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The Achilles Tang (Acanthurus achilles), also known as the Achilles Surgeonfish, is one of the most striking and elite marine fish available, featuring a jet-black-to-deep-charcoal body highlighted by a brilliant neon orange teardrop patch near its tail fin. This legendary coloration is beautifully accented by matching orange highlights on its dorsal and anal fins, blue and white borders along its gill covers, and a stark white tail fin base. Highly coveted by experienced aquarists as an ultimate centerpiece, it is an exceptionally sensitive fish that demands specialized high-flow environments and pristine water quality.
Tank Requirements
Minimum Tank Size: 180 gallons or larger; as a powerful, hyper-active swimmer, it requires a long tank footprint to accommodate its explosive speed and prevent severe psychological stress.
Aquarium Decor: Massive live rock structures arranged with open center lanes and wide arches. It absolutely demands extreme water flow generated by heavy-duty wavemakers to replicate its natural surge-zone habitat, which also maintains critical saturation of dissolved oxygen.
Temperature: 72°F – 78°F (22°C – 26°C).
Salinity (Specific Gravity): 1.020 – 1.025.
pH Range: 8.1 – 8.4.
Care and Feeding
Diet: Herbivore; possesses an incredibly high metabolism and must graze continuously. Provide heavy daily portions of dried marine algae sheets (nori), spirulina-enriched flakes, and premium herbivore pellets, alongside supplementary feedings of frozen mysis shrimp to protect its thick body mass.
Reef Safe Rating: Reef safe; it is completely peaceful and harmless toward small polyp stony (SPS) corals, large polyp stony (LPS) corals, soft corals, and mobile invertebrates.
Temperament: Aggressive; while peaceful toward unrelated community fish, it is highly aggressive toward other tangs, especially those from the Acanthurus genus or any fish sharing a similar silhouette. It is exceptionally prone to marine ich and velvet, making strict quarantine mandatory.
The Achilles Tang (Acanthurus achilles), also known as the Achilles Surgeonfish, is one of the most striking and elite marine fish available, featuring a jet-black-to-deep-charcoal body highlighted by a brilliant neon orange teardrop patch near its tail fin. This legendary coloration is beautifully accented by matching orange highlights on its dorsal and anal fins, blue and white borders along its gill covers, and a stark white tail fin base. Highly coveted by experienced aquarists as an ultimate centerpiece, it is an exceptionally sensitive fish that demands specialized high-flow environments and pristine water quality.
Tank Requirements
Minimum Tank Size: 180 gallons or larger; as a powerful, hyper-active swimmer, it requires a long tank footprint to accommodate its explosive speed and prevent severe psychological stress.
Aquarium Decor: Massive live rock structures arranged with open center lanes and wide arches. It absolutely demands extreme water flow generated by heavy-duty wavemakers to replicate its natural surge-zone habitat, which also maintains critical saturation of dissolved oxygen.
Temperature: 72°F – 78°F (22°C – 26°C).
Salinity (Specific Gravity): 1.020 – 1.025.
pH Range: 8.1 – 8.4.
Care and Feeding
Diet: Herbivore; possesses an incredibly high metabolism and must graze continuously. Provide heavy daily portions of dried marine algae sheets (nori), spirulina-enriched flakes, and premium herbivore pellets, alongside supplementary feedings of frozen mysis shrimp to protect its thick body mass.
Reef Safe Rating: Reef safe; it is completely peaceful and harmless toward small polyp stony (SPS) corals, large polyp stony (LPS) corals, soft corals, and mobile invertebrates.
Temperament: Aggressive; while peaceful toward unrelated community fish, it is highly aggressive toward other tangs, especially those from the Acanthurus genus or any fish sharing a similar silhouette. It is exceptionally prone to marine ich and velvet, making strict quarantine mandatory.