Wounded hippo tang

[cvonseggern]

I put a small hippo tang in the main tank last Friday...it did beautifully in quarantine for three weeks, and now I think it's dying. On Sunday evening I found it pinned to the rockwork by the flow from the sump return. It'd been there for no more than an hour and a half based on when we'd last seen it swimming, and swam away easily after I turned off the pump, but now I can see a nasty-looking contusion on one side and it's hiding in the rocks looking very stressed.

Anything I can do to help this fish? I think putting it back in quarantine is out of the question...I'll never get it out of the main tank. It's not coming out to eat and I think my royal gramma has been harassing it. Thanks for any suggestions!

[cvonseggern]

Looking more closely, it looks like the right pectoral fin is almost completely gone. I don't know if this is from the incident with the rocks or was chewed off by another fish, but either way there's only about a 1/4 stump left. I don't think this fish can survive...any help greatly appreciated.

[alton]

Fins do grow back but you need to watch to see if he is getting picked on, and if so remove him.

[gcantu]

Normally they love to burrow into crevices like that for protection or just when they want to chill at night. Follow Alton's advice and just watch it closely.

[Bill S]

They really freak at ANY change in their environment. The one I have I've had for 4 years. When I put it into the 215, it really went nuts. Went thru the whole ich thing for 3 months. If you can't put it back in quarantine, you have no choice but to just monitor it. The biggest thing is to see if you can get it to eat...