achilles or morish idol?

[dviper150]

I know both of these fish are difficult to keep but which one is more hardier? I have read almost all the primers on morish idols and achilles on this forum but just wanted to hear from people and their experiences on these 2 fish and which one is the hardier one. Thanks.

 

[agreeive?fish]

my moorish idol experience.. he was fantastic for about a year, ate anything and everything and got along well with tank mates..then he stopped eating and never took a bite of food again

my achillies experience... none

 

[dviper150]

do you still have the morish idol?

 

[luckyk0505]

How big is your tank? what type of filteration?

Achiless need alot of swimming room with very high water quality

 

[dviper150]

I currently have a 150 but I am not planning on getting the achilles anytime soon if i do. I was just curious as to which one was the hardier one because i know both fish need optimal water quality.

 

[luckyk0505]

Personally, I would never try Moorish again. I had few that last 8 month to a year

but they will eventually die . I had achiless before too, I think they are very similar to

powderblue tang. I kept one from 2 days to 2 years. If you water goes wrong he will show the sign

and very weak to diseases. They are also very mean, should be the last fish to go in to the tank.

They aren't cheap fish and not hardy at all. Do alot of research!!

 

[Texastravis]

I have never owned a moorish idol but I have successfully kept achilles. IMO they arnt too bad to keep. I wouldn't bother attempting this fish if you have a 4' 150 gallon, they need at least 6' at minimum. The second key is HIGH flow, and I mean HIGH flow. These fish (like other tangs) are found swimming in some of the strongest currents in a reef, other tangs just seem more tolerant of slower flow, but not the achilles. High High flow, open swimming room, and a lot of feeding and you will have yourself a healthy achilles.

I read that the problem with moorish idols is they appear to be healthy and happy and then they just suddenly die. Most of the time (from what I have seen and read) the owner feeds his moorish idol everyday just to see him get skinnier and skinnier then die. If I were going to try a moorish Idol I would feed him massively, perhaps lsp on an auto feeder set for 4+ times a day. That is what I will try if I get one

 

[Texastravis]

Also, an achilles will amost ALWAYS get ich when you get him. The best option is quarantine and then place him into an ich free DT. From your last post it sounds like you havnt quarantined fish so I am sure their is ich in your DT. If you get an achilles, place him in your DT, I guarantee he will be covered in ich, expecially with the added stress of other bigger fish. So the trick for you would be getting the achilles to be happy/not stressed enough to where his own immune system will take care of the ich. If you get past that first month ich hump you should have a healthy achilles.

 

[iamwrasseman]

i have owned both and liked the idol because of his aquarium antics ,they have a cool personality .they are both very tough as you said but they are both worthy of an attempt .

 

[dviper150]

Hey travis, did you end up ordering the fish that you wanted?

I do have a 6 foot tank and I have decided I will give them a try because everyone has their own experience with these fish. both are very cool and show stopper fish imo but hard to keep. I gave a regal angel a try so might as well give these guys a try. I will be selling some fish in my tank soon so there will be a ton of space to swim around for the achilles. Plus I will be upgrading to a bigger tank in the next year .

 

[Iwishihadgills]

ive had both. Go with idol. If he eats then you got a winner just keep him fat. Achilles are like an ich magnet. Unless you have at least a 180 with at least 50x flow and have qt all your fish then id say get an achilles. otherwise an idol is a better bet.

 

[dviper150]

From what everyone has told me, achilles are ich magnets so I will pass on them for now until I get a bigger system setup soon. I will go with the morish idol then and see how it does.

 

[Texastravis]

From what everyone has told me, achilles are ich magnets so I will pass on them for now until I get a bigger system setup soon. I will go with the morish idol then and see how it does.

Most of the tangs are. Its just that the achilles gets a bit more ****ed/stressed so it tends to get ich. Plus this fish is blacker than night so one spot of ich is extremely noticeable on an achilles as opposed to probably not noticing ich right away on a yellow tang or powder blue powder blue etc.

Moorish sound fun to try. I dont think you have to worry much about ich with this fish or aggression, just getting him to eat and not pick on corals.

Speaking of moorish idols how much flow is supposed to be with these guys? I wonder if they enjoy brisk current or rapid 50x + water flow.

 

[ShrimpChipGal]

Acanthurus like Achilles and Powder blue also have smooth body/no scales. You can sometimes find finger prints on them if they were handled with a tiny bit more pressure. (I did this unintentionally with my A. Nigricauda and that finger print was very visible for a good 2 weeks.) Not only are they prong to ich but they don't do well with conventional copper treatment.

No morish idol experience here.

 

[tylorarm]

How about both. I have both and they're doing fine so far. I put both through cupramine and prazipro in QT, as i now do for all my fish. They seem to get along fine although sometimes the achilles speed seems to unsettle the MI. On the other hand, the MI is not too nice to the CBB.

 

[sanchoy]

I would go with the achilles for looks. Both fish are hard to keep. good luck. .achilles is more expensive.

 

[cutnup]

I have had my achilles for atleast 6 months and never had a problem...
I also bought him from a tank breakdown...

 

[silverfly]

Go with the idol,it'll be different to any other fish in your tank. I've had mine a year now but i do feed continuously throughout the day.

Richie

 

[dviper150]

tylorarm, that is a great looking achilles. Would you guys recommend getting the achilles or the morish idols as adults or as small as possible?

 

[tylorarm]

The achilles i got from Divers Den and it was already 7.5". I think key is to get a healthy one but handling becomes a bit more difficult as they get larger, but i only have experience with the one. My MI has grown very quickly. Maybe quicker than any fish i've had. He eats a ton yet remains fairly lean. Mine was around 3" when i got him, probably about twice as big now. I think it's hard to find one less than 3". I feed him a big variety, hoping he'll get the nutrients he needs. I feed him angel formula frozen, live bloodworms, live littleneck clams, frozen spirulina, frozen mysis, NLS pellets (3mm), nori...