I just lost my achilles to ick this week. I tried to keep him in the display as long as I could but it finally got so bad that I had to move him to a QT. He died the next day. Mine was eating great but he could not beat the ick.
I still love the achilles but I think this may be my last attempt for owning one unless I have a FO tank where I can add some copper. I currently have 2 stingrays in my display so I can not add any copper.
For anyone interested - I never had ick in my display before adding the achilles. In addition, I am running a 57 watt and 40 Aqua 24/7 in my display. The 57 watt has been running since I set-up the tank and the 40 was on standby and has been running since I got the achilles. Both UV's have new bulbs and the quartz sleeve is cleaned weekly.
I have since removed all of my fish from my display except a six line and 2 chromas (cant catch them and they are not showing any signs of ick) and moved them to a QT with Cupramine to make sure they do not have any ick.
I also have 3 cleaner shrimp. The achilles was not that bright! He would go to the shrimp to be cleaned, but he would not stay still long enough for them to work.
I then purchased a nice cleaner wrase. As soon as I dropped it in, the achilles chased it and the cleaner started swimming all around him. However, my six line also went crazy and would not let the fish clean for any length of time. Last time I saw the wrasse, the six line chased it into the rocks - never saw it again!
While I am in no way an expert on anything to do with aquariums, I highly suggest trying the cleaner wrasse when you have an achilles that can beat ick. It was amazing to see how the achilles and the cleaner wrasse instantly reacted.
All I can say is that this has been an experience and triggers are a lot easier to keep!
Vince