Sohal tang snapped again!!!

[Recty]

There always another choice he can do...can you say upgrade!

How big of a tank is adequate for a sohal longterm? These fish like clown tang do get pretty massive and probably do need a bigger tank. Is 10in a full grown adult sohal or do they get bigger?

Sohal's reach around 2' in the wild, I'd say in captivity given time they will easily reach 75% of that, somewhere between a foot and a foot and a half. 10" would not be what I would call maximum size in an aquarium.

 

[hpfunk]

I'm sorry, Foster & Smith say 1'4" and a min of 250gal and that it is aggressive

 

[snorvich]

Well, as to what size will work, I have a friend with one in a 1000 gallon tank which so far is working but I am less than certain that it will be stable even in that sized tank. But a 250 gallon tank is not a large tank when you are talking about fish that exceed one foot. But I suspect that the original poster will find out about this the hard way.

 

[laf-reef]

The title of this thread is "Sohal tang snapped again!!!!"..... So this is not the first time? What else has this fish done when it "snapped" previously? As posted by others, this latest event is a sign of things to come....

 

[SaltwaterAdict]

Well, as to what size will work, I have a friend with one in a 1000 gallon tank which so far is working but I am less than certain that it will be stable even in that sized tank. But a 250 gallon tank is not a large tank when you are talking about fish that exceed one foot. But I suspect that the original poster will find out about this the hard way.

No offense but are u really suggesting someone would need a tank larger than a 1000g. A tank that size is like the ocean to many reefers! come on now..

 

[john rochon]

I had a SOHAL in my 500g tank. Had to remove it. not big enough. I had very few fish in there but these fish need room and are ''extremely'' mean in time.
Honestly better left in the ocean.

 

[Eric the half-bee]

No offense but are u really suggesting someone would need a tank larger than a 1000g. A tank that size is like the ocean to many reefers! come on now..

Yes it is like a personal ocean. Evidence that some fish need more space than many hobbyists can afford. Trust in what snorvich is saying. I had a vlamingii in my 400 for about 3 years and he got so big so fast, I felt it unfair to continue to keep him in what I thought initially was big enough but in the end, was not. JME

 

[snorvich]

No offense but are u really suggesting someone would need a tank larger than a 1000g. A tank that size is like the ocean to many reefers! come on now..

I am suggesting not keeping the fish unless you have a large tank and a 250 gallon tank is NOT large.

 

[snorvich]

Yes it is like a personal ocean. Evidence that some fish need more space than many hobbyists can afford. Trust in what snorvich is saying. I had a vlamingii in my 400 for about 3 years and he got so big so fast, I felt it unfair to continue to keep him in what I thought initially was big enough but in the end, was not. JME

Yes, Vlamingi tangs are perhaps my favorite fish, but I would never consider one for my 350 gallon tank. Sohals are ultra aggressive when maturing, vlamingi are gentle giants.

 

[Eric the half-bee]

True snorvich. He was a gentle fish and I loved him but when he could "kick" his fins and be across the tank in 2 seconds, I knew he needed a bigger home.

 

[sanchoy]

Sohal tang history for me:

-rescued him from a another reefers 20 gallon display tank 3 years ago, he was about 2-3 inches
-In the past, he was known to dominate my tank, by chasing other fish around. Never really killed anything, but just bullied others to show he was the big boss.
-For a Sohal, people that seen my tank say he gets along well with other tangs. Again i have many other tangs in my reef.
-when i say SNAPPED it means he goes on weird behavior episodes, Sometimes he will be calm, other times he just goes into this crazy mode and start bullying other fish around.
-People say 250 gallons is small, and possibly it may be to the eyes of the beholder.

Thanks for the info from people who actually had personal experience with this tang before and not what they heard or saw on the internet forums.

-Maybe i should free him into the ocean? but he does not belong in this region. He is from the Red Sea not South East Asia.

 

[sjwitt]

I don't think anything that has been kept out of the ocean should be released back into the ocean. That said, is there a public aquarium near you that would be able to house such a beautiful specimen?

Oh, and +1 on the pictures... please?

 

[MrTuskfish]

IMO & IME tank size, diet, tankmates, etc., are all really secondary This is simply one of the toughest, meanest fish we keep. Mine gets respect, or the offender pays. I love what BZ says about Sohals: "Wide berth should be given to this Red Sea inhabitant as it's aggression extends from the tangs to Parrotfishes, Triggerfishes and whatever else it may feel particularly displeased with." (Due credit to Kirkaz.)

 

[denash24]

Removed.

 

[davocean]

I don't think anyone is really bagging on him as much as just setting it straight that these are very different in nature compared to most tangs, and that aggression or snapping will most likely increase w/ time, so it's a good idea to keep in mind an adjustment of some kind may be needed in the not too distant future.
When I got mine I assumed it's small size would make it ok in my 180g, until I actually witnessed it's behavior, which was like something going crazy from too little of space.
I rehomed mine right away to a 300g, and that person said it was a bully and aggro in that tank too.
Some people donate to public aquariums, when OP's sohal gets too out of hand that may be something to consider.

 

[rigleautomotive]

I had a sohol in a 180 for a year or 2 before it went ballistic.First swimming from end to end at warp speeds then crashing into acros snapping large branches daily.Terrible fish for a heavily stocked reef but I have seen them in tanks where there were only a few fish and they were model citizens.A chinese restraunt in my area had one for years in a live rock tank with 2 other tangs and it was mellow as can be.Hand fed and huge just slowly cruising the tank with no aggression.Maybe they just need to be kept in a very low population tank rather then a huge one.GL

 

[snorvich]

The OP asked about peoples experience with sohal behavior not for theto criticize the size of his tank and his decision to keep the tang. Koodos to you for providing an environment for the tang that allowed it to grow from 3" to 10", I doubt any of the tank size experts that posted here would be able to achieve that.

And you know this how?

 

[MItank]

Removed.

 

[SaltwaterAdict]

I would play it by ear and see how everything goes. If the tang continues and it gets worse then maybe relocating him or upgrading would be a good idea.

 

[SaltwaterAdict]

Is the temperament of this fish usually aggressive as he gets older?