Achilles Tang, Am I overreacting??

[HB AL]

Just Dump him in your display, gotta get him to eat or he's toast

 

[Medic755]

Generally room light would be sufficient, but certainly could not hurt, most fish we keep won't eat in the dark.

The qt is uner the stand for the 150 build for the time being. So no light.

 

[JaimeAdams]

Stick a small light over him for several hours a day.

 

[Robert Vacchiano]

Definitely do not just dump him into the display if he has ick that would be horrible for the other fish.Is the water quality good

 

[Medic755]

Definitely do not just dump him into the display if he has ick that would be horrible for the other fish.Is the water quality good

Water quality is fine. I want a better way to monitor ammonia as I don't trust the API tests as they give me inconsistent results with consistent testing methods.

 

[Robert Vacchiano]

If he is in a qt tank you can put a ammonia alert in tank they last a year and are under 10 They do take a while to adjust try feeding every day.Live food if you think he is getting thin might work

 

[Adam G]

You have to try all kinds of different foods. There is a frozen food called fish caviar I believe it is. All fish eggs. I soak that in a garlic in amino acid additive and put that in the tank multiple times a day. I have never seen a fish resist those little eggs. It seems once they decide to not eat it’s really hard to get them going again. I love LR S and it is my main food for my display. However, live black worms or whatever you gotta try is what I would do. Don’t stop till you figure out what I’ll get him going again.

 

[HB AL]

He's probably not to happy with no rocks to cruise around and no light in the tank probably stressed out some too. Since it came from a tank with copper and was eating well at the store I would dump him in the display tank asap as long as it has no visible signs of disease. The fish is stressed out as it is with no light and a piece of pvc, probably why it's not eating normally, its been through copper treatment already and not showing signs of disease why not put him in your main display, it will probably pep up and start eating like an animal should.

 

[eatbreakfast]

If he wasn't kept with light, put light on. JaimieAdams was right that most fish won't eat in the dark.

Do not just dump him in. Achilles are very susceptible to parasites. Being kept in copper at LFS is not even close to a guarantee that it is not carrying parasites.

 

[Robert Vacchiano]

Do not just through him in to tank you could make the worst decision for you and fish .I did that with an Achilles tang about a year ago .No signs of ick and about 10 days later he had ick and so did most other fish in tank.A 300 gallon reef lost Achilles an emperor angel a poweder blue tang and a semilarvarus butterfly.Wost decision of my reefing career

 

[Gablami]

Mine took 4 days to eat. Patience.

But I feel your anxiety. I stared at him twice a day begging him to eat each day...waiting.

 

[Medic755]

Day 7 of barely eating. Now showing signs of ich. Starting cupramine as soon as it comes in.

 

[Robert Vacchiano]

I would not wait to long to start go out and get it locally some kind of copper. The longer you wait now that he has it the harder it is going to be to cure .He probably had it from day one you just could not see it

 

[Medic755]

Day 11 of Cupramine. He looks better but is still extremely skittish. Seems to only eat nori on a clip if that. I have not witnessed him eat but the nori always disappears by the next day.

 

[ca1ore]

BTW, Achilles tangs love flow. Always a good idea to put a powerhead in the qt tank.

 

[Medic755]

I have a small one in there now but i think it may be broken. I'll replace it.

 

[d-man]

Here's my success to Achilles. Probably done this successfully for last 7-8 specimens I obtained for people. Prior to this method I was very hit and miss with ttm and or nothing

1. Obtain a nice specimen
2. furan2 and general cure treatment
3. Coppersafe
4. Highly aerate( they come from surge areas often times, so lots of flow and aeration)
5. Nori and black worms
6. Another small well eating fish to stimulate the tang to feel safe and eat.
7. Lower light for a bit. Definitely not dark as stated, but dim since they are more skittish

8. Patience!!!! I had a 6" one that didn't eat for probably 10 days then he finally started picking at the worms and nori and it was all over from there. Became a fat piggy

 

[4FordFamily]

Live brine also helps transition them to frozen foods and gets them to eat. Works great on acanthurus tangs that won’t eat.