first fish

[Nameless]

My first tank is currently cycling. I'm going to be on vacation during thanksgiving week, and when I get back, provided my water is stable, my friend offered to sell me his pacific blue "hippo" tang for $30 because he's having trouble feeding it enough to keep it off of his corals. So I have a few questions. First, since I want to eventually go towards a reef, is a hippo tang going to be a liability? Second, is $30 a good deal for one? Third, since it's a tang, am I going to have a hard time introducing other fish later?

 

[davelin315]

Not much of a friend in my opinion, although I have to admit I don't know prices in your area, or how big his tang is. Around here, you can usually get baby pacific blues for $20 when they are in season, and the larger ones are usually around $35-$50. As far as being a liability in a reef, the only problem you might encounter as far as I'm concerned is that pacific blues tend to be problematic as far as susceptibility to ich and other parasites. I have one in my tank (that I bought from a LFS about a month ago) that is constantly struggling with some parasites that have grown into his eye. I have been feeding him supplemented food, but it's not seeming to help him too much. None of the other fish are affected, and he went through a freshwater dip before introduction, but he's back and forth as far as health is concerned without any water quality problems except those brought on by garlic introduction for the ich.

Other than that, they're a great fish for a reef.

By the way, what size tank? That'll also have some affect on its health.

[ November 07, 2001: Message edited by: davelin315 ]</p>

 

[Nameless]

It's a 75 gallon with about 65 pounds of rock, so there's a lot of swimming room....

I guess I should have mentioned he's about three inches long, huh?

 

[Nameless]

Is 3" too big a hippo? I know questions like that really bug people here, but I want to make sure he'll be healthy....

I will be upgrading my tank in the future, so I'm not worried about his future growth so much as his current size....

 

[naesco]

I would pass on the tang for a few reasons. First your tank is a little small. Think of when the fish is fully grown and it makes it a little easier to accept that 75 is small for a tang.
Second, at 3 inches and first in, you can expect him to be aggressive to many species you may want to put in.
Third if you are new to reefing consider captive grown species which will be easier for you and your fish as a new reefer.
Good Luck

 

[Minh Nguyen]

Another reason to stay away is the fish proved to be problematic in a reef tank. That is why he is getting rid of it. What make you think that he will behave better in your tank?