Achilles care
 

Finally hes here!!!!! I have been waiting for this fish for a year and I finally got it yesturday!!!! I have heard rumors that hes one of the more demanding members of the Acanthurus clan and Often hard to acclimate. thats why I want suggestions from the pros. hes currently qt in my 29gallon biocube that is plumbed to my main tank. I tried some mysis and nori no luck, got more stress instead while I drop the nori in the tank. he got 2 ich in his shoulder and 1 on his eye. any reef medication that I can use? I hope hes better today. I will keep posting for update. ohh hes 3.5'' with tail.
day 1
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One of the things I would say an Achilles needs is lots of room compared to the average tang (only speaking from others experiences though) as they tend to be much more active than an average tang.

Whenever I have gone to Brads (untamed) place to see his 400G, the Achilles is always the most active fish in that thing!

Size isn't always everything :D He may be smaller than a Naso for example but I would argue he needs a bigger home just because of their behavior.

Most reputable sites and a few threads I have read about them on RC have one thing in common and its the large tank requirement to keep them stress free and therefore ich free...but I know a few people are going to jump all over what I am saying and want proof and others will argue about how theirs is doing fine in whatever sized tank. This is just generally what I have heard makes them so tough to keep.

After trying a Powder Brown for the first time a month back, I would say it was about the same thing...I even felt he was a bit much for my 200G because of how active he was :(

Good luck!

With the tang and this thread ;)

Try a wide variety of foods to get him eating before adding to the display. Expect ick, but provided you can get him eating he should be fine. I have had mine for over 2 months now and he still has ick, eating like a pig though so I am not worried. Congrats on the new fish, they are beauties.

Will he be joining any other tangs already in your display?

nope I dont have any tang in my display I think hes the only tang yet my fav that is going to my display

I have had mine now for about 4 months and it is doing great in our 225 gallon tank. As far as getting him to eat, he has yet to touch anything other than nori and algea thats on the rocks. It's about 3.5" and fat. I was worried at first too when he wouldn't touch any mysis, brine, clams, or any meat. But realized that he obivously can survive on just algea alone. There was another reefer from this board who got an Achilles from the same shipment I did, and his actually still has not taken to any foods put in the tank, it lives solely on grazing on the live rock. As far as ich, ours has barely shown any signs of it. I know that is rare for this fish, but we have only seen a few spots when it was first introduced. Since then it hasn't gotten ich, even when new tank mates are added. They are such a gorgeous fish and very entertaining to watch. I would say to continue to do what your doing and soon it will pick at something.

Good luck!!

mines pretty fat as well, How long you guys think I should leave in my qt tank for?

As he is going in a tank with no other tangs, I would say only a day or two given the size of the tank. Sounds like it will not get bossed/overly stresed by enting your system.

yes but I have an 3'' regal angel and 3.5'' bellus angel do you think they would boss him tho?

The achilles tang is a very difficult tang to keep.
Please read Robert Fenner's comments in his opinion of the worst acanthurus tangs to keep.
http://wetwebmedia.com/badacanthurusaq.htm

As you have already purchased him, highly oxygenated water and high salinity will increase your chances of keeping this fish alive.

I hope you plan to get a larger tank for your new Achilles. Marie has one that she has been quite successful in keeping, and she believes her tank is too small for it. If I remember right her tank is a 230g. Goodluck getting him to eat...try everything you can think of, plus using garlic.

naesco,myka: thanks for helping, I will keep in mind. :wink:

When I had one I just mixed everything (pellets, nori, mysis) in selcon and some of the tropic marin suppliments. Within a couple of days it was eating everything including pellets. I got it nice and fat and moved it to my display, where it continued to eat like a pig. All along it never had ick ( I premedicated the QT with no sick fish Ick remover). A couple of weeks later in the display it was doing well and then in a span of about 8 hours or less it started breathing heavy and then slowly started to turn sideways and then died by evening. Never did find out what it was, as not symptoms, but it was suggested that it may have been flukes. Never tried one again.
Good luck with yours

sorry to hear that but I will try my best to keep him alive I have been wait for this guy for almost a year!!

bye bye macro/micro well all algae lol beautiful fish cant wait to get one myself

I've never owned one but in all the research I've done is that along with a big enough tank and just as important they also require very strong water flow to keep them happy. JMO

