achilles tang

[deejeff442]

anyone have one?
doing research on how hard they are to keep
i have a 150 gallon tank with 180 lbs of lr .
i do have a 5 inch purple tang now .
also want to add an orange shoulder with the achilles .
what do you guys think?

[crvz]

bad news, the orange shoulder and achilles would not tolerate each other in such a small tank (both being Acanthurus species tangs). I'd pick one or the other, though it's not an easy choice. In my opinion, the orange shoulder will get too large for the 150 and the achilles could become considerably too aggressive. My opinion... look at different Acanthurus fish if you must have one.

[vito is hooked]

I would for sure, I love my Achillies. Make sure to QT, there ick magnet's. There tough guy's too, mine hold's his own with a Hippo almost double his size. Tank is big enough for sure, Good Luck!

[Untamed12]

Much discussion about achilles tangs here...

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1492655

[deejeff442]

i should know better i didnt realize they are the same acanthurus
i plan on a 200 gallon+tank by early springtime.
i would like 3 tangs ,i used to have 4 in a tank untill my anenmome nuked them.
i love the orange but he is alot bigger than the achilles.
how about my purple ,achilles and maybe a naso.
i had my purple,sailfin,hippo and naso and all got along.
my lfs has an achilles and just couldnt stop watching him doing laps.i have been doing sw for a long time but just dont want to get a fish of death

[TWallace]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13923303#post13923303 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by deejeff442

i love the orange but he is alot bigger than the achilles.
how about my purple ,achilles and maybe a naso.

If your objection to orange shoulders is that they're too big, then switching to a naso isn't solving the dilemma.

[deejeff442]

yea i think i was justifying the achilles over the orange.
i would have to look at more tangs.
if i add two more i want them to be at the same time.
i do have a 33 gallon qt running they will be in there for over a month.
i am open to suggestions
purple,achilles and ?

[deejeff442]

i guess not many people keep these fish?

[CorbetJackson50]

no, they have a bad reputation of being very delicate, then once established can be quite aggressive. My favorite tang for sure, i just havent taken the risk yet. mainly b/c i havent seen a nice speciman in a lfs around here, they have allways had ich

[deejeff442]

well i think i am going to lean towards a powder brown .
have to visit the achilles at the lfs i guess.

[vito is hooked]

Booooooooooo!!!!!!

[deejeff442]

vito how long have you had your achilles.
if i felt comfortable about them i will get one.
you are the only one that has givin me a good vibe about them.
i am not putting in an order untill after the holidays.
i have posted on two forums and seems nobody but you has one.
i keep perfect water in my tank and have alot of lr with a running fuge so the system is good for him but cant seem to get much help with this fish.

[vito is hooked]

When I first got him, about a year ago,http://i431.photobucket.com/albums/qq36/vitoishooked/1111081039b.jpg I had a good size yellow tang and a good size Dori, I had him in QT for about a week and here came the ICK, He was covered, I did fresh water dips with cuppermine for about a week/ twice a day. I was never to worried about him cause he was eating well. ( Brine/Mysis soaked in garlic xtreme ) I also do daily water change's, so 2 gal from main went into the QT tank daily, thus no shock acclimating him. As soon as he was in my yellow went right after him, would have killed him for sure. I decided to remove the yellow for a while so he could settle in. And he did, my water back then was'nt perfect, but I did have enough room for him to swim, ( and swim he does ) I'm not sure, but for me I think the garlic xtreme soaked food made him eat like crazy right from the start, I still soak all my food and have'nt had any eating issue's, A Fat belly, good water, and good flow is a perfect start. Even my cleaner wrasse eat's everything. http://i431.photobucket.com/albums/qq36/vitoishooked/1112081745b.jpg Oh, bye the way the yellow never made it back into the system, traded him to a buddy and I see him every once in awhile, he;s in a 220 now. I hope this help's. Whatever you decide, GOOD LUCK!!!

[AquaReeferMan]

I had one in my 125g for almost 2 years. Unfortunatly I lost him during a 10 hours tank transfer about a month ago. I just got another one in at my LFS so I am giving it another shot. Daily nori and PE mysis feedings kept the one I had fat and healthy. If you have enough open swimming area give it a shot.

[Nagle]

Alot of people say that a powder blue is also hard to keep due to ick and what not. I have kept mine just fine for 9 months now. Besides good water, room to swim and good feeding another thing that will help is a uv sterilizer. I always run my uv for a few days when adding a new tang or doing something that could stress my tangs. I also soak food in garlic once or twice a week. Also when you put him in the tank (if you get him) re-aqua scap this way your purple tang will not have "his" spot anymore. I have 4 tangs in my 220 yellow,purple,powder blue,and blue (dorri) and plan on getting an achilles tang. As long as you know you take good care of your tank go for it.

