# HELP WITH MY ACHILLES



## manuelmedina (Oct 27, 2008)

hey guys i need your help, just recently noticed my achilles tang has a puffy or pop eye and don't know how to treat it or what causes it, could this be fatal? any info will help, thanks!


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

manuelmedina said:


> hey guys i need your help, just recently noticed my achilles tang has a puffy or pop eye and don't know how to treat it or what causes it, could this be fatal? any info will help, thanks!


Tank test readings?

I would be willing to bet its ammonia... but you would have to post all of your params


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## manuelmedina (Oct 27, 2008)

ammonia 0 
nitrates 40 
nitrites 0 
ph 8.2
silinity .022 
i just did a major water change and nitrates seemed to dropped to 5 but wondering if using melafix would help, is it safe for saltwater?


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

manuelmedina said:


> ammonia 0
> nitrates 40
> nitrites 0
> ph 8.2
> ...


I would get your salinity up to 1.025 using saltwater as your top-off for a few days... and i would NOT dose melafix to your entire tank... if you have a quarentine tank you could remove the acheles but in the long run, meds and moving him will just be more stress...

if your nitrates are at 40 you have some other issues in the tank... i would find the source


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## manuelmedina (Oct 27, 2008)

thanks skunkbudfour20 the reason was i didn't usually clean 1 of 3 filters at least not as often as the other 2, when i cleaned it, it was filthy as sh*t, so i am going to move the achilles in my 37 g quarantine tank it seems freaked out but at least it's eating, i appreciate your help and next time i know who to ask.


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

manuelmedina said:


> thanks skunkbudfour20 the reason was *i didn't usually clean 1 of 3 filters at least not as often as the other 2*, when i cleaned it, it was filthy as sh*t, so i am going to move the achilles in my 37 g quarantine tank it seems freaked out but at least it's eating, i appreciate your help and next time i know who to ask.


You should throw any type of filter that contains floss, pads, or sponges.... Things like that need to be replaced (or thoroughly cleaned) every couple days max, otherwise they turn into nitrate factories (as you can tell)... I would start saving some spare cash and set up a sump full of rock rubble, and MAYBE use a filter sock if you can remember to switch it every other day.

If you are on a budget, you could easily setup a sump DIY for far less than 150$ depending on what you have around, and what you can find on craigs list... in a nutshell you really only need 3 things:

Sump tank (as large as your stand will alow)
Overflow box
Return pump

And you can find all of those used on ebay or craigs list... pretty simple and maintainence free compared to HOB and canisters, and superior filtration as well


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