Will Blue Hippos get along?

[DugJ]

What are my chances of adding a 2" paracanthurus hepatus to a tank that already houses a 4" hepatus? My main concern is aggression from the larger established fish.

 

[rydr119]

Its could be a problem since then new guy is half the size of the established fish and territory will become an issue most likely.

 

[billy72]

Not a good idea. Your existing hep will most likely have a problem with the new guy. Be ready if you chance iy.

 

[JoeyTheReefer]

i would say no

 

[thor32766]

i may have been lucky, but I had a 4-5 inch hippo and added like a 3inch one and never had a single problem. They actually have been together over two years and never leave each others side.

 

[DugJ]

The large hepatus I have hasn't shown aggression to any fish ever, not to my scopas or desjardni. I've had him since 1/2" and back in the day the hepatus would try shoaling with my ocellaris clowns. Should I assume this docile behavior would continue with the addition, or would it be like flipping a switch if I dropped the second hep in the tank?

 

[yoboyjdizz]

I wouldn't do it, if added at the same time you would be fine the bigger hippos get the more bolder they become and more likely to give the new ones a hard time.

 

[jda]

I have kept them together and added them at different times. I have a 210G tank, however, and it matters. They do grow fast and tend to get a bit more agressive as they grow.

 

[billy72]

I had tried to add a smaller addition to the tank.

The existing 4" hippo went directly to a severe attack mode. Oddly this original hippo was the most pleasant fish for years with zero incidents with others.