Sick hippo tang! Please help!!!

[Nromano1212]

Hey guys I have a hippo tank that's been in my tank for about 6 months now. I thought he was dead but it looks like he just has no energy to do anything. This morning I found he stuck to the side of my mp40 so when I went to take him out I realized he was still alive. I did a major water change two days ago and took the water from the ocean the night before. The water sat outside all day and night and I believe there was too much of a temp spike and now he's stressed out. All the other fish in the tank are fine. The hippo is now in a separate container. How do you unstress the fish if this is even the issue? It's the only thing I can think of. All the parameters are fine. Thanks! Nick

 

[Dkuhlmann]

Why are you using ocean water and where did you collect it? If offshore you are probably fine but in close the water could have all sorts of bad stuff in it. Did you test the water before using it? If so what tests did you use?

 

[Nromano1212]

Yes I get the water out on my boat and get it off shore as the tides coming in. I use api test kits and a hanna checker for phosphates. That's all good and my other fish are all fine. I think there was a 9 degree swing in water temp and that's why it's stressed but that's all set now and he still isn't better but he's hanging on

 

[MeghanisradxD]

Did you check the salinity of your tank as well as the new water before putting it in?

 

[slief]

A 9 degree swing?? I don't think there is much you can do for your tang except keep an eye on it but I am certain that a rapid temp swing of that nature would cause serious stress and could even kill it. As for the rest of your fish, I'd prepare for a major ich outbreak before long. Rapid and large temp swings like that pretty much always are followed by an ich outbreak so if I were you, I would prepare yourself to QT the rest of you fish and have the needed stuff to treat them. If your tank is a reef, you might be best removing the fish in advance of the outbreak to lessen the need for long fallow period.

 

[Nromano1212]

I have a 400 gallon system. I prob changed out about 150 gallons so the biggest issue was the temp swing but it was back up within hours. It's been 3 days now and all the other fish are fine. My tang is basically like dead weight and has no strength. I though he was dead but when I pulled him out today his gills were still moving so I put him back in.

 

[chimmike]

you pulled 150gal from deep water on your boat and brought it back home? That's over 1200lbs in water alone. What the heck kind of boat do you have and what tanks did you use? LOL

 

[slief]

I have a 400 gallon system. I prob changed out about 150 gallons so the biggest issue was the temp swing but it was back up within hours. It's been 3 days now and all the other fish are fine. My tang is basically like dead weight and has no strength. I though he was dead but when I pulled him out today his gills were still moving so I put him back in.

Give it a week and report back. A rapid 4 degree change in temp will cause serious issues and is generally followed by an ich outbreak. A rapid 9 degree swing is generally catastrophic. It typically takes about a week or more or sometimes less for ich to show up after such an event. I had a similar instance with a 4 degree swing after a water change in an otherwise very healthy and large reef tank. Several days later came an ich outbreak that was catastrophics and resulted in a 70% loss of fish because there was no way to catch them in my 480g reef and no way to safely treat the tank. I tried every so called reef safe remedy and it was all an effort in futility. It was a mistake I would never make again and completely devastating. It's a scenario I have seen many times over the last 28 years and all to common. People don't realize that a rapid temp swing is a big no no in this hobby and usually results in serious issues including ich outbreaks.

I will cross my fingers that you don't have further issues but if I were a betting man, my experience tells me you aren't out of the woods yet. As such, as I mentioned before, I would plan for the worse and get prepared to QT & treat the rest of the fish in case you need to. Better safe than sorry.

 

[Nromano1212]

Thank you. Yea the salinity was a bit high too but put some r/o water to get that straight before adding it to the tank. Hopefully nothing else will happen. As for my tang should I just let him stay in the tank and wait it out? I'll never do that again.

 

[slief]

Thank you. Yea the salinity was a bit high too but put some r/o water to get that straight before adding it to the tank. Hopefully nothing else will happen. As for my tang should I just let him stay in the tank and wait it out? I'll never do that again.

If anything I would add an airstone to wherever it is currently to increase the o2 levels a bit.

 

[Nromano1212]

Well just an update. I got home and my blue leg crabs were eating my tang. He didn't make it. I removed him from the tank. I'm kinda bummed, that was my favorite fish. I've had him for about 6 months but since this has happened I've been doing more research on hippo tangs. My tang looked like his stomach was a little collapsed since I've gotten him. I don't know how normal that it? He has seemed fine though. There were no signs of ich on him or any of the other fish and they all seem perfectly normal so I'm wondering if the fish just was sick and died or if this was caused by the water change?

