Cant keep a Hippo Tang Alive! Help!

DVeit

New member
I've went through two blue hippos in the last month. Both died within 5 days of purchasing. I bought the first one and acclimated him rather quickly, put him in QT and he never swam around, always hid behind the heater. I got him to eat a couple times and he would come out and go right back to laying on the heater. Woke up one morning and he was dead. The second tang I got I acclimated by the book. Dripped for an hour, removed water, dripped, repeat for 3.5 hours. Put him in QT and he started out looking a lot better, was swimming around,but wouldn't eat (I do have prazipro in qt). Well One evening I noticed he was at the surface gasping or air. I tried lowering the water level, adding more air with my mj600, but by the end of the night he was gone. I also had a Watchman Goby Pass away a day later. IDK what the heck is wrong. All My params look great. I QT'd two clowns with 0 issues. I currently have a Flame angel in there and he's looking ok.
I just did about an 80% water change today and changed out the sponge filter that was in there with a new one from DT sump.

Setup is a 20gal Long, Aqua Clear 50, and MJ600 Powerhead. Couple pieces of PVC, bare bottom.

Params are-
1.023sal
8.1 ph (salifert)
0 Ammonia reading (using API and seachem instant intank gauge)
0 nitrates
0 nitrites
78 degrees.

Tried feeding Frozen Mysis with and without Garlic, New Life Spectrum Thera pellets, TLF Green Seaweed on a clip, and Marine Feast frozen.

Any Ideas? I just did a 80% water change today thinking its maybe something in the water. Just keeping an eye on the Angel, this is getting expensive, and sad!
 
Try getting the fish eating well( I like for 5-7 days) before treating with PP. Not suggesting that caused the deaths but for my piece of mind when I QT. What size is the QT? Do you have various sized PVC pieces in the tank for a fish to feel secure? Ambient light in the QT?
 
Now my angel looks to be goin down hill. He's almost swimming vertically in one place for the last hour. Qt is 20g long, yes I have two different PVC pieces. No light on the qt. Just sunlight from the window and the room light.
 
If this angel is dead by morning (it's starting to look that way). I'm going to take this tank down and do a vinegar bath and start from square one on it. This is a brand new tank, I just wiped it down with fresh water and a rag before using. Maybe it had something in it. I was using a different tank when I qt'd my clowns.
 
yea it could be some unknown contaminant but...did they have any other visible signs? appearing to be gasping at the top of the tank could be an sign for other diseases and that can help with diagnosing other issues.

good luck!
 
I'm no expert but I don't see anything obvious. Looked in the tank this morning and the flame was on its side gasping. Damnit!
 
Low oxygen levels? Were r u getting the fish? When they die are they still colorful?
R the fish your purchasing eating?
 
Cant keep a Hippo Tang Alive! Help!

There's no way the oxygen is too low. I did a huge water change yesterday and I also run a powerhead that has an airline running to it that aerates the water. The last tang I bought I know was eating at the LFS because he's had him for about a week and a half and was feeding mysis. I watched him in the tank at the LFS and he was swimming all over. The flame on the other hand he had JUST gotten from his supplier and hadn't even finished acclimating him to his tanks yet when I purchased him. And yes they still are colorful.
 
I didn't check the sg of transport water. Got them from LFS.

Going up (raising the) in specific gravity needs to be slower than going down. The amount of time is irrelevant, matching SG is important, however. What does your LFS keep their water SG at? Best practice is to match your quarantine tank SG to that of the LFS, then you only need 15 minutes of temperature acclimation.
 
There's a high possibility that one of the fish early on brought a deadly parasite in and died from it. Then all subquent fish get infected and die as a result.

The only two deadly parasites I know are velvet and brooklynella.
 
Snor I called and asked but the guy that usually takes care of the salt tanks wasn't there and this other guy I've never spoke to said he thinks it's 1.025. Although I don't believe that's correct because I've asked in the past and I want to say he said it was around 1.021 for his fish and 1.025 for coral tanks. Sand you may be right about a parasite being introduced. I guess that's the point of a QT. I guess it was stupid of me to keep trying. I thought it may have been my quick acclimation the first time tho..
 
I'm going to vinegar bath everything for a couple hours and start from scratch. Give it a couple days and probably try a more inexpensive fish for a week. If he's doing good and eating after a week or two. I may try another tang. Thanks everyone for all your input!
 
yeah clean all the equipment thoroughly and then let them sit dry for a couple of days before you use them. Also like Dmorty217 said, I would get the fish to settle in for a couple of days and start eating well before adding any meds unless there is sure signs of disease.
 
Thanks! Cleaned it all yesterday with vinegar. Let the pumps run for a couple hours then rinsed everything well. Filled the tank back up and let it run fresh water for a bit then rinsed everything again. Then put it all out to dry outside.
 
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