beaten up hippo

[MIKEMARTIN]

My friend gave me his hippo tang 5 days ago. It was beaten up pretty badly and stressed to the max.He lost his color and it looks like he is greenish in some places.His fins are ripped and parts are missing in some cases.I put him in my 200 gallon tank and he is doing well. He swims all over and eats alot. Is there something I should be doing different ? How long will it take for him to get his color back?I think the bad lighting in my friends tank also contributed to his bad color. I heard that bine shrimp that has garlic in it can help them alot. is this true? Any advice will be accepted. The main thing is that he didn't die and I am hoping to keep thim for a long time thanks!!

mike

 

[6stringpenguin]

You didn't mention what else is in your 200 gallon tank. Are there any aggressive fish that might continue to pick on him? Is he always visible? Usually, a much smaller tank by himself would be more suitable. Make sure he doesn't rest on the bottom all beat up when you aren't looking. Any severely injured fish could even get picked off by hermit crabs. I also think that Brine shrimp do not have a high nutritional value. I have taken in a few injured tangs on their death bed, and found that sheets of nori will do wonders. Garlic is a good idea, but don't stop there. Selcon and vitamin C will also help him out. I find that a free ripped-apart tang can go a long way when properly nurtured back to health. Good Luck !

 

[MIKEMARTIN]

all I have in there is a yellow tang and a gobby. Mostly a reef tank. He is swiming all over the place and I do give him nori every night. The yellow tang doesn't pick on him and he looks relativl happy. I guess only time will tell. How long did it take your tangs to get back to normal?

 

[6stringpenguin]

I had a sailfin tang in particular who had the worst case of Ich I had ever seen. He scratched himself half to death on my LR. You could see bones sticking out of his body! He only bad bones for fins, too. I placed him in a 10 gallon tank for about a month or 2 and it did wonders. Fortunately, your hippo isn't fighting a disease, so there's a good chance that he'll be around for a while as long as he heals up. He just might have some scarring for life. Take some before and after pics and you will see improvements!