Achilles Tang Questions!
 

I will be getting a small 2 to 3inch Achilles Tang , that I will be housing at the store for a MINIMUM of 2 weeks and durring that time medicating him as well as "fatting" him up....


Does anyone have any advise, or tips about carring for this wonderful species,

Other than Makeing sure it has a varried diet consisting of alot of greens, natural seaweeds and such, with the occational protien based meal....

etc..
etc..
etc..

thanks alot :)

Don't tell me hes going into the 75... lol not this again... :P

i've seen these guys in the wild. they live right on the reef crest, getting tossed about by the crashing waves.

i've read that to keep them successfully in an aquarium, you need alot of flow. ALOT. also, very good water conditions.

it's your call, but a 75 gal is really too small for an achilles tang.

think about where these guys come from. that's the habitat you're trying to recreate.

achilles needs lots and lots of flow found in very rough water condtions thats why there not always avaible in the hobby cause it makes it hard to catch them .... there aggresive to other tangs and probably needs atleast 125 gallons or more but like toonces said its your call ( i an't the tang police ) i heard the bigger like over 3 inches you get them the better your chances are of keeping them healthy very delicate fish...

Guys just so you know, I'm pretty sure hes got his mind set on the 75. On another forum he proposed the idea of putting a moorish idol in his 75, everyone told him not to, but he did anyways. So no offense to you shawnts, just telling them that I think you're going to get one no matter what. :)

Why medicate the fish? Medication w/ no outward signs of disease is a bad idea - think how chemo weakens people. Poisoning (that's what medications do, they poison - disease dies before fish) a delicate fish isn't the best approach IMHO. If you see signs, medicate, if not then don't.

I won't rag on you about the tank as you already know it's too small.

IF, and that's a big IF you get the fish to eat try live macro first & then some nori (wrapped to a rock if the clip doesn't work).

Good luck, you'll need it - given my experience & what I've read the Achilles makes the Idol look like an "easy keeper" (how many RC members & something like 1 or 2 alive).

Wow an achilles tang in a 75. That's disturbing I'd say you need an 8 or 10 foot aquarium with lots of flow to keep those things happy. The only time I've seen a really happy healthy achilles was at a public aquarium that had a trio in a 25' tank with really heavy flow.

I've had an Achilles for about 6 months now - not long term, but so far, so good. Since they are very prone to Ich, you need to try and le them settle in gently. I put min in my sump for a week and ensured it was eating (nori at this point). After it was used to the water and eating it was introduced to the display tank. It contained a Kole and Hippo tangs and some smaller fish. The Achilles got Ich and so too did the Hippo but I kept feeding and both tangs kept eating and the Ich di9sappeared after 3-4weeks. I believe that if there is a fish in your tank that will bully the Achilles, that this stress can cause a fatal bout of Ich, the Achilles needs to be boss of the tank (it is in mine). It is also a relatively fussy eater - only flakes, nori, and krill, never mysis plankton or any sinking pellets. My tank is 6' long and probably on the small side for a fish that swims like the Achilles. It runs the full length often, sometime upside down for a few feet, and seems to love swimming into the current from either of two Seio 820's in there. I keep an SPS reef and agree that excellent water quality is a necessity too. Now it is the established boss and can be hand fed. It is ~ 5 inches and seems to be a relatively slow grower (a lot slower than the Hippo that's for sure).

Great info Kevin.
Shawnts, I would suggest you PM Dragon Slayer (KC). He is very knowledgeable about Achilles and tangs in general. He would give you some great advise.

Ok, lets clear some thing up real quick, so I dont sound like a BAD fish killer here!

Ok, one person mentioned that I had medicated the fish and there were no outward signs of illness...

I suppose you must have misread or just didnt read or maybe I have not typed what I wanted to be typed... either way... ALL the fish showed signs of Ich, fairly badly... thats why they were being medicated... I WOULD NEVER MEDICATE A FISH THAT WAS PERFECTLY HEALTHY AND DOING FINE.... new fish, yes, sick fish, yes... but never perfectly healthy fish!


