Achilles Tang 101

[Justin D]

And in my experience with fish I prefer to buy online from NY aquatic and The Reef corner because they get them Direct and when you buy it from local stores the fish can go to 7-8 different wholesalers before you get them and they get more stressed out

 

[Black Pearl]

Good reading, I have a small Achilles coming,that I plan on putting in QT, the first I have ever tried. I do have other tangs that I've had for almost eight years, but I'm really worried about this one. Great to have all this information from personal experience provide by the guys on this forum right at you finger tips

 

[4FordFamily]

This is my exact point... the first thing u list is space. How big are the tanks you guys are using in qt process? You are telling me i need a 6 foot tank for qt. What if I use a smaller tank and it spaz out and dies due to limited swimming space. How many folks have killed these beautiful specimans cramming them in a small tank full of pvc and chemicals.

A very small percentage of hobbyists have a 6 foot tank and adequate filtration to QT a tang. We are talking hundreds of dollars just for a tank plus hundred more for powerheads filtration etc. Plus the space, water changes. I understand the process and the theories but it is not very practical.

Yes, a very very small percentage of hobbyists should have an Achilles tang. You hit the nail on the head right there.

If you can't handle the work, expense, time, space, etc then don't sign up for it. It's really that simple.

 

[maroun.c]

Achilles is my dream fish and over the last 5 years I've sourced 2 healthy ones(one at a time) from LFS and they went straight to quarantine. Made a mistake in not treating on arrival as they seemed healthy on arrival and ate on day one. On day 8-10 they both got velvet and even though I started copper treatment on sight of white spots they both died within 2 days.
Ordered one from a reputable wholesaler which arrived supposedly quarantined, and well fed and it showed on how plumb it was. It also ate on day 1 and did well for few days till I saw body erosion for days. Did copper treat as well as antibiotic soaked food and it continued to loose it's skin and died a nasty death. The day it died I had decided to do a FW dip and I still did it post Mortum only to realize it had a nasty flukes infestation.
A year later bought one I had gotten to a friend and it had been healthy for 4 years only to loose it few months later to a weird skin eating disease that escaped quarantine and killed a bunch of healthy fish collection (lost 8 fish from my collection, needless to say the nicest, most expensive, most difficult to source)
A bad experience but it only shows how difficult this fish is. I have 4 quarantine tanks but the Achilles were all in 80 g Qtank. Well filtered with skimmer and loads of hiding places...
Plan for the new Achilles if any:
Restart Q tank with clean new water or use tank water but keep fishlessfor 72 days plus before getting the Achilles.
Treat with copper at full dose or 3/4 dose on arrival. Feed 4-6 times a day soaked in Vitamins.
Keep nori clip full at all time and change remains every 6 hours.
Water change 30-40 percent every 3-4 days correcting for copper.
Don't tell anyone it's here before its in tank for 2-3 months
It is a super delicate fish with thousands of pages threads on introduction plans and issues unfortunately most with sad endings that is why it's a dream fish for many.
Good luck with yours.

 

[R6REEFER]

Good info guys, keep it coming. Thank you for the compliments as well. If you have any questions please ask on thread, don't PM me. Here's a screen shot of the pump schedule I am using. He absolutely LOVES it! Also if someone didn't see my other article, he didn't even hesitate with the medicated foods I purchased. Obviously this will be biased from fish to fish, I probably got lucky but New Life Spectrum foods are on point! The Hex-Shield is the most robust of the three in terms of nutrients but all are quite nutritional. I'm using Selcon as a dip for my homemade frozen to make sure he's getting his HUFA's and vitamin C. New Life Spectrum foods DO NOT contain vitamin C FYI.

I ordered a UV sterilizer last night for several reasons. I don't like carbon, neither do my corals. I don't like adding chemicals to my tank and I believe wholeheartedly in the phrase "If you can't test it, DON'T ADD IT!". So with that being said, rather than ordering chemicals that claim to "boost the immune system" and "kill free floating parasites", I'm going the tried and true scientifically proven route.