[guppychao]

i love my achilles, although he is the smallest one in the tank, he is a brute. its crazy to see his/her eye change to a white ring when its mad. had a hippo and a purple in a 180. at one point the achilles was harrassing both tangs, but now they are somewhat peaceful, although the purple and achilles sometimes go at it. majority of the time now the achilles attacks his own reflection.

hope you go with the achilles, by far my favorite, however i think you will need lots of hiding places (for the other tangs) and good flow. i run 2 tunze 6100 and 1 vortech.

goodluck

[vito is hooked]

At Last, Achillie's Lover's. I agree with Nagle, a little aquqscaping goes a loooong way when introducing new tangs. Any little thing you can do, is Worth it IMO. Anyone who has had for awhile, know's what I mean. Very Kool Fish!!!

[tony varrell]

For Achilles it's all about water quality and FLOW FLOW FLOW. I have a well established one in my 300 reef he does real well.

http://i537.photobucket.com/albums/ff335/jamesvarrell/104015.jpg

[vito is hooked]

He's a Monster!!

[deejeff442]

thanks everyone for the help.i was just going to call some online stores for thier opinion but i think everyone has made up my mind.
i have the purple now how about adding the achilles and a naso.
my qt tank is almost cycled so i will order the fish in a couple weeks.
i used to have 4 tangs together and all got along but never an achilles.
i have alot of lr so moving it around is no problem in fact i know exactly where my purple likes to hang out and i will make sure do relocate his home.
i will also add a couple more powerheads on the sides.
also i use frozen food melted in a little cup with water do i just add some garlic to the water and let it sit for a few minutes?

[deejeff442]

one more thing my purple is about 4.5-5 inches what size achilles and naso should i get same size or bigger?

[vito is hooked]

Not sure I know what U mean by cycling your QT. I use the water right from the main. If your useing frozen cube's, make sure you strain it after it thaw's with RO/DI water a couple of times, drain, put in shot glass, I put 4 drop's per cube of KENTS GARLIC XTREME and little tank water, If your ordering your fish on line, get a bottle of KENTS. Do the same with the Nori strips, put it on the clip, dip it in the tank water for a few seconds to get it wet ( Watch out they dont take the nori right out of your hand like mine do ) put it on a plate, put a few drops on it , let soak in and your on your way. This is what I do, not saying it's FULLPROOF, but it has worked for me, GOOD LUCK! :beachbum:

[tony varrell]

The bigger Achilles you start with the better chance of success. Do not overact when you see some ich because you will. Continue feed like previously discussed lots of garlic and I also use Selcon as a supplement with my PE mysis.. You must have lots of flow otherwise you will not be successful....

[Wind Seeker]

Tony,

Not trying to hi jack this thread, but tell us about your fish collection. I have a gold flake and power blue and was thinking about a regal and achilles. Interested in the interaction and care of these "difficult fish" when placed together. TIA

[deejeff442]

i cycle the qt with sand from my dt and have a 10 inch by 2 inch by 4 inch sponge (new)that i kept in my dt for a week then put in the qt.
the amonnia goes up for a week or so then the bio kicks in.
and it comes back to zero .so when the new fish are put in the system eats the amonnia.
water from your dt only makes the fish used to your dt which they wont see for 4-5 weeks.if it has not been cycled the water will get bad fast.you could do partial water changes daily but for one its a hassle and the fish will be stressed out.
i put the new fish in the qt and do water changes over the qt period with some of the dt water.
then drip acclimate when i will introdce to the dt.

now just have to wait 3 weeks to order.tic toc
it will give me time to recoup my xmass spending and i would like to get some corals with the order.
thanks for all the help everyone

[vito is hooked]

You mean you have sand in your QT?

[deejeff442]

i just take a half cup out of the dt for the cycle.
i dont have a sand bed.
i just like the qt to be established like a dt for the new fish.
i keep the qt running all the time.
i havent had a disease in my dt for over 8 or 10 yrs .
i will be adding 3 more fish and i dont want to introduce a disease so they will be in the qt for 4-6 weeks.

[vito is hooked]

O.K. I thought you had sand in there. I use my DT water cause I do manual water change's everyday, part of my morning feeding's. 2 gal a day out of the main and into the QT, or my 55 if nothing is in QT. :cool: Peace.