Achilles Tang

[SeaDweller]

It can be managed. I am. Don’t like it, but it’s been done in my tank with my Achilles since 2016.
If I had it my way, ich wouldn’t be in there.

Btw, a good buddy of mine had velvet slip thru on his clean up crew, after strict QT protocols for fish.

 

[DavidJTawil]

Never heard of anybody doing it but can you quarantine inverts?

It can be managed. I am. Don’t like it, but it’s been done in my tank with my Achilles since 2016.
If I had it my way, ich wouldn’t be in there.

Btw, a good buddy of mine had velvet slip thru on his clean up crew, after strict QT protocols for fish.

 

[SeaDweller]

Never heard of anybody doing it but can you quarantine inverts?

most particular people will because of this reason alone.
It happens.

 

[seayu]

When you added your Achilles to the tank we’re all of your previous fish quarantined.

I stopped quarantining my fish. I do run a UV sterilizer. I keep cleaner shrimp and cleaner wrasse. I feed heavy and skim heavy. Eating fish tend to just do well.

 

[seayu]

ive been doing a ton of research on them. I have a 180 with a Gem, purple and a tomini so im a little nervous taking a risk and adding a smaller Achilles to the mix and eventually have him beat up the gem. i do feed pretty heavy with frozen and a sheet of nori every day so hoping that would help with the aggression. Also everything has been QT'd so i know ich wouldnt be an issue

I have a Gem and Purple with my Achilles and they do fine. Gem was the smallest and last of tangs. Gem are pretty bold fish as well from my experience. They don't back down easily. The king of my tank however is my male masked swallowtail. I think that helps also having a dominant fish that isn't a Tang. Doesn't allow any of the tangs to actually take over the tank.

 

[DavidJTawil]

in what order did you add your tangs?

I have a Gem and Purple with my Achilles and they do fine. Gem was the smallest and last of tangs. Gem are pretty bold fish as well from my experience. They don't back down easily. The king of my tank however is my male masked swallowtail. I think that helps also having a dominant fish that isn't a Tang. Doesn't allow any of the tangs to actually take over the tank.

 

[Lonely reefer's]

Highly recommend UV sterilizer if you wanted to reduce bacteria, Viruses, and Pathogens
I got a 25 watt in my system.I can tell the different of the fish health after i installed a UV.

 

[joe0813]

I have a Gem and Purple with my Achilles and they do fine. Gem was the smallest and last of tangs. Gem are pretty bold fish as well from my experience. They don't back down easily. The king of my tank however is my male masked swallowtail. I think that helps also having a dominant fish that isn't a Tang. Doesn't allow any of the tangs to actually take over the tank.

Im actually in the process of trying to catch an emperor angel. Hes a massive jerk and is nipping my gem fishes fins. so he needs to go

 

[seayu]

Im actually in the process of trying to catch an emperor angel. Hes a massive jerk and is nipping my gem fishes fins. so he needs to go

Good luck with that. Unfortunately this hobby will keep you guessing and learning.

 

[seayu]

in what order did you add your tangs?

Purple 3 years, Achilles 1.5 and Gem a little less than a year.

 

[joe0813]

Good luck with that. Unfortunately this hobby will keep you guessing and learning.

Ive had pretty good luck with the trap that BRS sells. Luckily for me the fish is pretty bold and comes up to anything that goes into the tank, including nets. So he shouldnt be that difficult to catch. Unfortunate because i love their coloring as a juvi and an adult. But the constant nipping at a $900 (at the time i paid for it) fish isnt going to fly.

 

[Big G]

Never heard of anybody doing it but can you quarantine inverts?

Yep. Had a whole tank full of fish wiped out by velvet because of snails carrying velvet. Here's a good thread on how to avoid my mistake:

Coral/Invert Quarantine Time Frames

Coral/Invert Quarantine Time Frames Preface: The purpose of this article is to outline time periods required to properly quarantine (QT) marine corals & invertebrates. While unable to host ectoparasites the way fish do, corals/inverts are still able to “carry” fish diseases in one of two ways...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[joe0813]

Yep. Had a whole tank full of fish wiped out by velvet because of snails carrying velvet. Here's a good thread on how to avoid my mistake:

Coral/Invert Quarantine Time Frames

Coral/Invert Quarantine Time Frames Preface: The purpose of this article is to outline time periods required to properly quarantine (QT) marine corals & invertebrates. While unable to host ectoparasites the way fish do, corals/inverts are still able to “carry” fish diseases in one of two ways...

www.reef2reef.com

yup had the same thing happen to my fiances tank. Killed a powder brown, lawnmower blenny, both blackstorms that she bought when they first came out, also the reason why she even got into the hobby. Two cardinal fish and two wrasse.

