Sohal Tang

[littlefish]

Hello to all.

I recently bought a Sohal Tang from a place in Tarrytown called Jaws.
When I asked the person in the store if I could put that fish in my tank with other tangs (Blue Hipo, Colt) he said It was perfectly OK as long as it was the last fish to be put in the tank.
Now i've been told by a couple of friends who know about reef tanks that the sohal tang is very agressive and will go after every fish in the tank.

I also found the prices very high.
$89.00 for the tang and $80.00 for a two inch green bubbletip anemone.

I need to know what experience have anyone have with Sohal tangs.

Thank you.

Alfredo

 

[regal]

I was interested in getting one but been told not to do it even for my 400g reef. $80 for a 2" green BTA is way too much. I just bought one today for $15 and it is more than 4" when fully opened.

 

[Alfredo De La Fe]

I had several similar experiences with Lou. The very first reef "mistake" I made was thanks to Lou. I was a novice and went to his store. He proceeded to sell me a Lunare Wrasse that was a good 6 inches in length and swore up and down that it was going to be the best citizen in my tank.

It took me close to two weeks to get it out of the tank, about an hour of fishing with a line and hook to catch the bastard after it knocked over most of my rocks, ate my cleaner and blood shrimp (which he said would be OK) and ate a few of the other fish I bought from Lou. (By the way- he would not take the wrasse back because it "took so long" for me to return it) I had the priviledge of paying $60+ for a wrasse that then proceeded to eat and/or kill $100+ of livestock.

I learned a very expensive lesson that day- research everything you plan on putting in your tank and do YOUR OWN research, dont take a store employees advice unless you know that you can trust him without any doubts whatsoever.

The Sohal will be OK for about two years- after that it will get too big and will become incredibly agressive. Of course, all fish are different and you may find that you bought the pansy of Sohal's, but it is doubtful.

-Alfred

 

[TimberTDI]

Hey Mods please post date this thread to 3-4-09.

DIBS.:bagfish: :lol:


Back to Topic:

How's it going so far? Have they been fighting or getting along?

 

[michael stern]

IMHO, sohals are some of the meanest bastards in the ocean. I had one in my 420 folr. A bunch of other tangs, lots of live rock, lots of dither fish. It grew from 3-10" in 1 year, and became a menace. I coulnd't get it out fast enough. And that's with lots of space!

Alfredo jr, I think your 2 year estimation is optimistic.

 

[regal]

IMHO, sohals are some of the meanest bastards in the ocean. I had one in my 420 folr. A bunch of other tangs, lots of live rock, lots of dither fish. It grew from 3-10" in 1 year, and became a menace. I coulnd't get it out fast enough. And that's with lots of space!

Alfredo jr, I think your 2 year estimation is optimistic.

You must be feeding him steroids.:skull:

 

[michael stern]

no, just my own secret recipe.

 

[cb747]

I have multiple tangs in my tank including a 3 year old Sohal. He gets along fine with the other inhabitants and any aggression ends at the opposite end of the tank. So your not destined to have a mean agressive terror. There is hope!

 

[marrone]

We went through this not to long ago. When Sohal are small they don't cause problems but as they grow, and they do grow pretty fast, they because major problems. When they start to get about 10" they will start to attack your other fish, specially you other Tangs. This will keep on continuing until the Sohal gets more and more aggressive, leading to one of your other Tangs dead.

Sohal also need a good size tank, for a small one nothing smaller than a 180gal. When they get bigger they'll need an even larger tank. As for tank mates, Sohal Tangs do better with very aggressive fish, like Trigger & Groupers.

So you're only fooling yourself into think that a Sohal Tang is going to play nice with all your other Tangs, specially in a small tank.

Also you need to remember that as the Sohal is getting larger so are your other Tangs. Once the other Tangs get larger they're less likely to back down from the Sohal. Also the Sohal will start to see them as a threat.

 

[steveo32]

Just a hypothetical ? If you were to put a Sohal with other agressive tangs like a purple or clown tang ?


I think the sohals going harrase the hippo

 

[marrone]

Just a hypothetical ? If you were to put a Sohal with other agressive tangs like a purple or clown tang ?


I think the sohals going harrase the hippo

Between the Sohal and the Clown is really depends on who is the largest and which one was in the tank first. Both are very aggressive, with the Clown tang being very aggressive even at smaller sizes. The Purple probably wouldn't cause any problems with the Sohal.

Most Tangs seem to leave Hippo tangs alone, as compared to other Tangs. So I would think a small Hippo would probably be ok with the Sohal.

 

[cali_reef]

I seen a 5 inch Clown Tang rip 4 inch long gashes in a 7 inch Sohal tang, the 7 inch Sohal died from the injuries .

 

[masterswimmer]

Just a hypothetical ? If you were to put a Sohal with other agressive tangs like a purple or clown tang ?


I think the sohals going harrase the hippo

You'd need a very large tank Steve. The clown tang alone can grow to about 15". The sohal can grow the same or even larger. A 180g is not adequate for even one of those fish, let alone both.

Sorry bro.....I know your wish :hug:

swimmer

 

[Alfredo De La Fe]

You should try to catch it and return it to Lou. Let's see if he will refund you... IF the fish can be caught.

 

[steveo32]

You'd need a very large tank Steve. The clown tang alone can grow to about 15". The sohal can grow the same or even larger. A 180g is not adequate for even one of those fish, let alone both.

Sorry bro.....I know your wish :hug:

swimmer

No Russ I was thinking in terms of I always thought the Purple tang was the most vicious next to the clown tang. Never thought Sohals were bad until now.

 

[Alfredo De La Fe]

My RedSea purple tang has been a model citizen for more than 8 years...

-Alfred

 

[nycmat]

dont mean to be a downer here regarding a sohal. but that is one nasty fish IMHO> they are easy to maintain but they will go after other fish especially tangs, a clown tang and a sohal-- good luck. dont mean that in a disrespectable way. its just that hard. its a beautiful fish that has aggressive tendancies towards others.

 

[steveo32]

Any updates on if he's playing nice with the other children ?