Experience with Blue Tangs

[Spiderman]

From your experience, how hardy is a blue tang? I've read a lot about them, but I want to get your experience. Is it easy to feed? Will they get picked on? How prone are they to disease?

Last, will a blue tang happily survive in a 75G tank, with a Comet, Flame Angel, and 7 other assorted 3" fish?

 

[PiscesLou]

When I first got my blue hippo tang it was about an inch in length and it looked like a piece of paper with fins. About three or four months later it got to be 4 in. and chubby...hated to part with it but they really need a tank thats at least 5 ft. in length

as far as hardy..I think it depends on the individual tang,Ive seen alot of blue tangs thats had ich at the lfs..so when picking one out..observe, observe, observe.
Look at the color is it bright or pale?
is it scratching on the substrate or rocks?ask them to feed it. does it eat everything in sight aggressively.ask them to hold it for you for a week and check on it daily..never fails..I read that somewhere..sorry forgot link

ohh and keep your water parameters in check. HTH

 

[lando]

The biggest thing with tangs (and most fish) is to QTthem properly before you add them to your display tank. Hippos are especially prone to parasitic and bacterial infection as they do not really have scales, just more of skin. With proper QT and diet it should do well in your tank. They do require high water quality and a "low-stress" enviornment.

 

[PiscesLou]

"low-stress" enviornment

yup, if you have fish in your tank that pick on its tankmates, chances are it will pick on the tang

 

[loganj]

I've found Hippos to be hardy and very adaptable to aquarium living. Like any tang, they require very good water conditions to remain healthy. As long as I had a quarantine tank available, I wouldn't hesitate to buy one that already had ich as long as I got a deal on it. They don't seem to be as prone to HLLE as some of the other surgeons, but they can get it if you don't keep their water parameters up. I have one in a 180g that was pretty puny and about 2" long when I got him. He's fat as a pig and 6" now. Eats anything that isn't nailed down and won't hesitate to smack any other fish in the tank away from a piece of food. Other than feeding agression, he's very good natured and doesn't bother anything or anybody. I have several others in tanks that I maintain and they are all about like this one although none are as large as him. I wouldn't recommend less than a 6' tank for keeping one long term though...JMHO.

 

[johnkristie]

I've heard that they can be very skittish and will hide alot, especially when people are around the tank. Do they eat a lot of algae? Will one get along with an established yellow tang?

 

[fishfirst]

mine did at first... now it waits for you to come up to the tank and feed it... darn pig... eats more than any fish I've got and is one of the smallest!

 

[Mercury64]

I have an all tang tank and I can tell you the nasa-prple tang and mimic are the ones Ive always had luck with no problems, I just picked up a powder blue but he has not eated in two days, hope he makes it, seems to be to mellow and intimadated by the other tangs which are a little more agressive ,I also have a soho, very nasty, took charge of the tank in about 30 seconds even though he was the last to go in

 

[fisheye]

go for it. I have mine since a year now. Awesome personality, eat everything. As food requiremetn he eat everything. I may suggest to put some sushi paper in the tank (the algae paper used for sushi). he love it.

 

[Mercury64]

where can I get that?