 

[seayu]

Ive had pretty good luck with the trap that BRS sells. Luckily for me the fish is pretty bold and comes up to anything that goes into the tank, including nets. So he shouldnt be that difficult to catch. Unfortunate because i love their coloring as a juvi and an adult. But the constant nipping at a $900 (at the time i paid for it) fish isnt going to fly.

I hear you. I recently parted with my beloved Red Sea Regal. Couldn't keep zoa's and acans without having an anxiety attack. During my tank switch I decided to sell her.

 

[Squidward]

Agree to disagree then. No amount of QT is going to prevent a fish from developing ich in your display if it’s stressed for one reason or another.

Negative. You can have an ich-less aquarium if you qurantined all of your fish, inverts, corals correctly. Nothing more relieving than knowing you won't have to worry about ich suddenly appearing on your fish.

 

[Badilac]

Negative. You can have an ich-less aquarium if you qurantined all of your fish, inverts, corals correctly. Nothing more relieving than knowing you won't have to worry about ich suddenly appearing on your fish.

+1

 

[littlebigreef]

Negative. You can have an ich-less aquarium if you qurantined all of your fish, inverts, corals correctly. Nothing more relieving than knowing you won't have to worry about ich suddenly appearing on your fish.

Well squidward believe what you want. From a purely pragmatic point of view the resources and patience needed for that are beyond many, certainly not all, home aquarists. Someone has the time and ability to QT every last thing that goes into their tank more power to them. I remain skeptical of someone claiming they’ve 100% eliminated ich from their tank.

 

[DancingShark]

You can QT everthing that goes in your tank.
It's going to be a very small number of people that actually do it. I don't know if the excuse people have from, I have limit amount of space, its going to be too much work, my wife will kill me, it will be to expensive are valid reasons to have a saltwater tank and not have protocols for QT. I mean every reason I have seen giving are in direct conflict with the fact you have a display tank. Just say I don't want to QT.

I have three 10 gallon tanks and a 20. Bought them all in petco dollar per gallon sales. Heaters are the cheapest I can find. But to say I think qting is going to be expensive for me when I am ready to drop around $300 on a fish is senseless. Let's not even talk about the expense in corals now a days. With AEFW you can kiss thousands of acros away. How about buying a $1k plus holy grail torch and running into one of these. euphyllia eating flatworms baby.

But to each their own.

Corals

Fish

Even inverts

The worst part is getting a new fish or coral and dealing with the excitement of this will be in your display in a few months.

 

[littlebigreef]

To be clear I’m not anti-QT. Quarantining is a core component in aquarium husbandry and @DancingShark frames the conversation and trade offs very well.

Rather, I’m skeptical of claims that ich has 100% never been in a system. Is there a test that can detect it in its dormant state? Or is this based entirely on its lack of observable presence? Have folks never had an ich outbreak in their tank perhaps due to rigorous conditioning they’ve put this fish through in QT? Or because the tank is well maintained in the first place? You see how this is a chicken or the egg sort of conversation?

I’ve had ich in my current system once in the last 3 1/2 years. As I mentioned earlier in the thread it was with the introduction of my Achilles. It stayed with him, no one else got it, and it abated after a week or so. Before that could I have claimed my tank was ich free? 3 1/2 Years is a large sample size.

So, is there a test to determine the absence of dormant ich in your tank?

What does the QT process look like, from building the system and adding rock, ceto etc, to stocking fish, coral and inverts?

Note, I see someone added a link about QTing inverts. Gonna have a look at that.

 

[Squidward]

Well squidward believe what you want. From a purely pragmatic point of view the resources and patience needed for that are beyond many, certainly not all, home aquarists. Someone has the time and ability to QT every last thing that goes into their tank more power to them. I remain skeptical of someone claiming they’ve 100% eliminated ich from their tank.

I can proudly say my tank is ich-free. I did TTM with every fish. I have 10 tangs including Powder Blue, blue hippo, Achilles. And I keep 2 mollies. Altogether about 30 fish. Never seen ich. It's been 7 months. Ich cant be in your tank unless it's introduced into your tank. Ich just doesn't magically appear one day.