Training an African Yellow Belly Hippo and Squaretail Bristletooth Tang on Nori/Seaweed!

We've got more fish in the new Red Sea Reefer G2. I've now got some real movement in the tank!! Come check out the new tangs I've added, how I acclimated them to the tank, and my strategy for training tangs to eat nori/seaweed from a clip!
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[@woodguyty3228]

The ich will come /: or velvet… especially on the blue hippo tang. Please everyone do not buy tangs unless your going to QT. I work at a fish store. We maintain 1.0 ppm copper to make it appear there’s no ich but weeks after you get them home the ich/velvet will show up 90% of the time on tangs

[@zburnreefing]

I’ve lost more fish trying to QT. Thanks for sharing though. Velvet scares me for sure; ich not so much.

[@woodguyty3228]

@@zburnreefing QT is not easy but essential if you plan to have a salt tank long term. Copper power + API General Cure are what 90% of our customers use with very few losses.

[@CO.Reefing]

Nice man. I am wanting to get a blue hippo as well. I want to get a purple at the same time but I can't find some that are close in size.

[@zburnreefing]

Good luck - I think that is a wise decision to try and add the purple at the same time. It’s crazy that yellow tangs are so hard to find now, but all the more reason to pick up a purple! :)

[@CO.Reefing]

@@zburnreefing yeah seriously. it's almost impossible to find them around the same size and yeah might as well get the purple because they cost the same as the yellows now a days.

[@davelenjan19]

i got the same fish in the same tank lol, hippo and bristle tooth, bristle tooth is around 2yrs in my old tank, the hippo is the newest one baby size. the blue powder still in my old tank lol

[@atkinsnatureaquariums3552]

I really want a surgeon fish, but my tank is only 2 feet so no tangs for me, do you think adding them so early might cause problems when introducing new fish later on? I've always read they can be aggressive and also sensitive to ich. Great video, fish look amazing

[@zburnreefing]

Thanks! It really depends on your stocking list. I am saving the most aggressive fish for last. For example, a mystery wrasse will likely be my last addition. Although some tangs can be really aggressive towards each other, these two are unlikely to bother other additions like wrasses, blennys, etc. I am likely done with Tang additions so we should be good…. And yes they are ich magnets, so am watching closely and will continue to watch over the next few weeks. I’ve had good success with UV and feeding heavy to help fish overcome ich, but also have yet to see any signs. Generally though I’ve always stocked from least aggressive to most aggressive. If I wanted to say add in a copperband, I might would have done that before the tangs. Sometimes you can work around this by having new additions stay in a larger acclimation box within the tank the first few weeks so the existing fish get use to the new addition and can’t cause harm/stress in that process. Hippos and bristletooth tangs are usually good citizens but you can get a rare little punk periodically!

[@atkinsnatureaquariums3552]

@@zburnreefing thank you for the response, I had no idea mystery wrasse were aggressive, I've always heard of the six lines being jerks. I have 5 fish in my tank 2 Clowns, a tail spot Blenny, Royal Gramma and a Mandarin Dragonet, all captive bred except the blenny. I really want to add a wrasse down the road but hesitant because I don't QT and everyone is doing so well right now. What do you think of a Lubbock's Fairy Wrasse or Possum Wrasse??

[@zburnreefing]

I'd personally go with the possum wrasse. I love their distinct features and face shape. Lubbock's have great colors though. With your fish list, it shouldn't be a problem. I wouldn't hesitate to add either one.

[@MrJSpicoli]

You put the nori in a clip and they start eating it. Training complete. They need incentive to eat nori like I need incentive to eat chocolate.

[@dereks3207]

Where’d you get the fish? I usually drive up to Rusty’s in Bountiful.

[@zburnreefing]

I’ve actually never tried Rusty’s. Back in the day I’d purchase fish at The Aquarium, Birdworld, and sometimes Fish4U. I also like Aquatic Dreams, but lately just get livestock online. Usually Dr. Reef or LiveAquaria. These two fish came from diver’s den off Live Aquaria.

[@TwoScottishReefers]

You don't actually need to feed tangs nori at all. I have never fed it, I just use Hikari seaweed extreme pellets and Vitalis Algae pellets. As long as they get some Algae in their diets they will be fine.