Whos had success keeping tiny blue tangs?

[KindCorals]

I see a lot of the tiny, tiny blue tangs here, Im talking 1" or maybe a bit smaller than that and want to know what the secret to keeping them is. I had one that did fine for about 3 weeks, eating like a pig, no bullies in the tank, no signs of white spot or anything, then he just died one day. After researching it a bit more, I've read that this is fairly common with the tiny ones. My LFS also said that the blue tangs that are about 2.5-3" will have a much better survival rate because they have been around longer and know how to survive.

I'd love to get a handful of these guys in my new tank but am not sure how to give them a better chance at survival besides the normal tang care.

 

[kleach]

Uh oh - just scared me a little. I've had my baby blue for 6 weeks maybe and he seems to be doing great. Hope I dont have an unpleasant surprise one day.

Is it possible that maybe your blue's system was shocked by the caloric intake if he was eating like a pig? I feed mine sparingly and offer seaweed every other day. Good luck with the future ones (p.s. this is more me asking than offering advice)

 

[o2manyfish]

I've seen them come into the wholesales at LAX really small, like the body size under 1/2" and they don't seem to do well at that size.

My own personal experience I haven't had any luck keeping them long term unless the body (excluding the tail) is about an inch. Smaller than that they are very cute but I haven't been able to get them to survive and flourish.

Dave B

 

[Hminor00]

Mine was doing fine until my big carpet nem got it at night. expensive meal but he was really small and was doing great up until that point. He would swim around with my clowns all day and sleep in a rock.

 

[Reeftanks6]

I bought mine around a quarter size maybe a little bigger.. Made sure he was eating from my LFS and took him home. Now he is around 4-5 inches and eats like a lawn mower. Never had any problems with him, took him a little to get use to me always in front of the tank but he is fine now. Overall great experience!

 

[KindCorals]

Uh oh - just scared me a little. I've had my baby blue for 6 weeks maybe and he seems to be doing great. Hope I dont have an unpleasant surprise one day.

Is it possible that maybe your blue's system was shocked by the caloric intake if he was eating like a pig? I feed mine sparingly and offer seaweed every other day. Good luck with the future ones (p.s. this is more me asking than offering advice)

I hope yours survives too. I dont think I overfed mine, I just meant I would feed the tank twice a day and he ate from the first day.

I've seen them come into the wholesales at LAX really small, like the body size under 1/2" and they don't seem to do well at that size.

My own personal experience I haven't had any luck keeping them long term unless the body (excluding the tail) is about an inch. Smaller than that they are very cute but I haven't been able to get them to survive and flourish.

Dave B

I wonder why this is but thats what I seem to remember reading a while back. If the inch size, excluding tail, has a better survival rate, I dont mind getting those instead. Still plenty small IMO.

Mine was doing fine until my big carpet nem got it at night. expensive meal but he was really small and was doing great up until that point. He would swim around with my clowns all day and sleep in a rock.

How long did you have him before the carpet got him? Im planning on getting some rbtas and possibly a gigantea so may have the same issue down the road. what kind of carpet?

I bought mine around a quarter size maybe a little bigger.. Made sure he was eating from my LFS and took him home. Now he is around 4-5 inches and eats like a lawn mower. Never had any problems with him, took him a little to get use to me always in front of the tank but he is fine now. Overall great experience!

Mine ate at the fish store and at home from the start. was yours quarter size excluding the tail? thats great you kept him alive!

 

[Reeftanks6]

Most likely quarter size without the tail but he wasn't much bigger then a quarter!

 

[KindCorals]

Quarter size seems to be a good minimum. Now to dig up my quarter so I can take it to my LFS for comparison. They're gonna say "what do you got there mate?" LOL

 

[the808state]

I get baby blues all the time from CXI. Best way to keep them (for me atleast) is in a group (if there are the same size relatively) in a larger vat/tank and FEED them ALLLL day. I leave giant romaine lettuce heads in there with them. Gone over night. And i replace every day depending on when they are going out.

main thing with blues is 1) Ich, and 2) size. Feeding all the time really helps their survival and their ability to fight off ich.

 

[phoenixstar89]

I bought 3 yellow belly hippos about 1.5 yrs ago that were all about 3/4 in long. they were tiny. one of them just disappeared after about two months but I've still got the other 2. the other 2 are doing great with the bigger one around 5in and the smaller one around 3.5in.

here's the bigger one
<a href="http://s113.photobucket.com/user/phoenixstar89/media/IMG_0313.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n203/phoenixstar89/IMG_0313.jpg" border="0" alt="hippo tang photo IMG_0313.jpg"/></a>

 

[dixiedog]

I bought one at a LFS once about 1", he died in less than 24 hours. But the LFS made good on their guarantee, and the next one had no problems. I got him acclimated and eating, then ran him through a Cupramine regimen (as I do all my fish) before releasing him into the display.

He quickly eradicated the Caulerpa outbreak I was having, and I gave him to a good home when he outgrew the tank.

