Success keeping achilles

[tang daddy]

I'd like to hear some success stories, what was the longest you kept this fish, what was the secret?

I heard these fish like open water, they usually hang out where waves crash and love high turbulent flow....

Please share your advice and pics!

[apexifd]

from what I have heard so far. they will do alot better in a 6' tank. bigger the better.

[muck]

Im sure Marie will chime in about Doofus. :wink:

[reefwars]

Im sure Marie will chime in about Doofus. :wink:


+1 beauty doofus is hehe:)

[Chin_Lee]

I can give lots of stories where I was unsuccessful....... unfortunately.........

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Very, very few success stories. Doofus is a major exception and not the rule. Very much the ick-magnet. If its the only tang in the tank, your chances are increased.

[Ryan]

There is an Achilles primer on Reef Central you should read. Most success seems to be with bigger specimens and tanks in the 300g range.

[rayjay]

I had mine for a little over six years but it should have lasted at least 3 times that long.
I had troubles for the first year with repeated hypo treatments for ick and finally used copper and never had that problem again. When it did die, I had no warning signs and never did find why it died.

[RyanJ]

Well this is something right down my lane!! I have had 3!!
the 1st one I had was great! Until Someone Poured something in my tank is what I think.. I really dont wanna go into details on this one!
The 2nd Achillies I had for 7 months! and Was eating NLS pellets! and everything! Untill one day, A Bio-Pellet was pumped up from my sump some how and he decided the he was going to try and eat it! And he did! BUT it impacted in his belly and Burst open like a pop bottle full Dry ice!
Now the 3rd I have had for 8 months and Hes doing great! i just put filter socks on the returns for my reactors and He has been doing great! got him on Pellets in the first 3weeks and once you get these guys on Pellets your golden!! soo that my story and my history with these awesome tangs! I do not suggest them for beginners!!

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Most reefers I know who've tried them had major ick/disease issues for the first several months. The ones that survive this adjustment to captivity period have a decent chance of long-term survival. I know Doofus caused all sorts of problems for Marie to deal with for the first year or so, but has since been a great fish. It helps that he's the dominant fish and the only tang or ick-magnet in the 175g.

[Sumfingwong]

I have a buddy that has his in AT in a 6ft 120, with other tangs and triggers. Hes actually a member (not active anymore) on this board.

i might give it a go once my tank is up and running again.

[patd]

Well this is something right down my lane!! I have had 3!!
the 1st one I had was great! Until Someone Poured something in my tank is what I think.. I really dont wanna go into details on this one!
The 2nd Achillies I had for 7 months! and Was eating NLS pellets! and everything! Untill one day, A Bio-Pellet was pumped up from my sump some how and he decided the he was going to try and eat it! And he did! BUT it impacted in his belly and Burst open like a pop bottle full Dry ice!
Now the 3rd I have had for 8 months and Hes doing great! i just put filter socks on the returns for my reactors and He has been doing great! got him on Pellets in the first 3weeks and once you get these guys on Pellets your golden!! soo that my story and my history with these awesome tangs! I do not suggest them for beginners!!

Boy - that's a lot of !! :biggrin:
I love Achilles.
Along with Nasos, they are really my dream fish. If I ever decide to get a tank large enough, I will probably give them a go. I've never had either yet though.
Not to derail this topic but I would actually like to see Nasos priced closer to what Achilles are. I think it might sway some people from putting them in unsuitable tanks. I guess you could say that about a lot of fish though....

[marie]

I've had Doofus coming up 6 yrs. He had Marine velvet when I got him so he went through copper treatment and 8 weeks quarantine.....Every fish in the tank with him has been quarantined and treated with either hypo or copper and I believe that is why he has done so well

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

I've had Doofus coming up 6 yrs. He had Marine velvet when I got him so he went through copper treatment and 8 weeks quarantine.....Every fish in the tank with him has been quarantined and treated with either hypo or copper and I believe that is why he has done so well

That plus the two full sheets of Nori that you feed him every day:wink:

[naesco]

I'd like to hear some success stories, what was the longest you kept this fish, what was the secret?

I heard these fish like open water, they usually hang out where waves crash and love high turbulent flow....

Please share your advice and pics!

I could not keep achilles successfully and very very few reefers do.

You are right that they hand where the waves crash. A Vortech MP 40 or above set up at full speed and placed so that it just breaks the surface of the water may provide the highly oxygenated environment they need.
Unless you are a similar set up together with a minimum 6 foot tank in fairness to the fish, I would not recommend you attempt to keep one.

[Fishfreak]

I had one in a 6 foot 150 for 3 and a half years. His tank mates included: yellow tang, purple, regal, naso and blue throat trigger. These were only the large fish. When I upgraded to my 400 gallon, they all slowly died within a few weeks of the move. The transfer did them all in. Definitely my favorite fish. Whenever I decide to get one again, I don't think I will be as lucky!

