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Amongst the more popular Tangs, the Achilles historically rate low
on the scale of captive survival; though decidedly higher than the
Powder Blue (Acanthurus leucosternon) and Powder Brown (A. nigricans,
nee glaucopareius). Most losses can be avoided by following the simple
suggestions offered here: Secure an initially healthy specimen; place it
in an established system of size, provide adequate circulation and
filtration, algal foods, and avoid dangerous medicine exposure.
Let’s elaborate on these tenets and more here.
Zoogeography:
Acanthurus. achilles Shaw
1803, Achilles tang. Widely distributed from Hawaii westward through
Micronesia and Melanesia, an area called Oceania (also
reported from Mexico's Baja tip). Achilles tangs are encountered on
shallow reef slopes in areas of high turbulence, usually feeding
solitarily on algae, though may "pair up" as juveniles and occasionally
are found in larger shoal associations.
Selection:
The picking out of specimens is a critical area with this species. MANY
individuals are doomed... from incipient damage from collection, the
vagaries of handling, transport... and outright stress. One very
surprising quality of this species is its "soft-bodied-ness"... Once
you've physically handled one, you'll agree that this fish is "soft" to
the touch... much more so than other Acanthurids... this trait works to
their disadvantage in being caught in the wild. Almost all Achilles are
collected with the use of "fence nets"... lengths of two dimensional
netting that are held up with small floats and down on the bottom with
weighting... fishes are driven off a prospective collecting area, where
they will return to in short order... and driven into these transparent
walls... and subsequently hand-netted and placed via the hand nets into
collecting buckets for holding and decompression... being pulled to the
surface slowly. The process of hand-netting and transfer is a crucial
time for Achilles... as they are often "pinched" in the net, and/or the
hand of the collector in transfer... The other general means of
collecting, especially larger (make that "too-large") specimens is to
"pick them up" at night while they are lying down "sleeping" on the
bottom. This is accomplished with hand netting and hands again... All
this touching wreaks havoc with this fish's slime coating, soft skin and
body musculature... VERY often seen as discoloring to damage on their
flanks... Sometimes you can even make out the fingers on one side, the
thumb print on the other of a fish! This bit of observation is proffered
to bring home the point that you want to:
1) Look for less to
least damaged specimens; ones with little to no markings on them. 2) Select a specimen
of appropriate size... something twixt 3.5 to 4.5 inches overall
length... Smaller specimens die easily and larger ones (usually caught
at night) get beat too much and rarely adapt to captive conditions. 3) Don't buy it too
early, nor too late. Recently arrived specimens should be left at your
dealers for a few days to assure they will survive (most are lost the
first day or two), and to assess how much damage it has encountered...
Most markings will show in a day... and show improvement or worsening in
a day or two following... Specimens that have been at shops that utilize
copper prophylactically (MANY do) are often the cause of this and some
other fish groups ultimate demise... though chronic poisoning and loss
of needed intestinal microbial fauna. So... look for an Achilles that
has been on hand for a few days, but no more than two weeks. 4) Some incidental
damage is to be expected... and light bruising, some torn fin membranes
are not a big deal, and will very likely heal in a matter of days to
weeks. One type of injury though excludes purchase, and this is damage
to the mouth. Such apparent rubbing almost always results in the loss of
the specimen from not-feeding. 5) Look for the
quality of "brightness"... that the specimen is out and about, picking
at potential foods, AND is cognizant of its tankmates and your presence.
Spaced-out individuals should be avoided. 6) To
prophylactically dip/bath the specimen at the very least... If you can't
be persuaded to quarantine it for a few weeks to allow it to rest up,
adapt to captivity, and to grant you time to observe if it is hosting a
hyper-infective state of Crypt and/or Velvet.
Systems:
As alluded to above, this fish needs high, consistent dissolved oxygen
and current to swim against; as well as low accumulated nutrient
presence ((5-10 NO3 ppm maximum). Take a look at the species video and
still images on the Net. It’s mostly found near drop offs and reef
slopes; areas of high water movement.
Compatibility:
Achilles Tangs are best kept not only one to a tank, but as the only
Tang (or Rabbitfish) to a system. Nor do they appreciate competing algae
eaters, like some Damsels and Blennies that will graze their turf.
Foods/Feeding:
Acanthurus achilles is an algal grazer par excellence, spending all
daylight hours searching and scraping palatable micro to smaller macro
green and red algae from hard substrates. Do provide these daily along
with a completely nutritious pelleted food of small size.
Cloze:
Like its namesake, this Achilles has much going for it... Bold beauty,
continuous swimming behavior, a live and let live attitude and one in
which it can hold its own... What it lacks is toughness in its
collection and subsequent handling, a need for large, well-established
quarters, and care in picking out an initially healthy specimen, and
quarantining/resting it and some medium attention in its feeding... Are
you willing to provide these? If not, you're well-advised to look to
other members of this genus, more suitable Acanthurids period.
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