Sohal Tang Primer
 

This is truly a beautiful fish. It is quite hardy and resistant to parasites such as ich, however as many other tangs is susceptible to Head and Lateral Line Erosion (HLLE).

A fully grown adult is a quite sizable fish attaining a length of 16in in the wild but commonly only 8-10in in captivity. It is a very active swimmer and requires large aquariums of not less than 180g and no less than 6ft in length with ample free swimming space.

The natural habitat of the Sohal Tang is the reef plateau of the Red Sea, Arabian Sea and Arabian Gulf at a dept of usually less than 60ft.

It is an omnivorous fish, however requires plenty of vegetable food. In the wild this fish feeds predominantly on reef algae and weeds. In captivity readily accepts flake or pellet food, meaty food such as clam, shrimp, blood worms etc. but still requires daily vegetable such as nori.

This fish has a lot of positives going for itself, however it has a serious draw back. It can be a very mean fish, especially to other tangs and wrasses. It has the reputation of being the meanest fish of the tang family. For this reason it is commonly recommended to keep one per tank and would be best to keep it as the only tang in the tank.

Having said that it is also true that each fish has its own personality and it is possible to find a more mellow specimen that will pacifically coexist with its tank mates, including other tangs. Even a mellow specimen is likely to be the most dominant fish in the aquarium so it is best introduced last. It is also better to acquire a specimen of slightly smaller or similar size then the current most dominant fish.

Please offer your suggestions and advice for keeping these wonderful fish.

Possible items to cover:

* Facts felt to be key to success on keeping this fish
* Waterflow and tank dimensions
* Acclimation and quarantine
* Tank mates (good and bad)
* Aggressiveness and introduction strategies
* Suggested feeding techniques
* Recommended size at purchase


Please improve the usefulness to the reader by stating opinions as such and actual experiences as such.

Thank in advance to all who participate.

Pictures are always welcome. Here is my Sohal

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...2010/-1249.jpg

And here he is with some of his tank mates.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...2010/-1287.jpg

At last, I found a 5-6" healthy sohal at my LFS 2 weeks ago. Someone traded him in as he had outgrown their tank . I quickly snatched up for 125$ as he was eating and healthy. I don't QT. Dropped him in with 30 other fish, 17 being tangs, in a3 year old 400 gal . HE began eating almost immediately and swimming out in the open . The larger tanga did give the usual welcome w/ some chasing but he stood his ground. He has now been accepted and gets along well w/ the family. I have 4 6101 turbelles producing turbulent flow in addition to my barracuda return pump. My tangs often jump into the flow for a ride. I typically feed every other day. 4 sheets nori, frozen foods , live gulf shrimp, mysis, brine, flake and pellet. All my clan eat voraciously.

Sohal.: by far my favorite tang.

Very hardy, is the top boss of my tank. He currently lives with a purple,hippo,sailfin,yellow,tomino.. A couple of skirmishes, but he is now the dominator.

eats: new life spectrum pellets, sheets of nori, mysis (selcon).. every day..

-he is also one of the boldest, will come right up to the top to accept the nori..

Sanchoy, you reminded me of how bold mine is. I've been treating apistasia and I have to be cautious w/ the needle as the sohal comes right upto my hand thinking there's food in the syringe.

I got my Sohal from another reefer at about 4 inches. Put him in my 72 bowfront for 14mths till my 300 was done. Hardy eater, active swimmer, very pretty fish. Purposely put him in 300 as the last Tang. 2 Vlamingii tangs and a purple tang. Both Vlamingii were the Sohal's size if not a tad larger. He had grown to about 6 to 7 inches by now. He was boss by end of week. I dont feed sheet nori but fed pellets at least 4 to 5 times daily knowing that well fed woulod help keep temperment down. Both Sohal and Vlamingii's grew fast at that feeding schedule but all was fine. Vlamingii are about 9" and so is the Sohal. It took about 6mths in the 300 for the Sohal to feel like she needed to dominate. She laid open the sides on one of the Vlamingii tangs and clipped the purple. Overnight she became the demon goddesss posessed in my reef tank. So I went fishing. First time I caught her sumped her downstairs and traded her away to a guy that has a fowlr tank.
I had been told once they get to about 3yrs they become very dominant. I would feel much more comfortable with a 450-500 gallon tank with better places to hide then mine had.

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...n/CIMG0093.jpg
This is her in our 72 gallon about 2 wks after we got her.