[Willito]

6 foot tank is nice but not a must, mine is in a 4 footer. This is what I find works good:

-Should be one of the first tang in tank
-strong water current
-Run UV before and after adding new fish for a few weeks
-quarantine for the purpose of eating and not disease control

Mine is living with a powder blue and amongst others for almost two years. Prior to this, I lost 5 due to to improper quarantine.

[StirCrazy]

I had mine in my 94 gal tank for 5 years untill my tank was wiped out by a defective heater.

some key requirments are lots of O2, so oversized skimmers run 24/7 work well for this, 0 nitrates is another important thing I found out. the water must be very clean. as for 6 foot tank I will agree to disagree on that one. most of these tank sizes came from when people used to stuff a 100 gal tank with 200 lbs of rock, which resulted in almost no swimming area.

I had 120 lbs of rock in my 94 gal tank aranged in a manor that 3/4 of the tank was open area. so my tank was 3 foot long, 2 foot wide and 25" tall. I never had any problems what so ever, no ich, no nothing.. I bought him.. took him home, dumped the bag out into my fish transfer strainer and put him in the tank. I did ballance the bag water to my tank first.

I have never been a fan of quarenteen tank, I think they do more harm than good, and I never put any other water in my tanks.

there was a good write up on them I found 10 or so years ago that atrubuted 90% of the problems people have with them were related to nitrates in the tank water. a low level isn't good enough, you must have none. the areas where they occure naturaly are not nitrate or nutrent rich area but rather the oposit.

for food, I fed nori, some expensive pellet food, frozen krill, and the ocasional treet of baby brine shrimp.

they are classed as a harder fish, but if you have a mature tank with pristeen water, lots of open swimming area, and lots of flow you should be ok.

as for tank size.. I leve that up to the individual, but I myself having been sucessfull before, wouldent be oposed to put one in a a tank as small as 75 gal depending on the lay out.

Steve

[untamed]

I lost mine at about 3 years. It had ich the entire time, so it is hard for me to believe that ich killed him. Maybe it just took that long to wear down his immune system... Or maybe it was something else.

[tang daddy]

Thanks for sharing the excellent advice guys, I would not consider putting a larger tang in my 75g because I know they like to swim...

So some success has to do with quarantining the fish, making sure it eats well, giving it lots of flow, O2 and zero nitrates. I figured they are ich magnets just like the powder I owned and had great success keeping it.

[Ryan]

75g is way too small for an achilles.

[Tracey2]

I haven't had mine as long as some others on here but its about 2years. He does get a few spots now and then and I bump up the garlic. He eats lots of nori and loves frozen plankton, I take sheets of nori/seaweed and drip selcon, vitamin C and Zoe on them and rub it in with a garlic clove then let the sheets sit to dry, sounds like alot of work but I do enough to last 2-3 weeks. He does love flow and can be aggressive toward the other tangs in the tank especially my hippo. I hope to keep him happy for many more years, he is gorgeous. His name is Axel and I think he will need a bigger tank soon or I will have to remove the naso and the hippo, he has no beefs with the purple tang

http://i694.photobucket.com/albums/vv305/Missy4now/IMG_0633.jpg

[tang daddy]

I haven't had mine as long as some others on here but its about 2years. He does get a few spots now and then and I bump up the garlic. He eats lots of nori and loves frozen plankton, I take sheets of nori/seaweed and drip selcon, vitamin C and Zoe on them and rub it in with a garlic clove then let the sheets sit to dry, sounds like alot of work but I do enough to last 2-3 weeks. He does love flow and can be aggressive toward the other tangs in the tank especially my hippo. I hope to keep him happy for many more years, he is gorgeous. His name is Axel and I think he will need a bigger tank soon or I will have to remove the naso and the hippo, he has no beefs with the purple tang

http://i694.photobucket.com/albums/vv305/Missy4now/IMG_0633.jpg

Beautiful fish Tracy, thanks for sharing the tips on the recipe... What size tank is the Achilles in?

[Tracey2]

He's in a 270g but 450g system. I see that he is getting more aggressive and to keep him happy will either upgrade or move at least the hippo that he hates

[Sumfingwong]

I haven't had mine as long as some others on here but its about 2years. He does get a few spots now and then and I bump up the garlic. He eats lots of nori and loves frozen plankton, I take sheets of nori/seaweed and drip selcon, vitamin C and Zoe on them and rub it in with a garlic clove then let the sheets sit to dry, sounds like alot of work but I do enough to last 2-3 weeks. He does love flow and can be aggressive toward the other tangs in the tank especially my hippo. I hope to keep him happy for many more years, he is gorgeous. His name is Axel and I think he will need a bigger tank soon or I will have to remove the naso and the hippo, he has no beefs with the purple tang

http://i694.photobucket.com/albums/vv305/Missy4now/IMG_0633.jpg

Hey Tracey, what kind of Vitamin C do you use?

[Tracey2]

I just use kent liquid vitamin.

[Reefie]

My Achilles likes to swim right in front of my Tunze 6015. Kinda reminds me of a treadmill. Haha!
Mine doesn't mind being in a BC29. :lol:

[Reefie]

I'm just waiting for the Tang Police to come arrest me now...........



















