At my wit's end!!!!

[CD]

Most of you know about the Hippo (wildcaught) that was graciously given to me from Carlos at RCA and falcam7 two weeks ago - I am really worried (actually freaking out) about this fish's lack of interest in food and desire to swim much :( at this point, and I'm hoping someone here may have some suggestions.

First off, as stated above, I have not seen the fish eat no matter what I offer...oddly enough, she is not showing signs of significant weight loss even though it has been two weeks since she was introduced to our display tank. The only thing I can figure is that she is sneaking in snacks from our ample supply of 'pods in the tank, but again - I have not witnessed her doing so. Here is what I have tried to feed so far:

Hikari & Piscine Energetics brand Mysis shrimp
Formula Two frozen
SanFran. bay frozen brine
Ocean Nutrition Formula One & Two flakes
frozen Cyclop-eeze (she nibbled at this once, but not any more)
Kent Garlic Xtreme (put with the above foods)
Wardley & New Life Spectrum brand pellets
Red Ogo macro algae
Roasted Nori seaweed
AND live Brine shrimp (totally ignored)

She is being totally ignored by the Yellow Tang now, so no stress there. The behavior is weird too - she almost acts as if she is blind...when she *does* swim around the tank (rarely), she bumps into the rockscape and the glass of the tank. She mostly stays in the lower RH corner of the tank relatively exposed (not hiding in the rockwork), and basically hovers over the same spot in the sand - either sitting on the sand, or swimming in place - no more than 3 inches off the sand bed with her nose to the glass.

All the other fish and inverts in the tank are eating like little piggies and look great. Water quality has been checked, and is fine. Have noticed a small diatom (brownish hue) outbreak on the sand - only at the very front of the tank, but nothing of any real significance.

When we first got the Hippo, we drip acclimated her for about 6+ hours, making sure the SG and temp. were the same before we released her into the tank. The MHs had already gone off for the day, and she was released with about 15 minutes left on the actinics so she could get her bearings before the lights went out for the night.

That's about all the info I can think of, so if anybody has any suggestions or thoughts on the matter, I would greatly appreciate it. I am at a total loss here. HELP??!! :cry:

Wendy

[matt]

Hippos are really skittish, especially when they're not in a group of other hippos in a huge tank; I get the feeling they're really social fish by nature. How big is the tank, and what other fish are in there?

[captexas]

Also, Hippos are much more meat eaters than their other tang relatives. Mine wouldn't eat the dried seaweed I put in the tank for it until it saw another tang I added later on eat it. I use the San Franscisco Bay frozen foods and it eats everything. I'd try something more meaty like squid with a little Kent Garlic.

What size is the fish and how long did Carlos have it? If he had just gotten it in, it may still be showing signs of stress from capture and shipping. If he had it for awhile, I would talk to him and find out what he was feeding it and try that. Sometimes fish don't like new foods.

[Richard]

I recieved a regal once that would swim straight into rocks as if he had some type of balance/perception problem for a week or two. He eventually came around and was fine.
If it's a smaller one then they drop weight pretty fast so if it's been awhile (several days or more) and he doesn't look real thin I would think he is still just shy but getting some food when you not around. They can be sneaky eaters when they aren't fully settled in.

[NaCl_H2O]

Hippos are definately a shy fish - I think patience and variety are the keys here.

The "blind" behaviour is kind of odd, but maybe just still freak'in from being in a VERY small rectangular ocean with invisible force fields, HUGE UGLY creatures just on the other side of the force field, multiple suns in the sky, the suns appear INSTANTLY, and dissapear just as instantly ... WIERD ... and they expect me to eat this dead crap? Where is Nemo, somebody said he knows how to get out of here?

Patience, nature will turn her into a little piggy soon enough.

BTW - Your big face in the glass 24x7 probably isn't helping either ;)

[Reef69]

... and they expect me to eat this dead crap?

LOL..give it time, as long as the tang isnt getting thinner, it will get hungrier..I had the same problem...started eating out of the blue

[DeletedAccount]

Mine eats up live brine, absolutely loves it! You can get some at Cb, I am sure others also sell it. Enrich it (sit it in an aerated container of salt water) with Tahitian blend, vits, if you have any, garlic... something. It is worth a try. My Hippo often runs uinto rocks, acting almost blind. Neurotic...

[CD]

How big is the tank, and what other fish are in there?


The tank is 75G with 30G sump and 15G 'fuge. I know that's waaay to small, but we are planning on upgrading to a 150G RR Oceanic when the tax return comes. The Hippo in question is aprox. 5" (incl. the tail), then there is another smaller Hippo now - at about 3 and a half inches (who seems to adore the bigger one), a med. Yellow Tang, two False Percs, a Fairy wrasse, a Randall's Shrimp Goby, and various inverts (couple of cleaner shrimp, snails and hermits).



I'd try something more meaty like squid with a little Kent Garlic.


Well, I'm already adding the Garlic Xtreme to the daily faire, and one of the frozen foods I feed that I didn't list (I forget which one as there are so many now) has squid in it. Most of the foods I noted in the initial post are mixed together for the daily feeding of all the fish now. I even feed two different sizes of mysis - the Hikari are pretty small, and the other are good meaty sized shrimp - the smaller Hippo scarfs these up like no tomorrow.



how long did Carlos have it?


Fresh delivery - as far as I know, we got it out of the bag it had been shipped in.



