experience with tiny blue hippo tangs
- Thread starter tydtran
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I read the links.
That being said he did not cite a source for the part you quoted and none of the sources mention anything about captive rearing of Paracanthurus hepatus.
Also in the article it said there are no reports are captive spawning, and the article was published in 2003 and also in 2003 the book ultimate aquariums was published and in there it states that the hippo tangs at atlantis marine world spawn daily, now he probably didn't read the book or they came out at different times, so whatever. But they are spawning.
Now if you or inland aquatics can cite me a source showing someone raising tangs in captivity then great. I just find it funny how he cited all the other facts in the article but in the reproduction section there are none.
Like I said before I bet these were already settled juviniles that were collected just like any other fish. Sure they are small but that doesn't mean they are captive raised. It is very stressful to collect larvae and I doubt they were doing this because if they were they would kill more than would survive making it non-profitable. Now collecting small juvi's its easier the fish are hardier and there will be less deaths.
Take shrimp for example. If you can find a link where someone is raising shrimp (Lysmata sp.), you will notice when going through their stages (I believe its zoe, but I'm drawing a blank at the moment) that they tend to break their limbs resulting in deaths, but once they settle its much easier to just grow 'em out. Showing how fragile larvae are.
Or take a larval snagger can catch some clownfish larvae and compare that survival rate to just hatching them out in a larval tank.
I'm just trying to show that I doubt they were captive-raised.
FWIW
That being said he did not cite a source for the part you quoted and none of the sources mention anything about captive rearing of Paracanthurus hepatus.
Also in the article it said there are no reports are captive spawning, and the article was published in 2003 and also in 2003 the book ultimate aquariums was published and in there it states that the hippo tangs at atlantis marine world spawn daily, now he probably didn't read the book or they came out at different times, so whatever. But they are spawning.
Now if you or inland aquatics can cite me a source showing someone raising tangs in captivity then great. I just find it funny how he cited all the other facts in the article but in the reproduction section there are none.
Like I said before I bet these were already settled juviniles that were collected just like any other fish. Sure they are small but that doesn't mean they are captive raised. It is very stressful to collect larvae and I doubt they were doing this because if they were they would kill more than would survive making it non-profitable. Now collecting small juvi's its easier the fish are hardier and there will be less deaths.
Take shrimp for example. If you can find a link where someone is raising shrimp (Lysmata sp.), you will notice when going through their stages (I believe its zoe, but I'm drawing a blank at the moment) that they tend to break their limbs resulting in deaths, but once they settle its much easier to just grow 'em out. Showing how fragile larvae are.
Or take a larval snagger can catch some clownfish larvae and compare that survival rate to just hatching them out in a larval tank.
I'm just trying to show that I doubt they were captive-raised.
FWIW
The low price that I saw was something else that bothered me about the tiny tangs on display.
The discussion so far has convinced me that people on this board with experience have a chance of raising one of these tiny fish successfully.
Unfortunately, at $20 a piece, I can easily see a bunch of new people buying these fish to throw into a 10 gallon nano with a clown fish. It's just such a collosal waste.
The discussion so far has convinced me that people on this board with experience have a chance of raising one of these tiny fish successfully.
Unfortunately, at $20 a piece, I can easily see a bunch of new people buying these fish to throw into a 10 gallon nano with a clown fish. It's just such a collosal waste.
I bought a dime sized hippo about 6 months ago for $28. I picked the largest one in the tank and now he is half dollar size. Besides a nasty case of ich, I had no issues with it. I'm pretty sure these were wild caught in Bali. I initially wanted a 2-3" one, but these were cheap and looked perfect. Apart from a few split fins, all the fish in the tank (about 40) looked well. Around here, larger hippo tangs in the stores never look too good. Usually they are skinny and tattered looking. In my opinion, if you feed them several times and day, don't have aggressive tankmakes, and can keep them out of the filter - you can be successfull with these.
zemuron114
In Memoriam
i get these from christmas island from dime size to a foot. They are probably one of the easier tangs to get to eat at any size. I would agree that the little ones should be left in the ocean until the 2-3" range. It would only take a few weeks for a tang to grow an inch in the ocean. But most are caught in 3rd world countries so if they see a school of 100 tiny blue tangs, you can get all will be caught if possible.
Morrissey, before you make absolute statements of fact, perhaps you should consider speaking with Lidster and others who have used the terms "larval/post larval" stage.
In any case, regardless of the term used, the fact is that these specimens had substantially less mortality than other hepatus offered in the trade. That is the issue.
In any case, regardless of the term used, the fact is that these specimens had substantially less mortality than other hepatus offered in the trade. That is the issue.
LauraCline
New member
I had a tiny dime sized one a while back. He doubled in size during the month long QT. He disappeared the first night in the DT and I later found him dead in the filter sock. 
Now I have a 4" piglet of a fish that I bought from another hobbyist. If I hadn't bought him, I would have gone with the ORA tank raised ones my LFS carries.
Now I have a 4" piglet of a fish that I bought from another hobbyist. If I hadn't bought him, I would have gone with the ORA tank raised ones my LFS carries.Underwaterparadise
New member
As a store owner I have purchased many Blue Tangs and I can honestly say those tiny guys do leaps and bounds better then bigger adults IME. I have about a 90%+ success rate with the tiny ones. I always feed them Arctic pods and keep them in with smaller shooling fish like Chromies. Out of the last 20 I have bought only 1 has died.
Since when does ORA "TR" Blue Hippos????
Since when does ORA "TR" Blue Hippos????
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