second... lol, crazy wrote:
[QUOTE]Guys just so you know, I'm pretty sure hes got his mind set on the 75. On another forum he proposed the idea of putting a moorish idol in his 75, everyone told him not to, but he did anyways. So no offense to you shawnts, just telling them that I think you're going to get one no matter what.[/QUOTE]

haha, yes He is correct, YES I am going to get an Achiles in the 75gallon, ( hears loud gasping )... As I DID get a Moorish Idol as well.. yes, My moorish Idol is dead now, along with a yellow tang, a flame angel and a coral beauty, that I ASSURE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU GUYS that these 3 fish, not the MI, where some of the most HEALTHY looking BEAUTIFULLY colored fish you have EVER laid EYES apon, NO DOUGHT!... the Moorish Idol, was doing 100% better, then ICH hit ... etc etc... he was a bit skinny, but thats normal for that species because of the time it takes to Wheen them off of their natural diet of sponges... mine didnt eat anything BUT BLUE SPONGE for 2 weeks... then I got him on some Angel Formula with Sponges, and then pellets and then frozen, and then flake and then nori.... so it takes time... opps, I mean that He didnt eat anything but BLUE SPONGE AND BRAIN CORALS for 2 weeks... the first week he ate nothing...


now, Crazy, it seems as though you may have a problem with me????? if not let me know... if so then lets just work this out... maybe its just the way I read your posts... either way lets just clear that all up!

Thanks Jen and Kerry for the advise... I will take you up on that offer, hopefully this person will POP into the thread...



Heres my outlook on tangs, which some of you have your set ways and such...

yes I AGREE THAT TANGS ARE VERY ENERGETIC FISH THAT NEED ALOT OF SWIMMING ROOM OR STRONG CURRENT TO EXERCISE IN!

yes I agree, that tangs are prone to Ich...

No I DO NOT agree that you CAN NOT keep an Achilles in a 75 Gallon, reason being is If hes got enough current to swim in ... I think he'll do just fine... IFFFFF Im not mistaken, arent some achilles found at deap deapths?... these are not use to turbid water movement are they?

I have a MAG pump in the sump, I forget which one.. I want to say Mag 7... plus 2 Maxijet 1200 Powerheads in the tank itself on a Natural Wave Wavemaker, set at 20secon intervals... my newly aquired 2 inch Regal Tang is loving the turbid water movement and is swimming all over the place... I drip aclimate ALL my fish that go into the tank.... BEST way to aclimate IMO... and when I put my new Regal Tang into the tank HE hid for about 2 minutes... came JETTING out of the rocks and started swimming like he has ALWAYS lived their...

thats what I call a HEALTHY ACTIVE, LIVELY! Tang... she is a BEAUTIFUL specimen, perfect condition, and FAT! :)


I of course as Crazy stated... WILL no dought be getting a VERY SMALL achilles tang... MORE THAN LIKELY 2 inches.... I know they are VERY prone to Ich, and thanks to the information shared by these wonderful KNOWLEDGABLE people here now know that they appreciate large amounts of water movement.... so that is good...

I believe, NOT JUST BECAUSE I WANT ONE, that my tanks water movement, while not being IDEAL, is enough to get by with keeping one... 2 MaxiJet 1200s on 20second intervals is fairly turbid.... and plus the output of the Mag Pump getting smashed into that turbid water movement makes for good fast flowing turbid water movement in the main center section of the tank.. only about 6 to 10 inches on both sides of the tank at the bottom recieve only med. water movement...
I really think that this is enough for the tang being that small...

OF COURSE, hes going to grow, which is a plus, he will grow and be adjusted to the tanks water movement... when he reaches 4 to 6 inches I will take him out and PERSONALLY find him another home... is this wrong?... Not IMO...



I asked for TIPS on keeping them, such as any other special care besides Nori, protein, etc...

I have learned now about Water Movement, and Ich as well as energy levels...


thanks to just these few replys.!... thanks a bunch for that!


I dont mind being harrased by the tang police.... they can horrase me all they wish, but that isnt really going to change my views or opinions on this species... what will is hard evidence that if an Achilles tang of 2 inches placed into a 75 gallon tank will NO DOUGHT die with a few months, and EVERY TIME this has happened... THAT will change my views and opinions!


thanks for the help again so far! :)

Well you should know that the Achilles are one of the more aggressive tangs you can get. You know how aggressive powder blues are? Imagine an aggressive tang like a powder blue in a small tank like a 55 gallon. The aggression dished out by the PBT would be doubled or tripled. So that being said, I wish you, your Achilles and especially your other fish lots of luck.

:worried: :worried2: :(

shawn,
you get my vote for most pathetic post ever.

good luck to you and your fish.

ditto

[QUOTE]you get my vote for most pathetic post ever.[/QUOTE]


Thank you :)


Well.. since I suppose there is no more to this tang than whats already being said...

bye..

