Yellow and Hippo Tang

[55gallonsw]

I am a beginner to saltwater (FOWLR, 55gallon) and I read and was told that Yellow and Hippo Tangs are good starter fish, once the tank has been cycled and what not. I also read that they are extremely vulnerable to ick and can get sick often. I want to get them because they are pretty, but I don't want them if they get sick often. Can someone please tell me from experience if they are worth getting or do you have to be on top of them? If they get ick or sick is it easy to treat and do they infect their tank mates?
Thank You
Oscar

[Judge]

Hi 55gallon sw and welcome to FTF. Several things come to mind. A 55 is not big enough for your choices. You might get away with the Yellow but not the Hippo. YES, they are very prone to ICH and NO it is not easy to treat. ICH can and will run rampant through your tank and can kill everything. I do not think of your choices as being good starter fish.
There are so many wonderful sw fish to pick from so I would research carefully and don't always rely on major petstores info..they are in business to make $$.

[55gallonsw]

Thank you. any recomendations? Hardy fish are preffered, I also want some anenomes. I havea hagen marine glo 36" 30w and I was thinking about about adding a hagen power glow 18000k 36" (unknown watts). Would that be enough for the anenomes? What would I feed them?
Thank you
Oscar

[lostanime]

I have no earthly clue why some places tell customers that Hippo tangs are great starter fish. Our hippo tang is over a FOOT long. It would not be able to physically turn around in a 55 gallon aquarium!

Many/most types of anemones take VERY intense light. I would maintain a minimum 300 watts of lighting for a standard 55 gallon tank, because it's a tall/narrow tank. Anemones can be VERY difficult to keep in captivity. Industry professionals such as Robert Fenner practically condemn keeping wild-caught anemones because despite being able to live indefinitely (without predators) in the wild, they have a dismal survival rate in captivity. When they do die, they turn into a toxic goo that dissolves, poisoning smaller systems to death if not removed quickly. If you are partial to keeping anemones and can get enough lighting, once your tank's been running for 9+ months check out captive bred bubble tip anemones. They are very cool, clowns WILL host them, and buying them doesn't encourage the destruction of wild anemones.

As far as starter fish, yellow tangs are one of the hardiest tangs (although VERY mean) Damsels are hardy and mean too. Chromis are hardy and NOT mean Gobies, blennies, and the like also can make great hardy additions. Stay away from "mandarin gobies" though, they are NOT gobies and they have very particular needs that cause them to starve to death in most tanks.

Many inverts such as cleaner shrimp are fairly hardy, too.

[55gallonsw]

Thank you for your help. I was thinking about getting a attena lion and a hummu trigger. I read that the hummu will eat my inverts, so I really want a lionfish. Would that be fine in my 55 and are they hardy? I read that they can be hard to feed, is that true?
Thank you
Oscar

[Judge]

Once again you have picked a fish that will get way too big for your tank. Lions are fine, I would not recommend for a beginner. You have no experience in sw so I would start small like Chromis, Damsels, maybe even some Cardinals. I know what it's like to look at all the really pretty fish ...but you also have to remember, these are pets. You would not lock a Great Dane in a closet....I have upgraded from a 55, to a 90 and now to a 200. In my 55 I had a few Green Chromis, they like being in odd numbered groups so it's like a mini school! I had one Percula Clown, and a Lawnmower Blenny. That's all I had in there until I upgraded to the 90.
I would really love to have a Lion but they can only reside with those that are too big to fit in his mouth. Pick carefully and then all your choices will get along well together...and that is a pleasure to watch!

[55gallonsw]

Thank you Judge. I really want a lion, I think that was the main reason that I really wanted to start a sw tank. I would have to buy one of the smalller ones, antenna or dwarf? What could go with lions?
Thank you
Oscar

[Judge]

OK..let's see if I can explain better. YOu would have to have LARGE fish, something that the Lion cannot eat! LARGE fish cannot fit in a 55 gallon tank. If you want a Lion, maybe that shoul dbe the only fish you have.

[lostanime]

As strange as this sounds, a humu trigger can likely kill a lion. They will bite and break off the venomous spikes, one at a time (there's a cool utube video floating around of this in particular... I'll post if I can dig up the link)

Triggers and lions are messy. Messy = much heavier filtration requirements. Triggers and lions get big. When a fish doubles in length, it produces over 8x more waste... which again = much heavier filtration requirements.

I completely agree with Judge and would only keep one of these fish and nothing else in a 55, and it would have to be a smaller variety (such as a vol. lion possibly?) there's still a strong possibility it will outgrow that tank. Big pretty predators just don't do well long-term when they are shoe-horned in tiny glass boxes.

I would not recommend these as beginner fish, but if your looking for something really flashy, with tons of personality, little risk of outgrowing your tank, and risque enough to scare many reefkeepers away, check out centropyge angels. Flame angels, potter's angels, lemonpeel angels, eibli angels, etc all have very extreme colors and over-the-top personality. They are a little sketchy as far as being "reef safe" (they can eat clams and sometimes corals)... all depends on what your interested in though.

I would stay VERY far away from any angels that are not centropyge though. The "non-dwarf" angels all get WAAY too big for a 55... some get too big for even the monster sized home tanks! I also would strongly advise avoiding angels until your tank is stable for at least 9 months. They are not forgiving to mistakes.