Holsteiner
New member
My 7" Achilles lives in my vortech power heads, he loves swimming in and out of the current. Good luck with him! I've had mine over 3 years now and feels like yesterday we got him.
Achilles Tang decision support
- Thread starter tdb320reef
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Triggerfish
Active member
found couple pics.. camera wasn't the best for sure.
the first one is where they were just hanging in the surge as it comes over the reef top it was strong as heck if you didn't hold on tight it would toss you back pretty hard.
the first one is where they were just hanging in the surge as it comes over the reef top it was strong as heck if you didn't hold on tight it would toss you back pretty hard.
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CoralsAddiction
Active member
found couple pics.. camera wasn't the best for sure.
the first one is where they were just hanging in the surge as it comes over the reef top it was strong as heck if you didn't hold on tight it would toss you back pretty hard.
Awesome. Where in Hawaii did you take this pic. Was in Oahu in March and planning out my next trip already. Really love watching tangs, triggers and moorish idols in the ocean.
Triggerfish
Active member
Oahu at Hanauma bay.
CoralsAddiction
Active member
Achilles Tang decision support
Was there and Turtle bay in March but didn't see any. Oh well. Next time.
Was there and Turtle bay in March but didn't see any. Oh well. Next time.
Triggerfish
Active member
yeah.. I was there 18 years ago when I took those pics.. not sure if that pair of Achilles would still be around for you to see.
Reefsi
New member
Just thought I would chime in!
My AT, now in my possession for 2 months, is doing fabulous. They are a TON of work in my opinion. They are also moody fish. I QT'd him for just over a month and ran him through 2 rounds of prazi and some FW dips to ensure good health. In QT he would eat maybe 1/4 sheet of nori. In my main tank he eats 1 sheet green and 1/2 sheet red easy, I feed him clams, brine, mysis, and fresh tuna(caught by me). Everything I feed is soaked in selcon. His colors are amazing and flawless I should post up some pictures.
Even in a 240 gallon aquarium with lots of swimming room this fish will pace up and down the glass at times almost looking for more space. I have 3 MP 40's going as flow and he will run right into them and swim away, he loves it. I go leeps and bounds to ensure my fish health and he is always full, but I will say it has been more work than I thought.
Good luck with this fish and keep an eye on him as they are needy fish to say the least. I would have suggested QT but its too late at this point. An amazing fish to watch.
My AT, now in my possession for 2 months, is doing fabulous. They are a TON of work in my opinion. They are also moody fish. I QT'd him for just over a month and ran him through 2 rounds of prazi and some FW dips to ensure good health. In QT he would eat maybe 1/4 sheet of nori. In my main tank he eats 1 sheet green and 1/2 sheet red easy, I feed him clams, brine, mysis, and fresh tuna(caught by me). Everything I feed is soaked in selcon. His colors are amazing and flawless I should post up some pictures.
Even in a 240 gallon aquarium with lots of swimming room this fish will pace up and down the glass at times almost looking for more space. I have 3 MP 40's going as flow and he will run right into them and swim away, he loves it. I go leeps and bounds to ensure my fish health and he is always full, but I will say it has been more work than I thought.
Good luck with this fish and keep an eye on him as they are needy fish to say the least. I would have suggested QT but its too late at this point. An amazing fish to watch.
Holsteiner
New member
After a while they go from "needy" to "easy" LOL! When I first had mine I went crazy making everything perfect. I've had him over 3 years now and he's been thru 3 tank moves (complete tear downs and moved to different cities)...he's actually now the easiest fish I have. He's about 7 1/2" long and about 4" thick ;-) The longer you have them the easier he'll be for you ;-)
Triggerfish
Active member
in your opinion why are they a ton of work?
all fish have certain needs. besides strong flow and space what else does this fish require to classify it as 'needy'?
Allmost
New member
gotta call it before sleep and say good night I guess 
but I think i get what he means ... mine was the same ... alot of small feedings was needed at the start, but then it turned into a great fish and would eat more than anyone else in my tank and ...
kinda like Idols, once adapted to captivity life they do great.
but I think i get what he means ... mine was the same ... alot of small feedings was needed at the start, but then it turned into a great fish and would eat more than anyone else in my tank and ...
kinda like Idols, once adapted to captivity life they do great.
Holsteiner
New member
Rea17
New member
A fat achilles, but 4" thick is pretty generous 
mine is a little bit bigger (longer) and not quite as inflated in the belly, but is still 2.5" thick or so and is a pretty consistent width throughout. Honestly fish shouldn't be "obese" as it has the same health implications as in people.
Once established and disease free, I don't find these tangs to be more challenging on a day to day basis than any other fish, but proper nutrition, flow, and husbandry are musts for long term health. I'm interested in an update from the OP...
mine is a little bit bigger (longer) and not quite as inflated in the belly, but is still 2.5" thick or so and is a pretty consistent width throughout. Honestly fish shouldn't be "obese" as it has the same health implications as in people.Once established and disease free, I don't find these tangs to be more challenging on a day to day basis than any other fish, but proper nutrition, flow, and husbandry are musts for long term health. I'm interested in an update from the OP...
tdb320reef
Active member
Great Pictures guys. Had a laugh at how fat the AT is above, Nice work! What are you feeding that monster?
About a week or so my AT had a small case of ICH, Only fish in the tank. My Yellow tangs seem to be the only fish to bully it. It looks like the ICH went away and it is now fating up. It seems to eat the surface algae off of the mP40 and mP60 and will eat mysis but has not touched the Nori as of yet. It seems to be interested though.
About a week or so my AT had a small case of ICH, Only fish in the tank. My Yellow tangs seem to be the only fish to bully it. It looks like the ICH went away and it is now fating up. It seems to eat the surface algae off of the mP40 and mP60 and will eat mysis but has not touched the Nori as of yet. It seems to be interested though.
Holsteiner
New member
The fatty above still only eats nori and new life spectrum pellets after 3 years...I try weekly to get him to eat mysis, rods, etc. Try running your nori thru the vortechs so it shreds in the water column. I did that the first week I had mine and it worked like a charm in getting him to eat nori ;-)
Triggerfish
Active member
compare surface agitation between posts 22 & 32.
reeferstace
I'm a little people
This is the new AT that you put into an overstocked tank without QTing it, right?
You do know that ick doesn't just "go away"?
TBH any tang that only eats two foods I would classify as needy, as far as tangs go.
Holsteiner
New member
Not very needy, LOL...he's grown over 3 1\2" to be about 7 1/2" right now....eats nori, NLS, and formula 2 flake. Still not interested in rods, mysis or any other frozen. Purple tang with him eats everything offered but Achilles hasn't cared much yet
. I took care of Achilles when I worked in Baltimore Aquarium, we had many that would be very selective over their foods.
