Achilles Tangs

[ClownNut]

as inverts don't carry itch parasite,only risk lies in the water they were packed in from source/whole-sellers.....a good and trusted LFS should have counter measures against that....
coral should be QT-ed anyway....even someone like Peter(nineball http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2096730&page=24) having trouble of flat-warms and going to loose most acros....he is now making full-scale coral QT(earlier he used dip only)...

i would love to hear what the counter measures is/are? yes the water is the part that carry the parasite, which snails can hold small amount inside them.

I QT EVERYTHING, including chaetomorpha. Any experienced aquarists would QT everything, so yes, we don't have ich in our tanks.

any pic of your QT system? love to see how the experienced aquarists QT, so rest of us can learn. i am mostly interested how do you keep your snails fed for that 4 weeks.

 

[auem]

i would love to hear what the counter measures is/are? yes the water is the part that carry the parasite, which snails can hold small amount inside them.


any pic of your QT system? love to see how the experienced aquarists QT, so rest of us can learn. i am mostly interested how do you keep your snails fed for that 4 weeks.

itch parasite won't survive without fish to host..a month quarantine of the inverts is enough to kill off any which rode the water(outside or 'inside'...even if your snail decides to sit tight with it's mouth closed for one month...:fun4:.)

 

[ClownNut]

itch parasite won't survive without fish to host..a month quarantine of the inverts is enough to kill off any which rode the water(outside or 'inside'...even if your snail decides to sit tight with it's mouth closed for one month...:fun4:.)

i know, are you saying your LFS hold the snails for a month before they sell?

 

[auem]

i know, are you saying your LFS hold the snails for a month before they sell?

you asked what the counter measure can be in such case.....
LFS get their invert from whole-sellers,who in turn get it from source...as long as maintained in their own system,risk of carrying ich parasites get eliminated perhaps even before it reaches at LFS in the chain of 'holders'.......

such risk exist for taking a invert from aquarium having the parasite...a good LFS won't sell one's discarded inverts to another one without taking precaution(my point in question)...purpose of your own QT is to eliminate even that risk...

the main point remain same:ich can be eliminated from entering in DT.....

i admit the fact that for every hobbyist it is not possible to QT everything...
but not QT'ing even fishes has no excuse.....

 

[ClownNut]

you asked what the counter measure can be in such case.....
LFS get their invert from whole-sellers,who in turn get it from source...as long as maintained in their own system,risk of carrying ich parasites get eliminated perhaps even before it reaches at LFS in the chain of 'holders'.......

such risk exist for taking a invert from aquarium having the parasite...a good LFS won't sell one's discarded inverts to another one without taking precaution(my point in question)...purpose of your own QT is to eliminate even that risk...

the main point remain same:ich can be eliminated from entering in DT.....

i admit the fact that for every hobbyist it is not possible to QT everything...
but not QT'ing even fishes has no excuse.....

as far as i know, most the snails from collection to LFS at max about 1 week some as soon as 24 hrs. i dont see how any LFS will hold any invert for 1 month before selling. even your own QT, how are you suggest to keep snails alive for 1 month without issue? i cant seem find a way to feed them. also, if you cant QT everything, you are risking to have ich enter your system anyway, doing all the extra to find out you still end up with ich in the system. i am not saying you should. as for my person exp. i have no luck keeping ich out. if you find a way to keep snails alive in QT for 1 month, i would love to hear it. so for myself i QT fish, they enter display, it will get ich anyway, so for achilles, i found myself if i put it in display right away i have much better luck with it getting ich and fighting it off.

 

[hybrid]

i have lost 4 achilles in the past through quarantining the one i have now i bought it from a fellow reefer breaking down he had it in a 76 bow with ich for 3 years i was going to quarantine him but he strongly advised me not to and just add him straight to my display i struggled to make the right decision but since i already had lost 4 in quarantine i went for it it's been 7 months he will show ich on occasions but nothing major eats like a champ & is extremely aggressive not quarantining ain't something i would recommend as i still quarantine for other purposes but some fish you might have to rethink strategies

 

[geaux xman]

Adding a non-QT achilles is just playing with fire. I've seen 3 local guys wiping out nearly their entire livestock from doing so.

There's an occasional few that will get away with it. Your tank, your fish, your call.

Its important to start off with a good specimen, an achilles that is eating well. If you receive an achilles thats
already refused food for several days at the LFS or dealer, then you might be doomed from the get-go.

DD will make sure to send you a well eating achilles. If it dies within 14 days, they will guarantee it. So its of their best interest
to send you a quality specimen.

 

[MrTuskfish]

Adding a non-QT achilles is just playing with fire. I've seen 3 local guys wiping out nearly their entire livestock from doing so.

There's an occasional few that will get away with it. Your tank, your fish, your call.

Its important to start off with a good specimen, an achilles that is eating well. If you receive an achilles thats
already refused food for several days at the LFS or dealer, then you might be doomed from the get-go.

DD will make sure to send you a well eating achilles. If it dies within 14 days, they will guarantee it. So its of their best interest
to send you a quality specimen.

+1 One thing always gets lost in any QT discussion: fish are simply better off in a QT upon arrival. they don't care if they have little fishie friends or if the LR is really PVC. No food competitors, mayhem, kid's fingers,bullies, etc. A proper QT, with a good filter ( plenty of aerobic bacteria), etc.

I would QT all new fish even if ich didn't exist; its simply a better way for a new fish to acclimate from ocean to captivity. IMO, of course.

 

[jhaimes]

As always, good stuff MrTuskfish...I am just getting back into the hobby so this comes from a "new guy" per say. QT is by far the best thing to do and if you want a healthy DT then it just needs to be done. I totally agree with the QT, although it can be scary how to do it correctly. You do make a great case of it really calms down the fish when you first get them. The thing i dont get is we are pounded with x fish needs y tank or it will stress and die or what have you, but 99% of the QT tanks are 30 or less, maybe 40. That is what scares me, I am setting up a 55 for my QT and putting a tang or a fish that requires a large DT in my QT for 6 weeks worries me. I hope I am not confusing but just wanted to express my reservations with it...Dont get me wrong, I think the QT is the smartest thing to do but i worry about stressing an already stressed fishy. I just hope my 55 is large enough for my QT. Now to just make sure once I put x fish in that I know what I am looking for and am dosing properly for that issue. To me the QT is much more stressful on me than once they are in the DT. Just my observations from a new guy!

 

[sanchoy]

I had my Achilles tang since it was 2 inches. Now after 3 years I would say it was a success. Things that worked for me may not work for you. Every specimen and system is different.

I tried buying a larger AT 2x before. One was 5 inches the other was almost 8 inches. So size does not really matter. The question is to QT or not and what is the best route and conditions.

- the key is to get your AT started on a healthy diet, preferably Nls pellets. Both of my larger tangs died due to not eating and succumbing to Ick. If you can obtain a specimen that already accepts pellets the battle is more then likely won. Stress and Ick along with poor nutrition= death.

- my small AT for the record went straight to the DT. I had high flow and a lot of hiding places. Smaller AT in my experience accepted pellets more then grown specimens. Other fish and tangs probably encouraged the AT to accept pellets through observation of others. A specimen that shows no Ick in QT can easily get Ick once stressed in the DT. The key is the specimen accepting proper nutrition to stay alive.