 

[slief]

Well just an update. I got home and my blue leg crabs were eating my tang. He didn't make it. I removed him from the tank. I'm kinda bummed, that was my favorite fish. I've had him for about 6 months but since this has happened I've been doing more research on hippo tangs. My tang looked like his stomach was a little collapsed since I've gotten him. I don't know how normal that it? He has seemed fine though. There were no signs of ich on him or any of the other fish and they all seem perfectly normal so I'm wondering if the fish just was sick and died or if this was caused by the water change?

I stick by what I said... Temp swings like pretty much never have a good outcome in a salt water tank. I've seen this same scenario way too many times and the Hippo's are always the first to go. They don't handle stress well and a temp swing like that in really short amount of time is about the most stressful thing you can do to salt water fish. In fact, I won't even keep a hippo in my tanks because of their sensitivity.

Time will tell and I will keep my fingers crossed for you. At this stage, it's way to early to think you are out of the woods. Like I said, it usually takes a week or more for ich to show up after such an event but in my experience, an event like that will pretty much always result in a serious outbreak.

 

[Nromano1212]

Thanks slief, I hope you're wrong lol but you sounds like you know what you're talking about so I'm going to keep a close eye on it. The temp didnt just go up but also dropped fairly quickly too. Even if I get though this I'll never make this mistake again. Thanks again for all your help. It is greatly appreciated. Nick.

 

[slief]

Thanks slief, I hope you're wrong lol but you sounds like you know what you're talking about so I'm going to keep a close eye on it. The temp didnt just go up but also dropped fairly quickly too. Even if I get though this I'll never make this mistake again. Thanks again for all your help. It is greatly appreciated. Nick.

No problem. I hope all turns out well. Keep close eye on them and feed them well!

 

[Nromano1212]

Hey guys... I'm happy to report that my fish are doing great. Beside losing the hippo tang everyone else is fine. Id like to think he was just sick and I didn't cause his death but that temp swing must have done it. Lesson learned. I think I got out of it cheap considering I only lost one fish. I'll be more careful in the future. Thanks again for all the help.

 

[Nina51]

glad to see things are ok.

slief, question for you...if there has been no ich in the tank prior to this event, why do you say to watch for an outbreak? i was always under the impression that ich being a parasite, something would have had to bring it into the tank. is this a wrong assumption?

 

[Caurimare]

glad to see things are ok.

slief, question for you...if there has been no ich in the tank prior to this event, why do you say to watch for an outbreak? i was always under the impression that ich being a parasite, something would have had to bring it into the tank. is this a wrong assumption?

you beat me to it... I have the same question.

 

[GroktheCube]

you beat me to it... I have the same question.

It applies if ich is in the system at relatively low "controlled" levels. Stress can compromise the fish's immune system, and leave it more vulnerable, leading to a more serious outbreak. If there is no ich in the first place, it won't spontaneously appear.

 

[rffanat1c]

My lfs lost 8-10 fish in his 1,000 gallon tank thanks to a 8 degree swing. Ich outbreak

 

[slief]

Thanks slief, I hope you're wrong lol but you sounds like you know what you're talking about so I'm going to keep a close eye on it. The temp didnt just go up but also dropped fairly quickly too. Even if I get though this I'll never make this mistake again. Thanks again for all your help. It is greatly appreciated. Nick.

you beat me to it... I have the same question.

It applies if ich is in the system at relatively low "controlled" levels. Stress can compromise the fish's immune system, and leave it more vulnerable, leading to a more serious outbreak. If there is no ich in the first place, it won't spontaneously appear.

This.. ^^^^

If all fish haven't been properly QT'd prior to going in the display and treated for ich even if it's not visible, then chances are the fish are carriers and all it will take is enough stress to cause a breakout. Fish like Hipp's, Powder Blue's and Powder Browns, Achilles Tangs, Atlantic Tange, Purple Tangs are all especially susceptible. That said, I never heard the OP mention proper QT and ich treatment prior to adding his fish.

That said, I don't want to get into a debate on the subject, but I've seen treated fish break out in ich that were in fish only systems in which the entire tanks were treated with copper for a full 4 weeks at verified copper levels and the fish were ich free for many months until a stressed enduced relapse. Most would argue that it was because the fish weren't treated properly. Again, I don't want to get into the debate on it because it defies everything that is documented here and elsewhere on the parasite. Personally, there are certain fish that I avoid out of an abundance of caution because of the potential for ich and I avoid them regardless of how they have been QT'd. The Hippo tang is at the top of that list.


OP, I am glad the rest of your fish are doing well. Hopefully you dodged a bullet!