Hiding Hippo

[Mr_Cool]

My blue hippo tang has been hiding ever since I got him about 3 months ago. I asked if that was normal a while ago, and many people agreed that it is. He used to come out to eat, but I haven't seen him do that in about 3 weeks.

Do they eat at night? If so, what would he be eating? I always put some algae in there for my other 2 tangs, but I don't know if he's getting any.

He used to hide under a little cave or inside a hole in a piece of live rock. But lately, he's been hiding behind the rock work so that I really can't see him. Would it be a good idea to get him out of the main tank and into the sump so that he's not able to hide? I was just thinking that maybe he would get used to not being able to hide, and then get over his shyness.

[captexas]

Hippo tangs tend to hide because they are scared/nervous and they tend to hide in the rock when they sleep. Putting it in a tank where it has no where to hide will most likely stress it even more, not help the situation.

I wouldn't be as worried about it's hiding as I would be about whether it is eating or not. Hippos are not noctural as far as I have seen, so if it's not eating during the day, it's not eating at night either. Have you tried adding garlic to the food to see if that will entice it to come out and eat? Hippo tangs are more meat eaters than other tangs so make sure you are feeding plenty of other foods besides the dried algae.

On the hiding issue, maybe look at what is causing it to hide. Is your tank in a high traffic area? If there is always lots of motion (people walking by, etc.) around the tank, that may be causing it to hide. Have you seen other fish picking on it?

[Mr_Cool]

No one is picking on it, or at least not that I've seen. The tank is not really in a high traffic area. It's in what would normally be the dining room, but since we never used the dining room set, we took it out and made it the "fish tank room." When you come into the foyer through the front door, the tank is to the left about 10 feet away to the left. The family always enters the house from a different entrance, and I wouldn't say we have a LOT of company. When people do come over, though, many times they DO go over to look at the tank.

I'm going to try the garlic. We'll see what happens.

Thanks for the responce.

[RayAllen]

My large blue hippo hides when nervous or spooked, but for the most part is out all the time. Definatley the king of the tank. My aquarium is in a very high traffic area and the fish all seem to be accustomed to it. It could simply be the its personality; I do belive fish have personalities. For example, I have a clown goby that is extremely bold and front and center all the time; even eats out of my hands. Everyone tells me that they are supposed to be very shy fish that hide a lot..........

[copperband]

well all tangs need garlic in their diet because tangs are like ick magnits when they are streesed so the garlic boosts up their emune system good luck with the tang

[Mr_Cool]

So, what's the easiest way to get the garlic to the fish?

I'm pretty sure that I've read that you can buy minced garlic that comes in a little jar with it's own juice. What do I do, just take out the garlic and leave the juice for the food to soak in?

I didn't get a chance today, so I'll pick some up tomorrow.

[bigmoe21]

i use the garlic xtreme by kent, expensive but lasts a long time. All you do is add a drop or two to the food, depending on how much you feed.

[txstateunivreefer]

just like how you can buy nori at HEB you can also get a garlic extract off of the organic etc healthfood esile it is preservative free so it has no side effects on fish... oh if you use that or the kent garlic xtreme... DONT get it on you or else your sig other will make you sleep in the other room.

[bigmoe21]

yup..my girlfriend hates the smell

[coraline79]

I use garlic guard. It is 8 bucks at alamo, probably cheaper on the net. It stniks pretty strong, and the ingredients read Garlic extract. I works fast for curing ick. 3-4 days was my experience.

[dapettit]

FWIW, I let the food soak in the garlic overnight for maximum absorption. I put my food in a shot glass with a couple of drops of garlic xtreme, vitamins and C. However if you are using flake or other dry foods let it soak for at least an hour before feeding.

[merlin0883]

Mine loves emerald entree--it gets brine and mysis, and plenty of seaweed as well. I also feed mine green, brown, and red dried seaweed. Try the red and brown to entice it out. The emerald entree would probably be your best bet. What other tangs are in there with it? Tangs are notorious for picking on other tangs. A yellow tang does not even have to pick on a hippo tang to make it hide. If you can't get it to come out and eat, put it in a tank without other tangs if you have one.

[bronck83]

I thought the whole point of garlic was to entice the fish to eat therefore boosting the immune system with food not the garlic itself?

[Mr_Cool]

I forgot about this thread!

The hippo didn't make it. Once I started w/ the garlic, he did seem to come out more. But, he was covered w/ white blotches. It wasn't ick. I guess adding some new fish really just freaked him out too much and he was totally stressed.