Hippo and Yellow tang compatability?

[janda]

Looking to add a Hippo tang to my tank that is 5-6" and healthy from a club member. I currently have a 5" yellow in my 125 6' tank. Does anyone have any thoughts on the outcome? The yellow is the dominate fish. Others in the tank are a pair of clowns, 6 line, green chromis, red lip blennie, and a damsel. Catching the yellow, rearranging the rock, etc are not options I want to pursue. I would like to add the fish but not at the expense of his health.

 

[RayD]

Could go either way. I kept a Yellow and a Hippo for a long time and they got along just ducky. But if your YT is the "alpha fish" of the tank he may (probably) will get pretty aggressive toward the Hippo.

YMMV

After my YT died I added a Purple Tang and the Hippo stressed the poor guy out until he died. I felt terrible. So my next addition was a small Sohal and they're doing just fine together. My Hippo is about 5 yrs old now and has gotten quite large.

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[Glenn E King]

Go for it

I added a Hippo about the same size as my Yellow tang who was already established.
The yellow made sure the Hippo knew who was boss.
I kept the lights out for about 24 hrs after introducing the Hippo.
The Yellow is still the dominant fish but the get along fine.

 

[janda]

Is there anything I could do to ease the transition? The lights out for 24 hours I never even thought of. I need to satisfy myself that I'm not going to have this guys fish die just because I want to have one. I know each fish has different personalities and there are no gaurantees.

 

[Glenn E King]

Tactics

I have heard a couple of tactics over the years. I think you need to decide what is practical.
Some people pull the current tang from the tank and let the new tang get acclimated then reintroduce the original inhabitant, in your case the yellow tang.
Some people rearrange some of the rockwork.

 

[janda]

Well I decided to add the Hippo that Turtle had for sale. So far there is no aggressive behavior from my yellow at all. The Hippo is already coming out from behind the rock work which I wasn't expecting and he looks great.

 

[RayD]

Well I decided to add the Hippo that Turtle had for sale. So far there is no aggressive behavior from my yellow at all. The Hippo is already coming out from behind the rock work which I wasn't expecting and he looks great.

I saw the for sale thread with Turtle's Hippo. Really pretty one. He looked fat and healthy! Best of luck with him. Sounds like you're off to a good start!