Should I be Keeping My Blue hippo tang in my 24G Tank?

[Hiward]

Hey fellow reefers,

I have a 24G tank with some soft corals and a few fish, including a blue hippo tang. I got him when he was small, but he's now grown quite a bit and I'm starting to worry that my tank might not be suitable for him anymore.

I've read conflicting opinions on the minimum tank size for blue hippo tangs, some say they need at least 75G while others claim they can thrive in smaller tanks. I want to make sure I'm doing the right thing for my fish, so I'm seeking some advice from experienced reefers or other people with tangs.

I've had the hippo tang in the system for about 6 months now, it eats well, likes to sleep in its rock crevasse and is very friendly to the other fishes

Do you think my 24G tank is suitable for a blue hippo tang? Or should I consider rehoming him to a larger tank? Any personal experience or tips on keeping blue hippo tangs in smaller tanks would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance for your help and advice!



Thank you

 

[xiongsy]

No experience but rehome imo.

 

[Hiward]

 

[Icedphoenix]

How big is the fish? If this is a baby at an inch or 2 he is probably ok for now. This fish regularly tops out around a foot in length and the small tank will not slow its progress down. It will get aggressive and suffer as it grows. Personally I will not be getting one for my 4-foot tank as I feel even that is too small for a foot long fish. It is one of my favorites but is off the list until I can afford, and have room for at least a 5- or 6-foot tank. I could keep one for a while in a 4-foot tank but rehoming a large fish can be hard. Ultimately it is your choice but knowing this fish will get physically bigger than your tank is probably long, better to rehome and stay away from tangs until you can get some more room for them.

FYI there are some smaller tangs but none for a tank as small as yours unfortunately. Some very pretty bristle-tooth tangs that stay smaller would work with the right aquascape in a 75 standard.

 

[Fishy888]

Hippo tangs need a minimum of a six foot 180. Many recommend an eight footer. These fish can get as large as a foot long. They need ample swimming space which they won’t get in a 4 foot tank much less a 30 inch tank. Besides blue hippo tangs tend to be ich magnets in tanks that are too small.

 

[dedragon]

rehome, no tang should be put into a 24 gallon tank unless it is for qt or observation for a very short period

 

[LordofCinder]

I'm suspecting this is a troll thread. Can we see a pic?
Would also like to see at least one "conflicting" report that says its ok to keep a tang in a 24 gallon tank?

 

[AydenLincoln]

NO!

 

[Mark Goode]

Quick! Call 911 and ask for the Tang Police!

 

[Fishy888]

I'm suspecting this is a troll thread. Can we see a pic?
Would also like to see at least one "conflicting" report that says its ok to keep a tang in a 24 gallon tank?

View attachment 3110116

Good point. I wasn’t thinking about the possibility of a troll. I miss the old days when trolls stayed under bridges instead of in forums.

 

[Anemone_Fanatic]

Here come the tang police...

I really can't recommend keeping that tang in there. I'm not the tang police (I think that a 3' tank is alright for some of the smaller species) but I can't see a good outcome here. Hippo tangs get absolutely colossal, around 12" long, 5" tall, and up to 2" thick. A specimen of that size needs a 6' tank at minimum, and ideally bigger. A tiny blue tang could perhaps spend a year or so in a 3' tank, but no longer, and they should stay far away from a system smaller than that. They grow a few inches every year until they are adults at around 8", at which point they slow down. A tang that isn't growing at that pace isn't naturally small, it isn't staying the size of its tank, and you aren't lucky to have found such a small specimen. It's stunted. When a fish stunts due to being in too small of a tank, it's a terrible thing. While they may not grow on the outside, their internal organs will continue to grow. Organ failure and internal bleeding is the inevitable result here. I highly suggest getting that poor thing into a 6' tank as fast as you can get it out. For a tang that's at least 6 months old, that specimen looks awfully small. It'd probably be closer to 3" in a longer tank at this point. Stunting is reversible if caught soon enough, and in a larger tank, your specimen should be able to live a healthy life. I suggest an azure damselfish instead. They have the same blue body with a yellow tail, but they happen to stay around 2.5" long naturally, a much better choice. I hope that you do the right thing, good luck!

