Small blue tang getting sucked into ph when playing dead?

[luckycat]

OK so I'm doing things the "right" way with my 10g qt tank and a new very small blue tang that I purchased from LFS. It's about 3/4-1". The first day we got the tang, it liked to "play dead" when scared... it would just lay flat on the ground till we left, then it would start swimming around a bit. I read that this is normal for blue tangs (is it?).

I left for a while, my wife came back to check on the fish.. it was stuck on the intake tube of our HOB filter! She freaked, unplugged the filter, and the fish swam off. I then put a large sponge on the intake tube to prevent the fish from getting pulled in...it has worked...

But now I'm wondering about the blue tang in the main tank, with two MaxiJet 900s, and the intake tubes on these. Should I get sponges on these too, or will the blue tang "wisen up" and avoid getting sucked into the intake tubes? I guess when the tang grows a bit it won't be a problem, but with it so small, and doing it's "playing dead" act when it gets scared I can imagine it being pulled into the phs. Should I worry? Get sponges?

Thanks!

 

[steve-s]

Regals love to hide behind powerheads and such when they sleep at night, I wouldn't take the chance. The tang simpley isn't strong enough to resist the pulling force of the water. It might look a little unsightly but until the tang has grown a little I would cover the powerhead intakes.

Cheers
Steve