Achilles Tang Not Doing Well?

N

nosferatu51

New member
I opened up the box and immediately noticed that the Achilles Tang in my order does not seem happy. He is laying down on his side in the bag, gills pulsing quickly. Should I put him in a new batch of water ASAP or should I still acclimate him slowly? I don't know whether he is merely stressed from the move or whether his water is pretty dirty and he needs out ASAP. I know they are high oxygen needing fish, so this may be the problem.

I will call as well, but thought I would put this here for a response too.
 
The person I spoke with on the phone said that I should proceed with the acclimation process as I normally would and so I intend to do so. In addition, I will let him work out his problems (if he has any....hopefully he is just exhausted from an eventful 24hrs :S) in a tank all by himself. I think a 20g long, while small for a fish this size, with a Koralia 4 in it ought to give him the flow they enjoy so much while providing a sufficient temporary home. Unfortunately, the 20L is all I can provide him for the situation, but I feel that is a better option than throwing him into the main tank (although nothing in there should bother him aggression wise).
 
nosferatu51,

Thank you for posting and bringing this to our attention. We apologize the Tang arrived to you under stress. We are glad you contacted us by phone to discuss this with us. Yes, we recommend continuing the acclimation slowly as if you were to put the fish in all new water it would cause more stress to him. We recommend soaking the fish’s food in Garlic Xtreme before adding it to your aquarium. It will help stimulate his appetite and help boost his immune system, without affecting your water parameters.

We recommend putting him in the quarantine aquarium for now until he adjusts. The fish you purchased is beautiful and once it is acclimated will be a lovely addition to your aquarium.

Stacie R.
Technical Support
Drs Foster and Smith
 
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Ok, after a little over an hour and a half of acclimation I have placed him in the QT tank. He is still lying on his side and did swim a bit. I turned off the pump in the tank and just left an airstone running for the moment as the pump seemed to blow him around quite a bit.
He is lying on the bottom, breathing heavy (his gills are almost flapping more than the typical in, out movement). His side fin his sticking straight up and twitching, I don't know if that means anything or not. I really feel bad for him, he looks miserable. Is there anything else I can do for him right now? I've placed some Nori on a clip for him at the moment, but he really doesn't seem so interested.
 
nosferatu51,

Thank you for asking for more ideas. It sounds like you are doing everything possible for your Tang. In addition to the steps you have taken, you may want to turn off the lights for additional stress relief for your fish. Letting the specimen acclimate with the least amount of disturbance is what is most beneficial for the Tang.

Pat S.
Live Aquaria
Drs. Foster and Smith
 
Lights have been out the entire time.
So there really is nothing else I can do, but hope? Just in case you didn't see the occupation on the side, I'm a med student, so I don't really like sitting around doing nothing when I see something sick..... makes me feel helpless.
 
nosferatu51,

We agree it is difficult to wait for your Tang to acclimate. We are grateful to hear you have already turned your lights off and for the concern you are expressing about your fish. We would like to mention the air stone is not recommended for long term use in saltwater tanks. Saltwater has a different density than freshwater; therefore it creates the possibility of compromising the health of a saltwater fish.

Pat S.
Live Aquaria
Drs. Foster and Smith
 
Yeah, it was just a temporary measure. I was just using it to see if he would respond being in the new tank. If he gets better before I go to sleep I'll turn on the more powerful pump, if not I will replace it with something that will be a little less powerful.
 
Just wanted to note that he was swimming for a little bit earlier, although he is laying back down again. Here's crossing my fingers!
 
Unfortunately, he did not make it through the night. I found him not breathing on the bottom of the tank when I woke up this morning. I wish this wasn't the case.
My next question is, since I know how infrequently you guys get them in, when would it be possible for me to get a replacement? I know that there is one final one (of the original 3) in your aquaculture facility that hasn't gone up on the Diver's Den yet. Would it be possible for me to go ahead and claim him and have him sent to me on Monday?
My suggestion would be to ship this fish in an inappropriately large bag because of their higher sensitivity to water conditions and higher oxygen needs.
 
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None of my business, but for what it's worth, I have found this fish to be extremely sensitive to light shock. When I used to be in retail, (a long time ago) we used to acclimate these fish in near total darkness from the moment we opened the shipping box. I found even normal ambient room light could shock these fish, coupled with the normal shipping stress. I now acclimate any and all new fish I receive at home, especially Tangs, in near darkness. Also, you didn't mention but I assume you had plenty of hiding places in your QT? Achilles can be very shy when first introduced.

Sucks about your loss. I'm sure LA will take care of you.
 
nosferatu51,

We are sorry to hear about your loss of the Acanthurus achilles. Our Aquaculture Coral & Marine Life Facility is currently quarantining an Acanthurus achilles for you and we will contact you when it is ready to be shipped.

Again we sincerely apologize for the loss and look forward to serving you in the future.

Joyce F.
LiveAquaria
Drs. Foster & Smith
 
It is not your fault, I understand things happen sometimes. I wonder if perhaps the high heat outside (about 95F) here may have had something to do with it during shipping. If I could, I would like to request that perhaps the next one be be sent in a larger bag with some more water in an effort to minimize any potential sources of stress from this delicate fish. I appreciate your efforts and service while trying to help me overcome the problem though. Do you have a rough idea of when I should be able to expect the next one so I can be sure to have an adequate setup for him?

SPS- I appreciate the information. I now know doubly (on top of my research) the sensitivity of this fish unfortunately. I did not know that about the light shock, but he was unpackaged, acclimated, and in a QT tank that had little more light than what was coming through closed blinds and the actinics of the neighboring tank. In the QT tank there were 2 definite hiding places, 2 large PVC pipes (4" at one opening, elbowing into a 3" at the other end). Fortunately, I know LA's reputation quite well first hand (both specimen health and service).... it is the reason I ordered such a sensitive fish from them.
 
nosferatu51,

We have forwarded your request for a larger shipping bag with more water in order to minimize the stress, and we expect this fish to be ready to be shipped to you sometime next week.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns you may have regarding this shipment.

Joyce F.
LiveAquaria
Drs. Foster & Smith
 
I was wondering, would it be possible to hold this fish until next week? I will be gone this weekend and would like to be able to keep an eye on him for the couple of days after I receive him.
 
nosferatu51,

Thank you for contacting us regarding the Achilles Tang. We apologize for the loss of this wonderful fish. We will not ship the new one until we contact you to make sure you are ready to receive the fish. You are right it is best to be able to keep an eye on any new fish you add to your aquarium to ensure they adjust well. We hope you have a great weekend, and we will contact you as soon as the new specimen is ready.

Stacie R
Technical Support
Drs Foster and Smith
 
nosferatu51,

We checked with our Aquaculture Coral and Marine Life Facility on your Achilles Tang and they want to continue to quarantine this fish for 2 more weeks. This will help ensure the health of the specimen in preparation for shipment. Thank you for your patience, as we know you want this wonderful specimen as soon as it’s ready. If you have any further questions please feel free to contact us at 1-800-334-3699.

Stacie R.
Technical Support
Drs Foster and Smith
 
That's fine. Of course, that does make me question whether he has become sick or unhealthy given that he was originally estimated to be ready last week.
 
nosferatu51,

We understand your concerns and wish to assure you we are very careful to ship specimens only when we are confident they have successfully completed their time in quarantine. The amount of time this can take varies for each fish. We have determined this Achilles Tang would benefit from a longer time here with us before shipping out to you.

We sincerely appreciate your patience and understanding.

Donna
Supervisors LiveAquaria
Drs. Foster & Smith
 
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