Nice fish on the outside but reminds me of Jack the Ripper on the inside

Thanks
Mike

Min is about 9 inches and as peacefull of a fish i could ask for. I know i am in the minority. My last one ripped into every fish, and chased down cleaner gobies and and wrasses for trying to clean it. It was evil. This one though is peacefull.
Here he is about just over a year ago. It was about 7.5 inches then. Its grown over an inch in a year. It def is the king of the tank, Just does not rip into other fish like my last one did.

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q...in/fish115.jpg

Good stories, kind of scary though. I surely hope mine will no go nuts and try to kill everything moving in the tank.

My Sohal is about 6", no other fish bother him but at the same time he does not bother anybody else. At dinner time, interestingly, the yellows are much more aggressive and the Sohal gets the nori only after the yellows are done. He is not submissive but not very assertive either at this point in time.

The problem with Sohal Tangs is that they get progressively more aggressive, especially in smaller tanks (I had to remove one from my FOWLR 350 gallon tank) and especially but not only with conspecifics. I certainly would never try one again.

I maintained Attilla here for nearly 10 years during which time 'he' grew from about 4" to over 14". He certainly wasn't the most aggressive Sohal in captivity but got pretty froggy during feeding times and kept most other fish at bay until he had his fill (which was almost never). I have a 500g tank and the last couple years of his life, even I began feeling badly about his obvious lack of swimming room. Apparently, it affected him also as I noticed he would behave more and more erratically, dashing about for no discernible reason and running his tankmates into hiding places in which he could no longer fit.

On the other hand, I really enjoyed the time I spent with him as he was definitely the showpiece of the tank and never failed to garner the attention of children and adults alike. He was the most beautiful Sohal I've ever seen.


http://www.moyesreef.com/uploads/Attilla-3-06.jpg

10 plus, probably the most beautiful looking sohal i have ever seen

Yes thats one of the best i have seen too.

ime/imo
 

*a Sohal will require at least a 300 gallon aquarium and even that's pushing it.

*this species is much better in a 10 ft. long 500 gallon or larger

*this species can become a terror to other fishes

*rather bulletproof as far as Tangs go, IME/IMO

this one's in a 560
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y27...1210keeper.jpg

I agree with Gary.

Those are some great looking sohals for their size, seems like sometimes they lose their color as they grow.

coloration should intensify as this species matures. Loss of color indicates something is wrong.

+1 They are truly spectacular.

Well Here we go. I have a perfect excuse to upgrade the 180g to a 10ft 500g.

I'll be talking to the wife about it. :lmao:

My sohal is doing sand slapping (i do not know how better call it). He swims, gains speed, turns on the side and hits the sand with the side of his body as he flicks up and swim away. I was concerned he was scratching some parassite or something on his skin, but looking closely I do not see anything abnormal on the fish. No ich, no scratches or anything else.

Is this normal for this fish? Does it have any behabioral meaning as marking territory or something?

No thats not normal. IMO Pests cant always be seen especially on a sohal. (White)
I would look closer, and keep an eye on him.

I have been looking very close indeed, the skin is perfectly normal, nice and smooth without even the smallest bump, so are the fins. The fish is eating well and otherwise behaving normally. He does not scratch on the rocks, datrs or any other abnormal behavior. Just the sand slapping.

Gary and 64Ivy,

Did yours ever nibble at your fingers/arms while you were cleaning the aquarium? Ive serviced tanks where the the tang would be very bold and "friendly"; did you both experience the same? I have heard the same for some of the other tangs like Bariene and Vlamingi; just wondering if this is the case with your fish.

the Vlamingii I deal with is extremely friendly. I have an Achilles that I can pet, too. I don't stick my arm in that Sohal's tank but the fish will swim up to you so quickly it can startle you if not paying close attention.
I deal with another Sohal as well. I wouldn't rate either Sohal as friendly as Vlamingii. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Mine was simply curious as well; just followed my hand around as if expecting food to just mysteriously drop from it. I must say I was careful not to make any sudden moves around him though. A nibble I can handle. His 'scalpel' was another matter.

mine doesn't like me taking the seaweed clip out:spin3:

[IMG]http://i42.*******.com/2qm3k20.jpg[/IMG]

I may have got a wimp. Mine does not seem overly aggressive, does not bite me or the other fish. He has not had tail fights with any other fish. So far I am happy he is docile. He is about 6in, Is he going to become a terror as he grows larger?

Man that naso is FAT! I did n't notice earlier on. How old is he? What do you feed and how often?