Achilles Tang!!!

I lost an Achilles and learned from my mistakes. First look at its stomach is it pitched in and can u see it spine. If not u have have strong chance of getting it to eat. Add a power head if you haven't already they love flow and being in a 40g breeder is boring to them. I used a 40g breed with a large black 4" PVC T to hide and a seio power head, weekly water changes because they will stop eating when water isn't pristine.

To get it to eat I always use nori wrapped with a rubber band to a large rock or PVC pipe. If that doesn't work use blood worms, they love it especially with the power head on it makes them look alive. A few at a time until it starts to eat. Achilles are shy until they feel comfortable so adding an active eater like a chromis or anthias will make them feel more at home. Achilles love to swim more than any fish I've ever seen and will do laps around a 40g if there isn't enough flow, it can be misinterpret as them not being shy or scared of their new environment. Try watching from a distance when u feed or covering the tank and see if it eats. I've have a 5" Achilles for 9 months it's healthy and loves swimming in front of my MP40w then turning to get carried by the flow. Achilles are great fish and once settled show a lot of personality I've wittiness them change the color of their eyes when happy (normally when I introduce food) and change their bodie color when their mad or chasing another tang.
 
Akrite said:
I lost an Achilles and learned from my mistakes. First look at its stomach is it pitched in and can u see it spine. If not u have have strong chance of getting it to eat. Add a power head if you haven't already they love flow and being in a 40g breeder is boring to them. I used a 40g breed with a large black 4" PVC T to hide and a seio power head, weekly water changes because they will stop eating when water isn't pristine.

To get it to eat I always use nori wrapped with a rubber band to a large rock or PVC pipe. If that doesn't work use blood worms, they love it especially with the power head on it makes them look alive. A few at a time until it starts to eat. Achilles are shy until they feel comfortable so adding an active eater like a chromis or anthias will make them feel more at home. Achilles love to swim more than any fish I've ever seen and will do laps around a 40g if there isn't enough flow, it can be misinterpret as them not being shy or scared of their new environment. Try watching from a distance when u feed or covering the tank and see if it eats. I've have a 5" Achilles for 9 months it's healthy and loves swimming in front of my MP40w then turning to get carried by the flow. Achilles are great fish and once settled show a lot of personality I've wittiness them change the color of their eyes when happy (normally when I introduce food) and change their bodie color when their mad or chasing another tang.
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ok, i have a good amount of rock in the tank for it to pick on(and it is) i have a power head for it to surf in there, i have been doing religous w/c's, do you suggest small fish? or putting in another tang? ive been eyeing out this really nice blonde naso for awhile at the LFS and been thinking of putting it in with my achilles. Or should i just stick to damsels? Chromis? Clowns?
thanks,
tyler
 
are you mixing them up ?

Iva had mine for about 1 year now, and still to this day, if I mix up too many "chemicals" on his food, he refused to eat ! specially mix of garlic and Entice ... might be me or my anchilles but Id try it separately first. how entice works, is that you put a couple drops in the food, and just before feeding, you put couple of drops int he tank, this makes fish go crazy and basically triggers a feeding frenzy... and then you drop the food in and ...

as others said, they dont like ppl at first neither ! I had to step away from the tank for him to even look at food. but now he eats from my hand,
 
Allmost said:
are you mixing them up ?

Iva had mine for about 1 year now, and still to this day, if I mix up too many "chemicals" on his food, he refused to eat ! specially mix of garlic and Entice ... might be me or my anchilles but Id try it separately first. how entice works, is that you put a couple drops in the food, and just before feeding, you put couple of drops int he tank, this makes fish go crazy and basically triggers a feeding frenzy... and then you drop the food in and ...

as others said, they dont like ppl at first neither ! I had to step away from the tank for him to even look at food. but now he eats from my hand,
Click to expand...

I am mixing them, right now i have the garlic and selcon mixed together not the entice, ill try the entice seperate.
 
I have personally kept two Achilles tangs successfully and have quarantined four others for members of my club. I've not found them to be finicky eaters once acclimated. I have found, however, that they will be happier in a tank with a lot of flow. Even a QT tank.

IME, all fish LOVE blackworms. I've never had a fish that wouldn't eat them. This has been my key to successful acclimation. I have an Achilles in QT now and it eats blackworms more voraciously than any other food. I have also taken thawed PE mysis shrimp and firmly pressed them into a piece of live rock. This plays into the fishes' instinct to forage and helps ween non-planktonic feeders onto taking bits of food from the water column.
 
Wrench said:
I have personally kept two Achilles tangs successfully and have quarantined four others for members of my club. I've not found them to be finicky eaters once acclimated. I have found, however, that they will be happier in a tank with a lot of flow. Even a QT tank.

IME, all fish LOVE blackworms. I've never had a fish that wouldn't eat them. This has been my key to successful acclimation. I have an Achilles in QT now and it eats blackworms more voraciously than any other food. I have also taken thawed PE mysis shrimp and firmly pressed them into a piece of live rock. This plays into the fishes' instinct to forage and helps ween non-planktonic feeders onto taking bits of food from the water column.
Click to expand...

well mine seem not to want the live blackworms, Im using PE mysis and ill give that rock trick a try.
 
My achilles hybrid would not eat until I tried Roggers food. The green stuff with the strong garlic smell. I put a chunk of it in the feeding clip they sell and it instantly started to devour it. It does not like to chase food through the water column and I think the clip is the reason for success.
 
goodluck with the achilies eveyone i know seems to have no luck at kepin 1 although a good friend of mines is gettin 1 from a reefer who is breakin down after haveing 1 for almost 2 years.
 
In order to get my Achilles to eat, I just kept feeding a variety of foods: Nori, Formula One flake, frozen Mysis, NLS pellets, and fresh clam on the half shell.
He was quarantined in a 40 gallon with some live rock. He was in there for about 5 weeks. He now eats like a pig and I've had him for about one year now. I believe the Nori and fresh clam really made him start to eat.
 
Who was the supplier? Some places do a very bad job of acclimating the fish. Once it gets in your hands its a loss cause.

With that much food flying around, If it starves more then likely it will die. Good luck.
 
If your adding another fish I say go small with a Chromis or Anthias. If you want a Blonde Nasol I say give it a try but you might be creating anther problem. I say that because if your feeding meaty foods which you should only just to put size on the fish, a small aggressive eating fish will not only eat everything it can but entice the Achilles to eat out of curiosity. Blonde Nasol might not eat meaty foods at first, only nori and your Achilles could go for too long without eating. If you want to be safe do both.

I QT an Achilles, Blonde Nasol, Blue Tang an 4 lyretail anthias in a 40G breeder at once with almost no problems. I would have preferred not to do them all at once but I did. Watch your ammonia levels while in QT along with weekly or bi-weekly WC and good flow and you should be fine. Also give your fish some privacy while feeding a little at a time. Good Luck!
 
Thanks for all of the help guys...it is really appreciated!!! the achilles is now eating nori on a clip and some that are rubber banded to live rubble pieces, also it finally started eatin my food combo of mysis, brine, rods food(herb),& blood worms that are mixed together with selcon and garlic. it even has showed some interest in the formula 1 & 2 flakes! At this point in time I have not put in any more fish with it, it is getting some little cases of ick that come and go. Im still debating whether or not to get that blonde naso, i am very interested since its a good size, has nice color and is showing signs of streaming off of the tail! Again thank you for all of your help guys! I update this thread every once awhile and let you know how its doing, it will be 2 weeks monday since its been with me.
 
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