This beauty known as the Achilles tang (Acanthurus Achilles) pops up in the trade from time to time. Dark chocolate colors its entire body while a single orange teardrop is present on its spine. Its tail is a mix of chocolate, white and orange bands. It goes by other names that include the red-tail surgeonfish and the achilles surgeonfish.
Hailing from Hawaii and its surrounding waters, the achilles tang is highly prized in the hobby. Getting your hands on a specimen may prove to be difficult as they’re usually sold out as soon as they are for sale.
Not a cheap tang, small specimens go for $100 or slightly more while adults can fetch up $300. Extra large show quality specimens can fetch even more, $400 and above.
Sadly, the achilles tang does not fare too well in captivity. Unlike some other species like the blue tang (paracanthurus hepatus) or the yellow tang (zebrasoma flavescens), they seem to be a bit more delicate. But that’s only part of the story, these tangs don’t seem to feed prepared foods.
Like its brethren they are also prone to lateral line erosion, hole in the head disease and marine parasites.
Achilles tangs have been known to interbreed with goldrim tangs (acanthurus nigricans) in the wild. They’re offspring are highly prized and cost quite a bit on the market.
An aggressive species, they’ve been known to harass other large tank mates. They usually leave smaller fishes like clownfish, damsels and gobies alone. They do not take too kindly to sharing tank space with other tangs and are relentlessly hostile towards other achilles tangs. As always, if you insist on keeping multiple tangs always introduce them at the same time and make sure your aquarium is large enough for them.
In the wild they can reach lengths of up to 9 inches, which means a maximum length of 7 inches or so in captivity. The minimum size tank for them should be a 100 gallons. They need a lot of space to swim so the bigger the better.
Getting these fishes to eat in captivity is challenging to say the least. Nevertheless, we should try our best.
They are reef safe, making them great choices for large reef aquariums. They are algae eaters in the wild so ensure a large part of their diet in captivity has enough algae.
While they’re herbivores in the wild, they will consume a wide variety of foods in captivity. They will eat brine shrimp, mysis shrimp, krill and whatever else you offer.
We should ensure that a large part of their diet is algae based, since they eat so much of it in the wild.
Algae sheets like nori are a great algae to feed all herbivorous fish.Depending on the brand, prices vary greatly. Julian Sprungs Sea Veggies may be a little too pricey for some. Good quality stuff though. They come in flake form too, making feedings very convenient.
Thankfully there are many other brands that produce nori primarily for human consumption. High quality sheets can cost quite a bit while the regular stuff is very affordable.
You’ll need to secure the nori to a clip. You can buy a commercial type of fashion one up yourself. The sheets are fed as is or they’re folded and cut beforehand. Secure the nori to your algae clip and attach it to the side of the aquarium.
Formula Two is a good quality algae based mix for herbivores. It has an extra amount of algae in it along with a good mix of seafood, trace minerals, vitamins and more. Available in three forms, pellet, flake or frozen cube.
While Formula Two is a good flake, it surpassed by Sea Veggie mixed flakes by Two Little Fishies. It you’re looking a great all rounder with balanced ingredients then you can’t go wrong with New Life Spectrum pellets.
Lettuce, romaine or iceberg varieties should never be fed to your tangs. You’ll normally see this happening at pet stores that are trying to save a few bucks. Nutritionally, lettuce offers very little and should not have a place in this hobby.