Achilles Tang Primer

[Lightsluvr]

My 4"-5" Achilles went in the display tank yesterday. When the lights came on several hours later, he immediately began picking at algae on side wall of tank. He was harrassed by a previously submissive yellow tang and sustained a small scratch on his right side. I fed nori to the tangs this morning, and even though he is now the smallest tang in the community, he was right in the midst of the feeding frenzy. He appears to have gotten past the Yellow Tang's issue.

He seems to have been adopted by my large male Blond Naso, who seems to run interference for the smaller Achilles.

 

[Osteopth]

My Achilles has been here for 5 days. Transferred twice between tanks. Settling in well. Picking and eating small amounts. Doesn't look stressed at all. Pics next.

 

[Osteopth]

Pics


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[reefsafe]

my guy didnt want to eat for the first day or two but he is chowing spirulina brine shrimp

 

[Editour2]

Diatom Filter

Diatom Filter

Taken from the Vortex diatom filter website....

"The Diatom Filter will filter out particles and parasitic life forms down to about one micron in size. We are not particularly after the bacteria. We are after the fish killing parasitic protozoan life forms such Ishthyophtririus Multifiliis (Ich), Chilondonella, Myzobulus Sporozoan, Octonitiasis and other Flagellates, Sporozoa, Leaches, Etc.
It is almost impossible to get rid of all the parasites in an aquarium, but with the proper filtration we can keep the population of parasites low enough so they do not harm healthy fish. Medication sometimes helps, but I am a firm believer that more fish are killed by over treatment with medication than any other cause. Proper filtration is the key.
Oxygen molecules are on the order of 4 Angstroms is size and are unfilterable in the general sense of the word. The Diatom will not filter out the oxygen, in fact it actually reduces carbon dioxide levels in the aquarium because of the speed of the impeller (3,000 R.P.M.). Dissolved gases are liberated and allowed to escape at an accelerated rate."

Some people love them, some people don't believe in them, I wouldn't go without one.

Here is the one I use...

http://www.diatomfilter.com/products/diatom_xl_filter.htm

Do you run this filter continuously or just when you need it? If continuously then how often do you change the media?

 

[offshored]

Thinking of getting an Achilles Tang in the next few months.

Plan on putting it in a 20 gallon long QT tank. With some live rock, PVD, fake plants, HOB filter w/ bio wheels and a powerhead.

Curious if I got a 3-4 Achilles, would it be ok for 4 week in a 20 long. Will have 2 Blue/Green Chromis in the QT as well. Thinking they would show the Achilles when to eat.

After I will move it into our 240 gallon DT (8x2x2).

Curious of any other advice on keeping the Achilles.

Which option of purchasing an Achilles would be better for the fish/me:

1. Get one directly from Hawaii, sent from the diver direct to the airport. I would then pick it up as soon as it lands and take it to QT. Would be shipping in 5 gallons of water, after being held for one week.

2. Get one from LiveAq. and have it overnighted to me.

Thanks

 

[ryanrid]

I QT's my 2-3" one for 17 weeks in a 24x24x14 no problem

 

[piusma]

The key would be how your AT adjust to the new environment and if it will continue to eat in your QT. If it would eat, worst case scenerio is that ich would break out but you can always treat that in your QT. With that said a 20 gallon long is not too small for a short term solution.
Steven

 

[RBU1]

Here is an interesting tidbit of information. I have been in the hobby for 8 years. Started with a 75 gallon tank then went to a 300 gallon tank to a 93 gallon cube to now a 144 Oceanic Half Circle. When I had my 300 I was following a QT routine and was still having issues with fish getting diseases and dieing. Now I am not saying anyone should take my advice you should all do what works for you. My recent expierience has been positive and I am sticking with it. OK here is the story.....

