P'd off blue hippo?

[swanny]

My Hippo smacks his head against the side of the aquarium when I'm around and I mean hard! I can't tell if he's mad because I'm around or if he's trying to get my attention for some food. It's so loud when he does it I wonder how he doesn't hurt himself. Does your hippo do this or do I need to send mine to anger mgmt. class?

 

[rekn]

what size is the tank and how big is the fish

 

[swanny]

120g, he's about 3" or so, not too big yet.

 

[TampaReefer79]

I don't know...a 120 is pretty small for him.

 

[btb72]

how is a 120 too small for a tiny 3" blue tang.. maybe when he is a full size adult it probably is a little to tight for him. but the fish for crying out loud is 3" long. that is more than enough room..

 

[swanny]

Yeah, he has plenty of room. Tank is very healthy, I was just curious if mine is the only one with anger issues.

 

[TampaReefer79]

To answer your question, a fish crashing into the glass so hard that it is LOUD and seems as if it is hurting itself is not normal.

"Maybe when he is a full size adult it probably is a little to tight for him." Probably a little tight?

 

[CorkPullerPHL]

What else is in there (fish wise)? Does he only do it when he knows you are there? How long have you had it? Is this new behavior?

 

[TampaReefer79]

And how do you know that it doesn't do it when you're not there? You're not there.

 

[juicesay]

That's really strange for a fish to do that. Maybe it has some type of disease on it's head and it is trying to brush it off?

 

[rekn]

i cant think of anything that would make him do that either.



and a 120 is fine for a hippo tang.

 

[swanny]

Thanks for replies everyone. I have 5 small Anthia's, a small wrasse and a gold-blotched rabbitfish in there with the hippo. Everybody is healthy and no signs of disease. The tank is well established over 2 years. TampaReefer, you're right, how would I know if it's doing it while I'm not there, maybe it is? Corkpuller, it does seem to be new behavior, he is a year old or so and he started doing this last couple of weeks. When I first heard him do it I thought I had a pistol shrimp. I'll try to figure out how to download a quick mpeg from the camera with sound to show you guys what he's doing. I don't think he's hurting himself, just weird behavior.

 

[khaosinc]

is it possible he is seeing a reflection that makes him think its another tang?

 

[juicesay]

Possibly a reflection, but when you're inside the tank, you don't really see any reflections, they'll see what you see outside of the tank.

When 2 walls of glass face eachother it creates a mirror. The inhabitants are inbetween the glass.

 

[mbgreen]

swanny imo watch out for the elitist in this forum , every publication i have read states that a hippo tang requires a min tank size from 70 gallons to 120 gallons, even diver's den/live aquaria, Barron's, and almost every site you search. but who knows (mother nature) give the fish a valium