Mr. Achilles has gotten over his skittish phase and is really warming up to the family. He's a camera magnet too lol. If i break out the camera, he's front and center. Overall he's doing extremely well and eating everything in sight which really puts my heart at ease. I'm going the extra mile but it just may be worth it. Below is a quick pic last night of him catching his Ich-Guard

 

[R6REEFER]

Achilles is my dream fish and over the last 5 years I've sourced 2 healthy ones(one at a time) from LFS and they went straight to quarantine. Made a mistake in not treating on arrival as they seemed healthy on arrival and ate on day one. On day 8-10 they both got velvet and even though I started copper treatment on sight of white spots they both died within 2 days.
Ordered one from a reputable wholesaler which arrived supposedly quarantined, and well fed and it showed on how plumb it was. It also ate on day 1 and did well for few days till I saw body erosion for days. Did copper treat as well as antibiotic soaked food and it continued to loose it's skin and died a nasty death. The day it died I had decided to do a FW dip and I still did it post Mortum only to realize it had a nasty flukes infestation.
A year later bought one I had gotten to a friend and it had been healthy for 4 years only to loose it few months later to a weird skin eating disease that escaped quarantine and killed a bunch of healthy fish collection (lost 8 fish from my collection, needless to say the nicest, most expensive, most difficult to source)
A bad experience but it only shows how difficult this fish is. I have 4 quarantine tanks but the Achilles were all in 80 g Qtank. Well filtered with skimmer and loads of hiding places...
Plan for the new Achilles if any:
Restart Q tank with clean new water or use tank water but keep fishlessfor 72 days plus before getting the Achilles.
Treat with copper at full dose or 3/4 dose on arrival. Feed 4-6 times a day soaked in Vitamins.
Keep nori clip full at all time and change remains every 6 hours.
Water change 30-40 percent every 3-4 days correcting for copper.
Don't tell anyone it's here before its in tank for 2-3 months
It is a super delicate fish with thousands of pages threads on introduction plans and issues unfortunately most with sad endings that is why it's a dream fish for many.
Good luck with yours.

Thank you for the info brother, I'm sorry to hear that you lost yours. I've had dreams of owning this fish for years therefore I'm prepared to do whatever it takes to keep him healthy and happy, money is not a factor. Can you describe in further detail what you mean by skin erosion please? I know the obvious but are there any subtle signs? He has a lighter black patch on his throat but it looks like it belongs there and not by any means does it look harmful, progressive, or abnormal. If anything it seems as if it's getting smaller but that could just be me. You can reference patch in my DP. He isn't showing any signs of abnormal behavior (swimming in powerheads, scratching, etc.). He's actually extremely playful.

 

[4FordFamily]

Thank you for the info brother, I'm sorry to hear that you lost yours. I've had dreams of owning this fish for years therefore I'm prepared to do whatever it takes to keep him healthy and happy, money is not a factor. Can you describe in further detail what you mean by skin erosion please? I know the obvious but are there any subtle signs? He has a lighter black patch on his throat but it looks like it belongs there and not by any means does it look harmful, progressive, or abnormal. If anything it seems as if it's getting smaller but that could just be me. You can reference patch in my DP. He isn't showing any signs of abnormal behavior (swimming in powerheads, scratching, etc.). He's actually extremely playful.

You have a few days to a couple weeks before that will occur, most likely. Glad he is doing well though, beautiful fella!

 

[R6REEFER]

He has a lighter black patch on his throat but it looks like it belongs there and not by any means does it look harmful, progressive, or abnormal. If anything it seems as if it's getting smaller but that could just be me. You can reference patch in my DP.

Nevermind guys, I found out that's completely normal in a juvenile

 

[Pepcrylic]

Thank you for the info brother, I'm sorry to hear that you lost yours. I've had dreams of owning this fish for years therefore I'm prepared to do whatever it takes to keep him healthy and happy, money is not a factor

I am confused. You make this statement , yet you did not QT this fish.

 

[reef80]

If I may...purchased two from lfs and never made it out of quarantine for me...either stopped eatting or it slowly diminished. My last two were Divers Den and have been of excellent quality and specimen. First one was in my tank for 1.5 years until I sold it and this one is going on three months and stronge...all my tangs like powder blue...brown ...white cheek from DD have all done well for me. Once they adjust then it's a straight for me. I do feed my own home made fresh sea food mix and nori at least every other day...best of luck!!!

 

[R6REEFER]

Thank you for the info brother, I'm sorry to hear that you lost yours. I've had dreams of owning this fish for years therefore I'm prepared to do whatever it takes to keep him healthy and happy, money is not a factor

I am confused. You make this statement , yet you did not QT this fish.

Even if I bought a gem tang I wouldn't quarantine it had the planning and conditions been equivalent to what I've created. I'm not getting into this with you, if you want to know why read my other posts.

