achilles tang

[mr.tangman]

I'm going to attempt an achilles tang and I know that they are tuff to keep I heard that it was best to keep them with a yellow tang is this true? And also are they very prone to parasites?

 

[Goofyjas]

i have always heard this fish was hard to keep then I bought one, the fish eats out of my hand looks great eats anything and everything I put in the tank. Never heard the yellow tang deal but this fish isnt as hard as people say.. least the one I have.

 

[The steven liu]

I have never heard of the yellow tang thing either, I am not very sure because if anything the tangs will beat each other up. I sure hope you are putting the achillis in the 125 not the 29. These guys are tough to keep because they are picky. Hope you have tons of algae on tons of rocks for it to graze until it learns to take frozen or artificial food. Personally, Formula two plus fresh garlic has always get the job done in both my own tank and at the store I work at.

 

[Kahuna Tuna]

These fish are one of the harder tangs to keep and they generally do better as the only tang in the tank as they will stress if they have to do battle with other fish. Stress is a major factor in the demise of captive achilles, they will also do better if they are the alpha fish in the system. A tang like a yellow that is a different color and shape is better than some tangs like a powder blue or other species that share the achilles shape but having the achilles as the only tang in the systen is best bet. They like a big tank, excellent water quality, and lots of water flow. I have kept this fish twice, both times for over two years. The first died when I had to tear down and move the tank, the second was eventually killed by my asfur angel who would kill any aggressive tangs but interestingly enough left other mellow tangs completely alone.

 

[Jeremy Blaze]

Achillies tangs are very difficult to keep. Not many last over a year in home aquaria.

I have one going on 2 years now.

I feel the keys to them are,

1. Lots of swimming space. 180 gallon minimum, with plenty of open space.

2. Lots of water movement.

3. High O2 levels in tank

4. Dissimiler tank mates. Avoid other Tangs in the same family, such as mimics, orange shoulders, etc.. Avoid large dark colored fish.

 

[mr.tangman]

thanks

thanks

Thanks for all of your input on this subject the thing that i have heard about the achilles with a yellow tang is that the yellow tang eats so much algae that it doesn's digest most of it and when it poops the achilles eats the poop because it has so much protein in it. Another thing is that I do have other tangs in my 125 (orange shoulder, 2 baby yellow bellied regal blues, and a juvenille chevron) and I have heard many success stories on keeping them with other tangs what's the story?

 

[Kahuna Tuna]

I have heard many success stories on keeping them with other tangs what's the story?

It's not that achilles can't be kept with other tangs but this is a fairly hard to keep species and they tend to do best as the only tang and/or alpha fish in the system. With all the tangs in your 120 the chances of keeping an achilles long term is about zero IMHO. You already have three tangs that will outgrow the 120 as it is and adding a high maintenence fish like an achilles is a mistake. Read Jeremy's post again, he nailed it as far as achilles go IMO.

 

[nickiwit]

I have heard about the yellow tang thing. I don't know if there is any truth to it.

I have had pretty good success with achilles in the past. I also kept them with a yellow tang although I don't think that really made a difference. My achilles were aggressive. I wouldn't put it with your more peaceful tangs.

 

[hdtvguy]

I have one with multiple tangs including Yellows, powder blue, clown tang just to name a few. Mine is not very aggressive but hold is own with the other tangs. They are very active swimmers they need a 6-8' tank lots of flow in the tank high O2 levels. Mine is constantly grazing the tank more so then some of my other tangs. They are another tang that does not ship well so finding a good specimen sometimes is difficult.

 

[mr.tangman]

thanks

thanks

Thanks a lot everyone for your input!!!

 

[AcroSteve]

I have a purple tang and a hippo tang already in my 180 and am considering adding a centerpiece fish of some sort. The achilles is on the short list. Any advice other than "probably not" due to the purple tang?

If I did try it, I would the achilles need to be larger than either of the other two tangs?

Any special QT considerations for the achilles? Minimum tank size?

 

[Kahuna Tuna]

There is a good chance the purple will give any new tang hell. If I were to try an achilles I would get a larger one and skip the QT altogether. There are some fish that just dont do well in QT and IMO the achilles is one of them.

 

[AcroSteve]

I hear what you are saying. My qt tank is about 60gal. 36x18x24.

I am kind of leaning towrds several Anthias instead of a large tang.