OK OK I was just joking about an Achilles in a BC29, or was I??? :lol:

[Reefie]

OK seriously now, here is a great read on keeping an Achilles.

http://www.fishchannel.com/saltwater-aquariums/aquarium-frontiers/finding-the-achilles-secret.aspx

[Bblinks]

OK seriously now, here is a great read on keeping an Achilles.

http://www.fishchannel.com/saltwater-aquariums/aquarium-frontiers/finding-the-achilles-secret.aspx

Why are you such a bad a$$! You are my hero.:twised:

[Sumfingwong]

Thought I would chime in since I purchased an AT (3.5 to 4 inches) about 3 weeks ago. Everything is going good, I did not want to QT the AT simply because I didnt want to stress it out more with the transport. I purchased a cleaner wrasse with the AT. I drip acclimated the AT and wrasse for about 1.5 hours.

On the 2nd day, there was some ich on the body. I bumped up the garlic and ordered selcon and zoe from J&L.

It only took me a day to get him to eat flake, once he ate the flakes the ich went away (this was before the selcon and zoe arrived)

So for feeding, I have an automatic feeder that dumps 2 types of flake food while I'm at work. When I get home I had some more flake food, because of the high flow in my tank, half the food from the automatic feeder goes straight into the overflow and into the sump. Then at around 8pm I feed brine and mysis that has been soaking in selcon, garlic and zoe overnight. I actually keep an old peanut butter container full of vitamin soaked food ready (3 cubes of brine, 3 cubes of mysis, and sometimes I will add plankton)

So far the AT loves the high flow my MP40s create, its super happy. My bartlett anthia started to bully some new anthias i added last week, so the AT had a little ich on him, after the scuffle.. the AT chased the bully bartlett around and all is well again in my tank.

I find that if you can get it to eat flake you are good to go. So far mine eats everything I mentioned above. I add nori sheets, and recently the AT started nibbling on NLS pellets!!! (if I feed the NLS first before the flake and prepped foods)

A well fed AT = healthy AT

I noticed last night he might have scratched his left eye and had a small cloudy patch, I put an old filter soak into my tank and added an extra feeding. That way the filter sock catches the extra food that goes into the overflow. With the MP40s on full blast, after the feeding cycle it pushes all the extra food into the overflow.

I also forgot to mention that the cleaner wrasse is always with the AT cleaning him off, its so awesome! My wife HATES my hobby, but she was in charge of feeding the tank last week while i was in Washington DC. She said she really loves the AT and loves watching it turn "see-through" while the wrasse cleans him. The cleaner wrasse is also eating the prepped foods and flake food.

This morning, the eye is all good again! So far so good with the AT *knock on wood

I will try and get some photos next week, I am headed to Miami for a bachelor party. sorry for the novel

[Bblinks]

Thanks for sharing sumfinwrong. haha. just typing that name made me chuckle. :lol:

I have had my Achilles for about 3 weeks now, it is eating everything from pellets to nori to frozen but unfortunately like most achilles its got ick even though I dipped it in freshwater and paraguard it, the damn ick still appeared. I figured as long as its eating and gaining weight, it should have enough strength to fight it off.

Here is what I have gathered from my 2 achilles tangs that I have kept. Feed heavy and feed constant(nori sheets), soak the feed in garlic and selcom to boost immune system. Make sure your tank has excellent flow to mimic the natural habitat, high flow and high oxygen level is what these fish love. Besides that I guess it all boils down to luck.

[Sumfingwong]

Thanks for sharing sumfinwrong. haha. just typing that name made me chuckle. :lol:

I have had my Achilles for about 3 weeks now, it is eating everything from pellets to nori to frozen but unfortunately like most achilles its got ick even though I dipped it in freshwater and paraguard it, the damn ick still appeared. I figured as long as its eating and gaining weight, it should have enough strength to fight it off.

Here is what I have gathered from my 2 achilles tangs that I have kept. Feed heavy and feed constant(nori sheets), soak the feed in garlic and selcom to boost immune system. Make sure your tank has excellent flow to mimic the natural habitat, high flow and high oxygen level is what these fish love. Besides that I guess it all boils down to luck.

haha thanks
I totally agree with the feeding. I find that if I need to overfeed, ill add an old filter sock to catch anything extra that goes down the overflow. But right now, my AT eats like a pig, and is constantly begging for food when I walk by the tank.

[fishytime]

So for feeding, I have an automatic feeder that dumps 2 types of flake food while I'm at work. When I get home I had some more flake food, because of the high flow in my tank, half the food from the automatic feeder goes straight into the overflow and into the sump.

is there somewhere where you can attach a "feeding ring"?....I know they sell them but Ive seen DIYs that do the trick......Its basically a ring of plastic that sits at the waters surface where your feeder dumps in.....the ring keeps the food inside until it saturates with water and the starts to sink instead of going straight down the tube so to speak