Why are Achilles tangs marked "EXPERT ONLY" on LA?

[damsels are not mean]

Was browsing to identify a species on their site and noticed achilles tangs are "EXPERT ONLY" but I am not sure why. Is there something special about them vs. other tangs? Never had one myself, and they don't mention any difficulty in their description. The whitecheek hybrid is also marked the same so I don't think it's a typo.

Link: https://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+43+325&pcatid=325

 

[Zionas]

I don’t know much about the hybrid but the Achilles is known as a difficult fish to keep for the following reasons:

1. They are more prone to disease than many other Tangs. Ich, velvet, and so on.

2. They are very active fish that should ideally be in at least an 8-foot tank, and with lots of flow as that’s how they live in nature.

3. They don’t always eat well.

4. They can be prone to aggression, and if that causes disease in the tank you can be certain that they’ll get it. In fact, I’d go as far as saying even with decent to good QT protocols I’d expect a fish like an Achilles to get some kind of disease (hopefully manageable) once it enters the DT.

In other words, do not attempt unless:
1. You have a large tank with lots of flow
2. You stock it with tankmates that won’t bully it and ones it will likely not bully
3. You buy one that’s feeding well or you’re willing to invest time in getting it to eat
4. You are willing to build your tank around it, and stock both other Tangs and non-Tangs around it

There’s fish that cause less of a headache both in and outside the Tang family. Besides, good luck getting an Achilles as Hawaii’s their main point of export. They also aren’t cheap for a Tang.

 

[damsels are not mean]

I don’t know much about the hybrid but the Achilles is known as a difficult fish to keep for the following reasons:

1. They are more prone to disease than many other Tangs. Ich, velvet, and so on.

2. They are very active fish that should ideally be in at least an 8-foot tank, and with lots of flow as that’s how they live in nature.

3. They don’t always eat well.

4. They can be prone to aggression, and if that causes disease in the tank you can be certain that they’ll get it. In fact, I’d go as far as saying even with decent to good QT protocols I’d expect a fish like an Achilles to get some kind of disease (hopefully manageable) once it enters the DT.

In other words, do not attempt if:
1. You have a large tank with lots of flow
2. You stock it with tankmates that won’t bully it and ones it will likely not bully
3. You buy one that’s feeding well or you’re willing to invest time in getting it to eat
4. You are willing to build your tank around it, and stock both other Tangs and non-Tangs around it

So they've got all the problems tangs often have but worse? Figured it'd be something like that. Thanks.

 

[Zionas]

They are considered to be a problem fish in terms of husbandry among the Tang family. Their hardiness is nothing like your average Zebrasoma, for example. IMO there’s better Tangs and better fish to consider than an Achilles. I don’t even find them “that” attractive.

 

[damsels are not mean]

They are considered to be a problem fish in terms of husbandry among the Tang family. Their hardiness is nothing like your average Zebrasoma, for example. IMO there’s better Tangs and better fish to consider than an Achilles. I don’t even find them “that” attractive.

I don't want one, was just curious. They look unique but there's a long list of tangs on my wishlist before them if I were doing a new build.

 

[Zionas]

Good to know, hope this clears up any questions for you.

 

[i cant think]

I would say the husbandry for this tang is going up and the amount of survivals are better however, the difficulty here is:

1. these tangs have one of the thinnest slime coat of the genus Acanthurus, meaning they are much more prone to itch, velvet ect…
2. These tangs are known to go on hunger strikes, they tend to go on and off of food and it often leads to their death due to malnutrition.
3. Size matters, it’s often better to get a tang between 3 and 5 inches, smaller tangs often don’t survive the shipping process whilst larger tangs find it hard to adapt to captivity.
The reason this fish is so wanted is because of the pitch black body which isn’t in many tangs (Zebrasoma rostratum is the only other one I can think of) with a bright orange tear drop that contrasts with the main body. I personally love the hybrids more due to the orange scalpel some can get and red tinted fins some get. I would say the hybrid is slightly easier than the true Achilles but I think the only reason why is the slightly thicker slime coat from A. nigricans.

 

[Zionas]

A lot of Tangs of this genus, Achilles included, simply aren’t the most well-suited for captivity. Seeing them constantly do the “mad dash” thing isn’t aesthetically pleasing to me. The swimming and grazing at a leisurely and not too frantic pace is much better to look at.