Hlle in my blue hippo tang

[italquam]

Hi everyone,

I have about a 5 year old Blue Hippo, recently he has gotten a bad case of HLLE . I would love to figure out the cause and try to reverse this illness. I feed him Nori daily, with PE Mysis with selcon. I run a refugium with mangroves and macroalgae. I have begun using the Ecosystem Fish Solution to try and treat him in the tank. Please advise....

 

[MrTuskfish]

I don't think anyone really knows what causes HLLE. There is a long list of things that have been blamed; but no real proof. There is a well researched article floating around that blames carbon dust. I had always assumed that people rinsed carbon well....but who knows? It will usually improve with pristine water, good diet, vitamins, and patience.

 

[Chihuahua6]

I recently adopted a Hippo Tang with bad hlle. The water he came from had nitrates of approx 1000 ppm! He was fed only flake food for two years. I imagine the poor water quality and diet were the cause of the hlle. Carbon was not used in this particular tank.

I am a big believer in water changes. I'm old school and what worked back then works today as far as water changes are concerned. Make sure you use rodi water and that your unit is working properly.

 

[italquam]

I did notice that recently, i replaced my chemi pure and it seems to me that he got sick after i replaced the chemi pure, due to the old chemi pure being exhausted. I did rinse it very well, but it is really the only thing that has changed much the past month. I have since removed the chemi pure and will see if that has a positive effect on things.