I do hope you've got a monster upgrade planned for the future :razz: .
My achilles is the most active fish I have ever owned (and I have had a few) and can go 0 to 60 in nothing flat, My tank is a 6ft long, 175g bowfront and he uses it all.( I will be upgrading to an 8 ft long tank in the near future just because of him)
Try and encourage him to eat meaty foods as well as nori and put a tunze stream (or vortech) in the tank for him. Mine loves to play in the current and one of the signs that my powerheads need cleaning is when he no longer plays
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...achvid0007.jpg

ROFLMAO... I love how he does most of that upside down, like its no big deal.. :mrgreen: Awesome vid marie.. thanks!

wow Marie your Achille looks awsome on the video I wish mine could be like that too... as for tank upgrade probably by the end of this year.

Awesome video and beautiful fish!

You know that must be an Achilles "thing"...they love to play! And yes are so active. I remember seeing Brads (untamed) Achilles acting much the same way when I have been to his place. Maybe he will join in too since you and him seem to have had the greatest success on Canreef with this species.

Great video Marie.

So what your saying is, hes going to be in a 29gal for a year.OUCH!Id bring him back till your ready.

I think it will be in a 90G for a year.

NO!!!! lol.. I said that I have been waiting for the fish to arrive for a year and the 29 is only for QT tank.

Awesome video Marie!! Thanks for sharing! I love Achilles Tangs. =-]

Really nice to see the achilles buzz to and fro the tank. It is fun to watch them tumble in the current.
I think they like it because it is highly oxygenated.

Marie, I think your Achilles is nuts!

Mine is only a little crazy compared to yours. He is pretty much the only fish I've been unable to take a decent photo of. So that should provide some idea of how much he moves around.

While mine eats most everything, there is no doubt that he would prefer to just eat nori constantly. I would recommend leaving a few strips of nori all over that QT...stuck to the walls, elastic'd to a rock. Eventually, he's bound to pick at one.

here is an update of him, hes eating!!! yeah!!!! he was peaking on the red macro that I put it in for him, hes eating nori and mysis as well but still pretty shy, he only eats when I am not around so I have to hide in a corner and he started to eat the mysis that was floating around. another good sign is that he got no more ich, bravo!!! I am thinking to have him in there for 2 more days, what do you guys think?
day 2
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With an Achilles, it is kind of luck of the draw. I have had mine now for just over 2 years. I quarantined him for about 4 wks when I first got him. He developed ich in the quarantine tank, which I treated with cooper. I then put him into my display tank and have never had an issue since then. He is definitely the most active fish in my tank as well. One issue I never had to deal with, was him eating. He ate nori, mysis and pellets right from day one. IMO definitely one of the most striking and beautiful fish out there. Good luck!

Hes in my main tank now and hes doing great, peaking on every single rock and eating nori like a pig but yet not eating mysis. hes being bossy already hehe dont know if it a good thing or not probably he is my last fish hehe.

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Looks great!

Does the Emperor nip anything? I want one so bad!!!

he's a good boy; I have 2 types of blasto and sunflower he wont bother at all, except sometime when he's hungry he will nip at my bottom polyp (not a big deal).

Looking good... Congrats on the new addition! He looks great!

Looks great :biggrin: I love achilles tangs, they are very beautiful.

I had mine in a 92 gal for almost 3 years, (was a casualty of a tank crash caused by a defective heater and prompted the tear-down of my tank)

he was more active than my previous yellow, or sailfin tangs, but I did not fell he was stressed in any way. I did have hi O2 levels in the water and a salinity that bordered the higher end, and zero nitrates or anything else.. I think the water condition is the most important thing for this fish, I had all SPS so I had very nutrient pour water to start with and in my opinion this is the key. they are sensitive to ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, way more so than other fish.

Steve

Yeah this seems to be what most people say about these fish--higher salinity, very clean water and high oxygen.

I hope I can give one a shot one day...I have yet to ever find a nice healthy one when I have had a big enough tank.

Keep posting pictures!

Your tank seems to be coming along very nicely too!

how high is to bordered the higher end for salinity I think I have it in 33.6 (lights on) and 34.4 (lights off)

you know I never ever used thoes measurment for salinit so I don't know. I always kept mine at 1.026 sg. but I do have to ask, why is your salinity chaning with the lights on and off? should be a steady readingm unless your doing periotic top offs instead of constant.

Steve