I recieved a regal once that would swim straight into rocks as if he had some type of balance/perception problem for a week or two. He eventually came around and was fine


Well, that's encouraging...I've been thinking maybe it had gotten some kind of serious damage during the collection process. Yep, she's just banging away at almost everything in front of her, and even when she does swim around other parts of the tank (rarely), she won't elevate off the sand bed by more than 2-3 inches.



doesn't look real thin I would think he is still just shy but getting some food when you not around. They can be sneaky eaters when they aren't fully settled in.


No, as I mentioned - I can barely discern any weight loss at all, and it's been two weeks! I would't classify her as a small Hippo...5" incl. the tail...maybe medium sized? As far as sneaky - well, as I mentioned, we have a pretty decent population of 'pods in our tank and 'fuge, but I haven't seen her eat anything at all. Weird. One would've thought she'd be as skinny as a rail after 2 weeks.



BTW - Your big face in the glass 24x7 probably isn't helping either


LOL...Well truthfully, I've been trying to stay away from the front of the tank. After I feed, (OK, try not to laugh too hard) I go hide behind the bed, watching over the pillows to see if she's munching on anything. The only time we didn't do that is when we tried to feed the live brine. The only other time I'm in front of the tank is to briefly put knocked off frags back where they belong in the mornings, and water top offs/water changes. Compared to the amount of time I usually spent in front of the tank, the last two weeks have been next to nil. :?



LOL..give it time, as long as the tang isnt getting thinner, it will get hungrier..I had the same problem...started eating out of the blue


Was it a Hippo, or another kind of fish? Hippos seem ultra sensitive compared to other species. That's why I'd been trying to stay away from the front of the tank as much as possible. The smaller Hippo was super shy at first, and would go duck behind some rocks when I walked by, or stood in front of the tank to feed. Now, she's just a happy little fishie - eating, swimming, playing in the water flow, etc. - even when I'm in front of the tank. I think the smaller one may have been tank raised though.

All the other fish seemed to really enjoy the live brine, but not the Hippo in question. I was releasing the LB through a turkey baster about 4" above her head. One of the shrimp almost actually wriggled into her mouth, but she paid absolutely no attention to it. She seemes dazed... :(

Wendy

[NaCl_H2O]

After I feed, (OK, try not to laugh too hard) I go hide behind the bed, watching over the pillows to see if she's munching on anything.

ROFLMAO - And the Hippos are saying ... nope, nope, don't eat yet, I can see her hiding behind the pillow ... OK, NOW!

This one is gonna keep me chuckling all night - Thanks Wendy!

[CD]

This one is gonna keep me chuckling all night - Thanks Wendy!


LOL...LHN...Heh...Glad I could give you a giggle ;)
I knew I was in for it on that tidbit of information, but I just wanted to clarify how *hard* I've been trying to stay away from the front of the tank. 8)

Wendy

[Richard]

Honestly, it really sounds like a regal that hasn't settled in completely yet. They are a weird fish. I have a big honker at the store right now that is going to be tough to sell. Whenever someone walks up to the tank it goes and lays down flat on the ground. It's hard to sell a fish that everyone thinks is dead. As soon as they walk away it pops up and swims around happily.

[Tim Marvin]

Richard how big is it? I may be interested....

[Richard]

Well I think he's the biggest one I've ever gotten. I'll bust out the ruler tomorrow.

[Richard]

One would've thought she'd be as skinny as a rail after 2 weeks.


Oh just spotted that. Yep, she would be skinny as a rail if she hadn't eaten anything in two weeks. Must be snacking after you get tired of hiding behind the pillows. :lol:
To get my Blonde Naso to eat I just fed very small amounts literally every 10 - 20 minutes whenever I was at home. By the end of the second day she was coming up to the surface to eat whenever I walked up to the tank.

[CD]

It's hard to sell a fish that everyone thinks is dead. As soon as they walk away it pops up and swims around happily.


LOL - Does it do that with everybody - including you and the other employees?



Must be snacking after you get tired of hiding behind the pillows.


Heh...I can see I'm never gonna live *this* one down. ;)
Was the Blonde Naso shy also? I mean I'll try anything at this point, but if the shyness is a major factor, do you think trying to feed smaller amounts more often would be counterproductive? If she's only eating when I'm totally out of the room at this point, I would be worried that she wouldn't get any chow at all. Unless of course she's eating at night - that's when the 'pods are the most active, but wouldn't that be rather unlikely?

Wendy

[Jenn]

Honestly, it really sounds like a regal that hasn't settled in completely yet. They are a weird fish. I have a big honker at the store right now that is going to be tough to sell. Whenever someone walks up to the tank it goes and lays down flat on the ground. It's hard to sell a fish that everyone thinks is dead. As soon as they walk away it pops up and swims around happily.


Now thats funny! :-D

Wish mine that I got from Tim weren't so big, I would take him. Sounds like he is a smart one and entertaining.

[Jenn]

Gosh Wendy, I think everything will turn out fine. Especially with how long its been and no noticible weight loss.

[C.Mydas]

We've got a powder blue that ignores all seaweed except for Julian Sprungs purple stuff (its cheapest at PetCo), ...try mixing up your algaes to see if he prefers one over the other.

[Richard]

Hey Tim, I tried to measure him but he won't hold still J/K. I'd say 7-8" length and 5-6" in heigth. He eats great so I coaxed hm out with some brine. Her'es some pics - it's a medium tusk (5-6") in with him.

[Jenn]

He is too cool! Great hider in the 3rd pic. I wish we only knew what they were thinking about us.

[mathias]

3rd pic Im guessing is his HEY IM DEAD don't buy me pic.... :)

[MikeDeL]

He must really like Richards tank. LOL