 

[maroun.c]

Thank you for the info brother, I'm sorry to hear that you lost yours. I've had dreams of owning this fish for years therefore I'm prepared to do whatever it takes to keep him healthy and happy, money is not a factor. Can you describe in further detail what you mean by skin erosion please? I know the obvious but are there any subtle signs? He has a lighter black patch on his throat but it looks like it belongs there and not by any means does it look harmful, progressive, or abnormal. If anything it seems as if it's getting smaller but that could just be me. You can reference patch in my DP. He isn't showing any signs of abnormal behavior (swimming in powerheads, scratching, etc.). He's actually extremely playful.

Thanks.
I couldn't find pictures of the skin erosion one, Will post if I do. it was similar to one below which dies from flukes a bit less visible than this. the dip was done unfortunately after fish died and revealed a nasty flukes infestation. and a pic of how it looked on arrival, its was rather a fast deterioration where the fish looked healthy first 7-8 days. no way it could have gotten those in my tank as the quarantines was restarted few weeks earlier in preparation for it. it was a very nice specimen with a very nice teardrop at a smaller size.
the lighter patch on the throat has been associated with stress. even established ones will show it when they are agitated. I remember a thread where it was mentioned that Achilles tang will exhibit color changes to reflect its mood more than other tangs with even a blue rim around the eyes when eating.
They are amazing fish but I found out the hard way that they can deteriorate very quick so my take on it is to keep in a q Tank and medicate on arrival is if it showed disease.
Good luck with yours.

 

[R6REEFER]

Those pics make my heart ache lol
That pretty much clears it up though. If it is in fact reflecting stress then that's a good sign as his is getting noticeably smaller. Check this video out and skip to 3:42 and you'll notice once he fattens up the neck patch is gone.

[/QUOTE]

 

[Pepcrylic]

Even if I bought a gem tang I wouldn't quarantine it had the planning and conditions been equivalent to what I've created. I'm not getting into this with you, if you want to know why read my other posts.

I have read all the posts in this thread.
Yet I still dont understand why you do not follow the advice of these experienced reefers.
Many of us here are rolling our eyes at you.
You ask for the best possible way to acclimate a Ach. to a home aquarium. Most of the replies you have received are just that. The best way .
I would bet that the majority of the reefers that have expressed their experience dealing with Ach. did not have the access to the vast amount of information that we do today via the internet. If they did I would bet you would hear about much more success rate in keeping these fish.
IMO you are setting yourself up for alot of heartache ,extra unneeded fish stress. Not to mention the cost, and possible loss of fish that are not the Ach.
Good luck.

 

[R6REEFER]

I have read all the posts in this thread.
Yet I still dont understand why you do not follow the advice of these experienced reefers.
Many of us here are rolling our eyes at you.
You ask for the best possible way to acclimate a Ach. to a home aquarium. Most of the replies you have received are just that. The best way .
I would bet that the majority of the reefers that have expressed their experience dealing with Ach. did not have the access to the vast amount of information that we do today via the internet. If they did I would bet you would hear about much more success rate in keeping these fish.
IMO you are setting yourself up for alot of heartache ,extra unneeded fish stress. Not to mention the cost, and possible loss of fish that are not the Ach.
Good luck.

I've not rejected or shot down any information or suggestions in this forum, I've actually praised people for giving me advice. I can't go back in the past and quarantine this fish, hence the reason I said I don't want to hear about it. I MADE THE CONSCIOUS DECISION TO NOT QT THIS FISH FOR MY OWN THEORIES, CIRCUMSTANCES, AND OTHER VARIABLES. This thread is meant to give individuals access to useful information as well as point out the do's and don't's of the task at hand.

 

[Pepcrylic]

Been sober for the past 20 yrs.
In my 10 yrs of reefing I have found that the experienced, successful reefers dont cut corners regarding their livestock .
As for my system. Doesnt matter weather it is a 20 long or 300 cube. I know my livestock is disease free, and will remain that way. Simply because I took the proven proper steps recommended .

 

[nano]

Beautiful fish!! I too feel the bonding is an important part of our hobby .

 

[R6REEFER]

Beautiful fish!! I too feel the bonding is an important part of our hobby .

Thanks man! Fish can develope priceless personalities!

 

[maroun.c]

Guys keep it friendly.
R6reefer it is only natural to receive some resistance when you ask for advice and chose to go against the flow. For this thread to stay on track and remain informative you can chose to disregard comments or better yet share your theories against quarantine if u have any supporting logical arguments. Then share your results regardless of outcome to make it a learning experience.
Personal attacks will only result in this thread being closed.

 

[R6REEFER]

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