclimation before i put her in my tank. As soon as i introduced her to my tank she swam into the rocks and walls multiple times like she was blind. Then she finally went nose down in the back corner of my tank and hasnt moved at all. Is this normal?

 

[steeldoc]

And i might be wrong its hard to tell. But it looks like she is only breathing through the gills on her left side.... weird? I think so...

 

[Chichas01]

None of that is normal behavior. Also, you are really taking some chances by not using a QT with a tang (or any fish). See Lee's fish forum and consider removing the tang and doing a proper QT process.

 

[steeldoc]

But wouldnt that stress out the fish even more?

 

[steeldoc]

Also i dont have a qt. So is there any ideas or other options for me.

 

[Chichas01]

You really should take some time and read up on the QT process. Relieving stress on newly acquired fish is part of the benefit. No fancy equipment is required. My QT consists of a 20 gallon aquarium (cheap on Craigslist all day long, paid $25 for mine) and a sponge filter ($10-$15) where I currently have a 2" yellow tang. How large is this tang you have?

 

[Scooterman]

Make sure as to not spook it, give it some quite time, these fish can be like you mention. Lee has some good reading in the meantime, worth it.

 

[Herefishyfishy]

How large is your tank and how long has it been maturing?

 

[Paul B]

No, that is not normal for any fish to swim into the walls

 

[steeldoc]

Its a 75bunch gal with a 20bunch gal fuge/sump thats been ip and running for 1the year

 

[Scooterman]

No, that is not normal for any fish to swim into the walls

I've seen hippos do this and live many years, not to say there isn't an issue!

 

[steeldoc]

well it only swam into the walls and rocks for the first couple of minutes. but i did get a qt tank set up with some water and rocks from my dt. he seems to be doing ok so far. he is just not very active yet. lets keep our fingers crossed. he is a beautiful hippo, probly about 5" long with amazing color.

 

[Chichas01]

Good to hear you have the QT up, however no rocks in QT. No rocks and no sand. Add pvc fittings for hiding places. Did you read up on the QT article from Lee's fish forum? Here it is again: http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/f15/quarantine-process-27022/

 

[Herefishyfishy]

well it only swam into the walls and rocks for the first couple of minutes. but i did get a qt tank set up with some water and rocks from my dt. he seems to be doing ok so far. he is just not very active yet. lets keep our fingers crossed. he is a beautiful hippo, probly about 5" long with amazing color.

Respectfully, too large of a fast growing fish to put in 75

 

[jezzeaepi]

Respectfully, too large of a fast growing fish to put in 75

Agreed. That tank is already too small for a tang of that size. That fish swims miles and miles in the open ocean every day, but you have essentially locked him up in a room so small he can't even do laps. Not fair to the fish at all. Need atleast a 6 foot tank with lots of open space for even the smaller, less active tangs. The hippo tang is one of the most active, and needs a much larger tank for the long term.

 

[Peppie]

Did you do your research on this fish before you bought it? Are you upgrading in the very near future?

 

[pandora32]

I have my 4" blue hippo in my tank. Its 72"fixture long and theres a lot of open room for it to swim in. She uses EVERY inch