Ill keep EVERYONE updated... OF COURSE ! :)

[edit]Nevermind, its all been said and there's no point to me piling on.

Thanks for the grace!

Threads like this really make me sad to know there are people like this in our hobby. If you can't provide the proper conditions for a fish then don't buy it.

Two maxi's & a mag (7) = high flow? :lol:

Good luck, let us know how it goes in a few months - always good to hear an Achilles sucess story.

Hope it works out.

The most sad part of the story, notice the occupation.....Gotta wonder, how many people go into that LFS, get SW advice and make decisions based on it?

Hmmm, I wonder why the moorish idol got ich??? Hmmm, interestingly enough ich is able to get out of hand on a fish that is stressed... hmmm, could stress from too small of a tank be the culprit and the demise of shawnts fish???

put two and two together shawnts

I get the feeling that someone who has a 75 with only a mag 7 and two MJ's probably also doesn't have very good water quality or a good skimmer. Pretty much fish torture, IMO.

I have a 90gal with a mag 7 and 2 mj1200. Whats wrong with that. That is enough flow for my 90 fowlr so I think it is plenty for a 75. Now Im not saying that its ok for him to put that tang in there, but that is plenty of water flow for that tank. My water conditions are right where they need to be. Geesh people relax.

Shawnts!! I didn't know your moorish idol died. I thought you were giving it away??? *gasp*

Uh oh I just read all the posts, your getting anger again shawnts lol. I don't really have a problem with you, well not really. Just once again you ask for advice, and ignore it all.

OK, look here peeps!

haha...

You know... I really hate to see people IN THIS HOBBY that over-react to someone buying a fish...

lol, and to the person who said that my tank doesnt have enough flow... LMAO!... you are either one of two things:
1) ignorant of the flow that a single MaxiJet 1200 can put out

or

2)... just trying to start stuff...


and the answer is ??

If anyone on this thread says that a MAG 7 and 2... not 1 but 2 MAXIJET 1200's... in a 75 gallon tank isnt enough flow for a fish.... I PERSONALLY INVITE YOU TO MY HOMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE to view the turbid water movement...


PERSONALLY INVITE YOU!

You people, ( people meaning the people who agree with the whole tangina75gallontankwith2maxisandamag7) really need to lighten up...

ok, who has a Vlamingi tang in their aquarium... who?... ok, then WHO has a Orange Sholder tang in their tank?.. huh? who? and who has a Kole Tang? and how has a Unicorn Tang? and who has a Naso tang?...

the point is
first, Vlamingis get HUGEEEEEEEEEEE ... I DONT BELIEVE THEY SHOULD BE PUT IN ANY SIZE TANK! because of their eatting habbits and size

Orange Sholders in the wild feed of DIATOMS on the oceans reef floor... who has enough DIATOMS to feed it enough of its NATURAL DIET!!!!!!!!!!!! NO ONEEEEEEEEEEE

ok...
how has a Kole Tang??? Kole Tanks are Bristeltooth tangs... they are hard to keep, and need also, alot of water movement


HOW HAS A NASO?... Nasos are found with MOORISH IDOLS in the wild... on the reef flat, the most turbid part...

so your saying that we shouldnt keep nasos in tanks either???



LOOK PEOPLE, THERE IS NO WAY IN EARTH THAT WE CAN DUPLICATE THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT THAT GOD MADE ON THIS PLANET FOR THOSE FISH IN A HOME AQUARIUM!... its NOT POSSIBLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

so stop trying, do the best you can, and try!

Tangs get HUGE, because of their size many people need HUGE TANKS TO KEEP THEM!... most people keep them in the average 55 gallon... does that make them bad people???

ok, who has a CLOWN TANG??? CLOWN TANGS live up to 30 years in the wild... but only 10 if your lucky in the aquarium... so I GUESS WE SHOULD STOP BUYING CLOWN TANGS BECAUSE WE ARE KILLING THEM!!!!!



I have nothing more to say on this thread about this dumb BUTT argument... other than

I had my ACHILLES TANG HAND PICKED TODAY AT AROUND 12 in LA!... its on its way here as we speak... I should have it by tomorow


and BTW: the moorish Idol was being harrased by the damnsels!.... also the nitrates where 40ppm....

all the fish suffered...

now I got rid of the Damnsels to stop this from happening... and the nitrates are comming down thanks to the refuge


BTW: before I GOT the MI, my water Perimeters very good

thanks !

geeze, you people stress me out more than the fish is stressed out from shipping!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!