Hello! So I have a baby hippo in my 75g and I know it will need a larger tank in the near future. It's about 2" now and is doing amazing! I really want to add a yellow tang. Will the yellow be okay with the blue being established? And when I find the blue and new home later, I'll want to add another, will the yellow harass the new addition?
Tang Compatibility!
- Thread starter zkiker
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BigBlueTang
Active member
Neither of those fish are compatible with your tank size.
Only bristletooth tangs are.
That being said, you probably aren't going to listen to me, or KM, so no, once removing the blue hippo, the yellow tang will not allow another tang. It will harass the living hell out of it. Do you Qt?
BigBlueTang
Active member
Dmorty217
Saltwater Addict
Yeah.
Decided I'd give him a chance to redeem himself
:lolspin:
The proper answer is my 75g is my QT...
Sorry for being rude it's just we see the same questions and mistakes over and over. If your LFS really does a 6 week QT then you are one lucky hobbyist. I wish there were more stores like yours. I would hope that when you do upgrade you go bigger than 120 as your hippo deserves more space.
scooter31707
New member
and 4 tangs in a 110g is not get husbandry neither. Only 1 tang should be in a 110 gallon. Also if you upgrade to a 120, only 1 tang, still no Hippo or Yellow.
fishsuse29
New member
4ft is too small for a hippo and a yellow. I tried it in my 100g they where fine for over a year when they were small. But once the hippo got over 4" he knocked off the yellow tang and then my anthias. I would not recommend keeping one in a 4 foot tank.
I would removed the hippo and go with a small yellow if you really want a tang
I would removed the hippo and go with a small yellow if you really want a tang
Dmorty217
Saltwater Addict
It's hard for some of us to read the same type threads over and over again and not say the truth, which may not be what you want to hear. Also your LFS can say they do whatever they want to as far as QT goes but you will end up getting disease from one of the "QTed" fish if your doing nothing yourself. Honestly if this is how you ensure things are disease free in your tank, you probably already have disease present and don't know it yet
GimpyFin
Active member
The hippo tang really needs about a 180g tank or more just because of how big it gets. I'd have to say I agree in maybe keeping one smaller tang in that tank (Added towards the end after some smaller less aggressive fish.) Especially if it's a yellow, because they can be very territorial.
MondoBongo
Obligate Feeder Obsessed
all other considerations aside, i think the previous posters have it well covered, i would like to point out that 6 weeks is not an adequate amount of time for quarantine.
so while they may "QT" they don't do it properly. which is just about as good (bad) as not doing it.
it is additionally frustrating that telling people something they don't want to hear is often labeled as rude and immediately discounted. what's rude is not taking the well thought out advice of veteran keepers who have taken time out of their day to try to help a novice make better decisions regarding their tanks.
scooter31707
New member
+1^^^. Also like most fish stores they use copper which can masked other illnesses/diseases.
Hal
New member
Glad to hear that your LFS quarantines. The better question is how do they quarantine? Some will just keep them in an observation tank for one or two weeks. That's not an effective quarantine. Some will run copper in their tanks, but most don't use enough of it for it to truly be effective. For these reasons, unless you are really tight with your LFS and know exactly what they do and that they do it every time, without fail, most reefers will do their own quarantine.
Why wait on the upgrade? Do it now. The tank and stand are usually the cheapest part of the upgrade. Keep all your old equipment and just get the benefit of the additional space and water volume. I see you're new here from your post count. Most of us have seen this question a thousand times over, with the promise of "I"ll upgrade soon." I don't think the upgrade happens as often or as soon as most promise. You're getting the response of many experience reefers who are tired of seeing the same mistakes over and over again. Don't take it personally. We've all been there, doing things that are not in our fishes best interest. We just think it would be a good idea if you benefited from some of the collective wisdom.
I've had a 10 inch vlamingi tang, 9 inch hippo tang, 5 inch yellow tang, 4 inch kole tang, 3.5 Inch Tomini tang, 6 inch sailfin tang, and a 4 inch powder blue all in my tank at the same time without any compatibility issues. But then, my tank is a 6 ft 250 g.
It's not that you can't put tangs in a 4 ft long tank, it is just putting the odds against you and your fish. Less swimming room for overall health and smaller spaces mean a greater chance of bad interactions. Think how you would like living in a small house with 8 other people, falling all over each other.
I had a 4 ft 150g tank before my current one and I didn't realize how much better that extra 2 foot was until I got the new tank. Even now there are times when I wish I had an 8 foot tank, but that isn't going to happen.
As Harry Callahan said, "[a] man's got to know his limitations."
I'm sure this video will make people roll over in their graves. :lol:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPpP_2TBdHs
I counted 8 tangs in his 110 gallon and not small tangs by any means. I'm not sure I would endorse or try it myself personally. I'm just not that brave I guess when it comes to tangs. If IIRC, most all his tangs are around 4 years old in this tank. I think it's an interesting perspective and explanation on how he was able to pull it off.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPpP_2TBdHs
I counted 8 tangs in his 110 gallon and not small tangs by any means. I'm not sure I would endorse or try it myself personally. I'm just not that brave I guess when it comes to tangs. If IIRC, most all his tangs are around 4 years old in this tank. I think it's an interesting perspective and explanation on how he was able to pull it off.
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