sohal tang tank recomendations

[ghostrida3]

does any body keep these, what size tank min. should they be kept in?

[Horizon Canopy]

i'd say a min would be a 6ft tank around 180g. they get big, and they get agressive... i once saw a large one in a LFS display tear to pieces a large yellow tang.

[steveo32]

recommended minimum is 180 but idk if that accounts for growing room. My friend though on the other hand has one in a 125, still six foot but he's only 5 inces big

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

if you want him for a few years and more, a 240g or bigger - imo

[Corn]

i have one in a 120 a year later i have a 225g tank. yes you do need a 6 foot tank a 180 or bigger !!!

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7604198#post7604198 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Corn
i have one in a 120 a year later i have a 225g tank. yes you do need a 6 foot tank a 180 or bigger !!!

isn't it great how that works....they get bigger and we go bigger

[ghostrida3]

do you think it woudl take out hippo tang?

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

once it gets big it has a good chance of becoming beligerent to any tankmates....just parroting what i've read elsewhere, never personally owned one because of the warnings

[Kent E]

At our zoo tank there is a mirade of tangs with a sohal but there is also 550 gallons of room so It probably isn't feeling threatened.

[witfull]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7604601#post7604601 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ghostrida3
do you think it woudl take out hippo tang? it would kill it in a heartbeat. ive had sohals and seen them kill stellatus and clown triggers, chase down chromis and kill them, terrorize all other tank mates, and even attack hands. otherwise they are great fish~

[64Ivy]

I've kept mine in a 500g tank for over six years and, at just about a foot long, he's beginning to look a little cramped. He certainly utilizes every inch of his swimming room and I do believe that had he not 'grown up' (I got him at around 4-5" long) here, he would have destroyed quite a few of his tankmates by now. As it stands, he's active but mellow...gets a bit fiesty at feeding time though and will run off the other tangs until he gets his fill at the nori stick.

But to answer the question, I wouldn't put a Sohal in anything less than an 8 foot tank unless you weren't planning to keep it until maturity. I would be careful with my aquascaping, leaving lots of swimming room and giving it several good places to dash when startled. These places are also good for the other tank inhabitants to flee should the Sohal get PO'ed for whatever reason. They are amazing quick and when angry will dart back and forth through the length of the tank a few times, scattering everthing in its path. It would be nice to give these other fish someplace to hide, especially the more skitish ones. Also,make sure your skimming or filtration is up to snuff because Sohals can eat and poop in epic quantities. And finally, if at all possible, I would also add the Sohal last. Waaay last. Hope this helps a little.

[Jens Kallmeyer]

HI

My LFS services a tank with 2 Sohals, but it is an 8000 gal setup. The tank itself is a round cylinder (ca. 8 ft diameter, 20 ft high) and the two Sohals have split the tank in half, one in the upper 10 ft, one in the lower. It takes them less than 3 sec to swim a full circle around the central reef. The fishes also regularly attack the divers that do the service.
If you want a Sohal at all cost, make sure your reef is build in a way that the fish can swim around it and not just up and down. A cube or round tank with a central reef seems to be the best solution. Having seen these fishes in the Red Sea, I would not want them in any tank, except perhaps some gigantic show tank. They grow too big, swim too much, eat too much and are way too aggressive.

Jens

PS: This is a link to the 8000 gal tank (in German)
http://www.meeresaquaristik.de/html/hauptteil_32000.html