 

[Hiward]

OK I will try to get a bigger tank, is my tang OK? The past two days I’ve been seeing these round clear circle things growing on its stomach i’ve added a picture in the video that shows it pretty clearly. Is it a disease? My royal grandma also has two little white dots on the back of its tail that just appeared a day ago

 

[Hiward]

Hippo tangs need a minimum of a six foot 180. Many recommend an eight footer. These fish can get as large as a foot long. They need ample swimming space which they won’t get in a 4 foot tank much less a 30 inch tank. Besides blue hippo tangs tend to be ich magnets in tanks that are too small.

I think It got the ich what can I do to help it? Should I put it in a quarantine tank? Do I need to get some medicine or is it normal? Thank you

 

[Hiward]

Here come the tang police...

I really can't recommend keeping that tang in there. I'm not the tang police (I think that a 3' tank is alright for some of the smaller species) but I can't see a good outcome here. Hippo tangs get absolutely colossal, around 12" long, 5" tall, and up to 2" thick. A specimen of that size needs a 6' tank at minimum, and ideally bigger. A tiny blue tang could perhaps spend a year or so in a 3' tank, but no longer, and they should stay far away from a system smaller than that. They grow a few inches every year until they are adults at around 8", at which point they slow down. A tang that isn't growing at that pace isn't naturally small, it isn't staying the size of its tank, and you aren't lucky to have found such a small specimen. It's stunted. When a fish stunts due to being in too small of a tank, it's a terrible thing. While they may not grow on the outside, their internal organs will continue to grow. Organ failure and internal bleeding is the inevitable result here. I highly suggest getting that poor thing into a 6' tank as fast as you can get it out. For a tang that's at least 6 months old, that specimen looks awfully small. It'd probably be closer to 3" in a longer tank at this point. Stunting is reversible if caught soon enough, and in a larger tank, your specimen should be able to live a healthy life. I suggest an azure damselfish instead. They have the same blue body with a yellow tail, but they happen to stay around 2.5" long naturally, a much better choice. I hope that you do the right thing, good luck!

OK thank you for the advice, I will talk with my local re-shop to see if they can take it in and hold it for me so I can buy a new tank and get it cycle

 

[Hiward]

No experience but rehome imo.

Ok thank you I will get a better tank for it

 

[Hiward]

I'm suspecting this is a troll thread. Can we see a pic?
Would also like to see at least one "conflicting" report that says its ok to keep a tang in a 24 gallon tank?

View attachment 3110116

I knew that tangs would get bigger but not this fast. Thank you all for the advice, I will try to get it in a bigger tank as soon as possible for now I will have my local Reaoos shop hold onto it for me so I can get a bigger tank and get it cycle.

 

[Fishy888]

I think It got the ich what can I do to help it? Should I put it in a quarantine tank? Do I need to get some medicine or is it normal? Thank you

@Jay Hemdal hopefully will chime in but you’ll need that bigger tank asap. Otherwise once you treat the tang and all your other fish it’ll just get ich again. Get a six footer. If you can I’d get a 180 gallon tank.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

View attachment 3111320
OK I will try to get a bigger tank, is my tang OK? The past two days I’ve been seeing these round clear circle things growing on its stomach i’ve added a picture in the video that shows it pretty clearly. Is it a disease? My royal grandma also has two little white dots on the back of its tail that just appeared a day ago

I can't tell exactly what those larger spots are, but they are not ich. Mostly likely, they are just scrapes/bumps, but can also turn into a bacterial infection, so keep an eye on them.

The tang isn't too large for this tank, yet.

Here is an article that discusses tank size and fish:

Estimating the Need for Swimming Space for Aquarium Fishes

This article explores required aquarium sizes for marine fishes

www.reef2reef.com

Jay

 

[chipchipmofo]

I just had to rehome a blue hippo tang..
I did get her when she was 1 inch and she grew to almost 5 inches in 1 single year! :O

Didnt expect that fast growth to be honest and she was in my 50g tank.

Now shes swimming in a nice 1000gallons tank im so happy for her!

 

[I never finish anythi]

I just got rid of my hippo tang . Was in a 75g which is way to small for it .