I sold my entire 300 gallon setup fish and all because I was fed up with fish disease and losing fish even after I was taking the time to try and QT everything. I had a small 20-30 gallon tank setup for the kids with a couple clowns, engineer goby and a hippo tang that when purchased was the size of a quarter. When I got rid of the 300 I picked up a 93 gallon cube and transferred over everything from my kids tank to it. After a few months of the tank running I was at my local store and saw a real cool small 2-3 inch achilles tang. My son loved it and I knew he would shortly outgrow the 93 gallon cube, but I dropped the $200.00 and gave it a shot. Got home acclimated the Achilles and put him in the 93 cube. He started eating the same day and has never had any issues at all. About 2 weeks ago I upgraded from the 93 cube to a 144 half circle and the Achilles is still doing great. In my opinion......... A UV Sterilizer is an excellent item to add to your tank. Now Im not saying its a guarentee but I think a properly sized UV will help with parasites. Im going on about 3 months with this achilles and he is in perfect health and eats like a pig.....
In my opinion QT is overated if you are getting healthy fish.

 

[offshored]

Thanks guys

What do you think about where to purchase one from?

Better from a diver who sells to wholesalers, who would send to the airport for me to pickup.

Or going through a bigger online store like LA and having it overnighted by FedEX/UPS?

I don't want to get one from a LFS, since they offer no more than a 1 day warranty. Both LA and the diver offer 14 days.

Also, would having some Chromis in QT help the AT start eating and calm down?

 

[RBU1]

Divers Den......If you not comfortable with picking a good one at a local store.

 

[geaux xman]

i would skip the chromis, since its just another fish that might be carrying a parasite to pass around.

go with Divers Den. sign up for their email sneak peek and they'll send you an email each week day around 1pm on what fish might be available around 5pm. if you see an achilles, be ready to buy it b/c it wont last long. its about 2x/week that they'll put an achilles up.

DD fish are always high quality specimens and are eating well. my 4.25" came white spot free and ate flakes, pellets, nori, and frozens right out of the bag. i have it in copper for 2 weeks now with no signs of ich.

 

[offshored]

Thanks guys, I bought my Skeletor Moray from DD... was pretty impressed

 

[Editour2]

A UV Sterilizer is an excellent item to add to your tank. Now Im not saying its a guarentee but I think a properly sized UV will help with parasites. Im going on about 3 months with this achilles and he is in perfect health and eats like a pig.....
In my opinion QT is overated if you are getting healthy fish.

I agree to an extent....I can't see how adding a UV would hurt a tank, (although I don't currently have one on my 215). I also agree that if the fish is perfectly healty then you don't need to QT. What I disagree with is......how do you know beyond a doubt that the fish is healty without QT? The fish may appear healthy and eating and then 1 or 2 days later show signs of ill health. Why take a chance and risk infecting ALL of your other fish? I mean I have approximately 25 fish that are all happy and thriving do I want to risk that? I must admit that at times after suffering a loss in a QT environment that I have questioned if the fish would have died had I thrown it directly into the DT. Certain fish I QT for shorter lengths than others but in my opinion I am uncomfortable risking ALL of my fish on a short evaluation of a fish at a LFS or after receiving a shipment. Just my opinion.

 

[geaux xman]

i know 3 local guys that got almost their entire livestock wiped out after adding a non-QT achilles. way too risky...

 

[RBU1]

Like I said QT is overated.....Get a large UV and keep your water quality good. QT is not worth it. I've been thru it and it almost caused me to leave the hobby. Start a thread asking how many people went thru QT only to still have a parasite get in their main tank anyway. Get a healthy fish and don't worry about it. Enjoy the hobby and forget about the stress..........

 

[Osteopth]

I lost most of my tank to ich before. My AT is now finishing the transfer method. Five transfers between a 29 gallon tank and a 20 gallon storage bin. He's doing great! Eating, active and not a spot of ich seen. He'll be in QT for a while, but I can't believe how easy and apparantly effective this was. I'll let you know if anything changes, but I'll be talking about the bucket/transfer method forever if this works.

 

[ironwill723]

Dilution is the solution with this fish in my opinion. You need to run either ozone, uv, or a diatom filter to keep water quality and parasites at acceptable levels in your system. I have kept 3 Achilles tangs in my last 20+ years in the hobby and ozone is in my experience the most effective. I would never QT this fish. ymmv. good luck.

 

[LargeAngels]

To say that QT is not worth it is irresponsible, IMO. Let's just tell everyone to throw all their fish right from LFS bag right into their tanks and not worry about stress or disease.

I will always QT.

 

[RBU1]

Yup. Thats it. Pick a healthy eating fish and put them right in.