Well, we did it. We bought a blue hippo tang. After promising we wouldn't get any more tangs. Here she is. And yes, we named her Dory. She's just a little bitty baby.
The last time we bought a couple tangs, they brought ich with them and killed off our entire population. This time is different though. This hippo had been in the store for three weeks undergoing copper treatment. At this store, that's standard procedure for any wild-caught fish. The difference between this time and last time is that last time we bought the tangs just a day or two after they arrived at the store. They didn't have time to undergo the copper treatment and thus kill any ich that was on them.
Just goes to show you that you can't trust everything people tell you. One clerk said it would be good to buy them just as they arrive because then they won't have to undergo two or more acclimation procedures. So that's what we did with our previous tangs. Now we know it's better to wait and let the fish get treated first.
We have a quarantine tank set up now, and Dory is spending some time there. We'll have her under observation for several weeks to make sure no ich is present. She's been there almost two weeks and is doing very well. We'll probably wait two more weeks before introducing her to the main tank.
She loves this empty clam shell. It's where she goes to hide when she's spooked, and she also likes to sleep there at night. When we introduce her to the main tank, we'll put the shell in there too, so she can feel at home.
The whole gang:
