Acanthurus achilles

badbadfishy

New member
i absolutely love this tang and i am planning on getting one after my move. my question is "what makes this tang so difficult to maintain ?" what makes him so special from blue hippos yellow ect ect.
 
:lmao::lmao: Not difficult at all! Just get the first one you see at retail, doesn't matter if it's eating or not. Acclimation is way over-rated, as is quarantine, so just plop it straight into your tank. BTW, a smaller tank is much better - say 10 gal, or if you want to go crazy, a 20 - otherwise the fish will wear itself out with all that swimming. Oh, and those white dots are it developing its adult coloration ........ :fun2:

PS - Am kidding, obviously; have never had the courage to buy one!
 
i absolutely love this tang and i am planning on getting one after my move. my question is "what makes this tang so difficult to maintain ?" what makes him so special from blue hippos yellow ect ect.

He wasn't featured in Finding Nemo ;) and hopefully never will be.

In all seriousness though, the Achilles needs more attention than what the average reefkeeper provides. IMO/IME, they need several feedings a day, amazing water flow, amazing water quality, compatible tank mates, and a good variety of healthy food.

Also, quarantine is NOT optional. I certainly don't mean that it usually is, because it isn't, but every single fish in the DT with the Achilles needs as much attention in QT as the AT itself. You can't risk ich getting to this fish (or any other sickness for that matter). I read a lot about people advocating "observational quarantine." It won't work for the Achilles, period. This fish needs treatment and an extended QT IMO, at least 8 weeks. I really recommend that you read the AT primer before seriously considering this fish. There's also another thread going about the best QT option for the Achilles.
 
:lmao::lmao: Not difficult at all! Just get the first one you see at retail, doesn't matter if it's eating or not. Acclimation is way over-rated, as is quarantine, so just plop it straight into your tank. BTW, a smaller tank is much better - say 10 gal, or if you want to go crazy, a 20 - otherwise the fish will wear itself out with all that swimming. Oh, and those white dots are it developing its adult coloration ........ :fun2:

PS - Am kidding, obviously; have never had the courage to buy one!

everything i need to know summed up in one paragraph! i was thinking 2.5 nano and just filling it with table salt and sink water.
i appreciate the sarcasm it brightened my day.:lol:
 
He wasn't featured in Finding Nemo ;) and hopefully never will be.

In all seriousness though, the Achilles needs more attention than what the average reefkeeper provides. IMO/IME, they need several feedings a day, amazing water flow, amazing water quality, compatible tank mates, and a good variety of healthy food.

Also, quarantine is NOT optional. I certainly don't mean that it usually is, because it isn't, but every single fish in the DT with the Achilles needs as much attention in QT as the AT itself. You can't risk ich getting to this fish (or any other sickness for that matter). I read a lot about people advocating "observational quarantine." It won't work for the Achilles, period. This fish needs treatment and an extended QT IMO, at least 8 weeks. I really recommend that you read the AT primer before seriously considering this fish. There's also another thread going about the best QT option for the Achilles.

im new on here so by all mean direct me to that thread. i alot of planning for my up coming tank, so its going to be a good long while before i even think about getting him but i need to know all i can before i start considering it. if you can send me links to these threads i would greatly appreciate it.
 
ALOT of flow, ALOT of swimming room, and good protein foods to make it stay fat. it can be one of the toughest fish, if acclimated into captive life correctly.
 
:lmao::lmao: Not difficult at all! Just get the first one you see at retail, doesn't matter if it's eating or not. Acclimation is way over-rated, as is quarantine, so just plop it straight into your tank. BTW, a smaller tank is much better - say 10 gal, or if you want to go crazy, a 20 - otherwise the fish will wear itself out with all that swimming. Oh, and those white dots are it developing its adult coloration ........ :fun2:

PS - Am kidding, obviously; have never had the courage to buy one!

One correction to the above, the white dots are its naturally evolution into a gem tang :rollface:
 
everything i need to know summed up in one paragraph! i was thinking 2.5 nano and just filling it with table salt and sink water.

See, you're an old pro already!

In all seriousness, an Achilles has been on my bucket list forever, but I never felt I had the system to support one. A friend of mine has kept one in his 7 foot tank, and once acclimated (not a task for the faint hearted) it has proven to be very hardy - and is the undisputed king of the tank.

I recently bought my first Leopard wrasse, so one problem fish per year, don't have the constitution for a second.
 
I was very fortunate with mine as well...I would never keep him in anything less then a 6 foot tank though. He's very hardy and has been through two house moves with no problems. He's about as wide as he is long but he is a huge bully! I'm not able to add anymore fish to the tank without him trying to kill them :-(
 
I was very fortunate with mine as well...I would never keep him in anything less then a 6 foot tank though. He's very hardy and has been through two house moves with no problems. He's about as wide as he is long but he is a huge bully! I'm not able to add anymore fish to the tank without him trying to kill them :-(

wow just wow. i have seen damsels and cardinals not survive moves. he truely has adapted. now you just need to breed him for the rest of us XD.
 
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