 

[small alien]

What will you do when they're mature?

 

[KindCorals]

I get baby blues all the time from CXI. Best way to keep them (for me atleast) is in a group (if there are the same size relatively) in a larger vat/tank and FEED them ALLLL day. I leave giant romaine lettuce heads in there with them. Gone over night. And i replace every day depending on when they are going out.

main thing with blues is 1) Ich, and 2) size. Feeding all the time really helps their survival and their ability to fight off ich.

Whats the minimum number in the group would you say? I agree that having food available all day would help them acclimate and stay healthy. How small are the ones you get and how long have you had them before they went out? Im guessing you are a re-seller of some sort?

I bought 3 yellow belly hippos about 1.5 yrs ago that were all about 3/4 in long. they were tiny. one of them just disappeared after about two months but I've still got the other 2. the other 2 are doing great with the bigger one around 5in and the smaller one around 3.5in.

here's the bigger one
<a href="http://s113.photobucket.com/user/phoenixstar89/media/IMG_0313.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n203/phoenixstar89/IMG_0313.jpg" border="0" alt="hippo tang photo IMG_0313.jpg"/></a>

any tips you can give for the success of the remaining 2?

What will you do when they're mature?

It should be at least a couple years before they do and Im planning on buying a house and getting a LARGE in wall tank then. If one or two get too aggressive, or they get too big, I will have to find new homes but the medium ones I've had in the past didnt get that much bigger over the 2 years I had them so they wouldnt be maturing overnight.

 

[acrohead500ppm]

I get baby blues all the time from CXI. Best way to keep them (for me atleast) is in a group (if there are the same size relatively) in a larger vat/tank and FEED them ALLLL day. I leave giant romaine lettuce heads in there with them. Gone over night. And i replace every day depending on when they are going out.

main thing with blues is 1) Ich, and 2) size. Feeding all the time really helps their survival and their ability to fight off ich.

agreed at this size they need constant food, biggest mistake people make is thinking that feeding them sipirulnia x2 a day will be okay, its crucial to always have nori or leafy greens in the tank at almost all times in this stage. Tangs in general have an extremely high metabolism.

 

[the808state]

In an aquarium (depending on size) i would say 5-10 BABY blues would be OK for a while. They are relatively slow growers and i think in a large tank you could have a nice school of them. they very rarely fight each other at the tiny size. Be aware though they get BIG !

 

[greg1786]

My brother got one as a present from our mother about 10 months ago. He was about 3/4" and was quite shy. He ate right from the start and is now 3". I think I have to agree that nori is an intracle part of their diet. Not just blues but all tangs for that matter. I have two tangs in my tank and try to give them nori everyday. There are times where I work so late that I dont get a chance to put nori in for a few days and I notice an immediate difference in the size of their stomachs. They just seem happier and healthier IMO when they are given a steady diet of nori, especially in a tank like mine that has VERY little algae anywhere due to the sps I keep. Good luck!!

 

[phoenixstar89]

hippo tangs are more omnivorous than other tangs so I fed mine mixed diet of nls pellet, flakes, and mysis shrimp daily. I fed 2-3 times per day. occasionally I'd throw in some live macroalgae like gracilaria or agardhiella as a treat.

 

[KindCorals]

agreed at this size they need constant food, biggest mistake people make is thinking that feeding them sipirulnia x2 a day will be okay, its crucial to always have nori or leafy greens in the tank at almost all times in this stage. Tangs in general have an extremely high metabolism.

Oh no, it may have been my fault I lost the tiny one I had. I had medium sized ones before and they were fine for 2+ years with 2-3 feedings a day. I wasnt advised to give the tiny ones constant food. Still, I should have done more research but I will definitely have lots of nori and/or leafy greens in the tank at all times when I try them again

In an aquarium (depending on size) i would say 5-10 BABY blues would be OK for a while. They are relatively slow growers and i think in a large tank you could have a nice school of them. they very rarely fight each other at the tiny size. Be aware though they get BIG !

The most I would probably get is 5 and hopefully I will have my in wall tank done before they get too big. Thats good to know that they rarely fight at this size and yes I do know how big they get. I had to give my others away after they outgrew their tanks years ago.

My brother got one as a present from our mother about 10 months ago. He was about 3/4" and was quite shy. He ate right from the start and is now 3". I think I have to agree that nori is an intracle part of their diet. Not just blues but all tangs for that matter. I have two tangs in my tank and try to give them nori everyday. There are times where I work so late that I dont get a chance to put nori in for a few days and I notice an immediate difference in the size of their stomachs. They just seem happier and healthier IMO when they are given a steady diet of nori, especially in a tank like mine that has VERY little algae anywhere due to the sps I keep. Good luck!!

That seems really fast to be growing but he must be happy in your tank. I'll have to get a few nori clips and set them up for quick drops into the tank if Im low on time. I do plan on having very little algae/nutrients in the water so I will have to schedule nori every day when possible.