red sea fish
red sea fish
The surgeonfish family is a very well represented family within the marine aquarium hobby. While they are generally large, they also come in a variety of colors and are generally one of the more popular marine aquarium fish in the hobby.
They normally get along well with a wide variety of species in captivity as long as they are not from within the same family and especially of the same species. But beyond that fact, were do have some that are quite a bit more aggressive than your usual run of the mill surgeonfish.
The we are focusing on in this article are the Sohal Tang (Acathurus Sohal) and the Purple Tang (Zebrasoma Xanthurum). I personally don't know what it is about red sea specimens that make them so aggressive but it seems to hold true with these two surgeonfish. While most tangs can be seen in large shoals in the wild, these two are usually found either alone or as pairs.
They are both very beautiful and are always in high demand in the marine aquarium hobby. Prices for both easily exceed $100 per specimen with larger show sized specimens commonly exceeding $200 on the market. They are also aggressive. Among the two, the Sohal Tang is an absolute brute. At 18 inches it will most likely dominate the entire aquarium short of the presence of a larger triggerfish or grouper.
They are highly territorial and will absolutely destroy a member of the same species within the same aquarium. While there are always exceptions, this usually holds true in the hobby. Once established, they will usually consider the reef aquarium as "Their Reef" and will even go after algae cleaning equipment once it is in the water.
While also aggressive, purple tangs are nowhere near as dominant as Sohal tangs are. They generally do not get along well with conspecifics and any other fish that has similar body shapes, namely all other members of the genus Zebrasoma (Yellow Tang, Sailfin Tang etc). Given a straight fight between an equally sized yellow and purple tang, the purple tang will almost always win.
The Sohal Tang and the Purple Tang are both stunning specimens from the Red Sea that may be a bit too aggressive for your liking. They are also expensive and can do some damage on your wallet.
Having said that, they can get along well with other species as long as they do not look the same (Avoid other surgeonfish) and they are generally smaller tank mates.
red sea fish
red sea fish
red sea fish
red sea fish
red sea fish
red sea fish
red sea fish
red sea fish
red sea fish
red sea fish
red sea fish
red sea fish
red sea fish
red sea fish
red sea fish
red sea fish
red sea fish
red sea fish
red sea fish
red sea fish
red sea fish
red sea fish
