Sohal vs. Sohal
Dear Mr. Fenner,
Thank you for your time in answering various questions and I hope it doesn't take too much of your Holiday time. Here is my situation. I have a 165gal with a 5" Harlequin Tusk, a 5" Sohal Tang, a 4" South Seas Devil Damsel, and 3 2" yellow tailed damsels with about 90lbs of live rock and 30lbs of base rock. Lights are on from 11am to 9pm. All the fish eat well. The Sohal likes Nori algae, Mysis shrimp, and an occasional silverside.
<Yes... a true omnivore>
The issue is that the Sohal seems to fight himself in the reflection on the glass caused by the lighting. When the lights are off and the ambient light from the room is on he freely swims around the tank, picks at the LR, and breathes slow and easy. When the lights are on he nips at the back glass where his reflection is and does quick figure eights against the glass. He also does a little shimmy parallel to the glass before he flips into another figure eight. His breathing is hard and he seems to have scraped his forehead once or twice during these antics.
I have read bulletin boards and chat rooms as well as researched the FAQs and it seems that the tang species is prone to this sort of behavior.
<Yes... territorial... to an extreme at times, cases>
I have only had the tang and tusk for 1 week. Prior to that the sohal was in a small (10gal) holding tank. Will the Sohal "learn" not to do this anymore or should I be worried at all? 
<Very likely this specimen will learn to ignore (shades of B.F. Skinner!) to not "over-react" to its own reflection... I consider that this overt behavior may be of value (to you and the other livestock)... Good for this Sohal to have an "outlet" for such action.>
The tank is situated so that all 4 sides are viewable so I had hoped I don't have to cover the glass. Any help or input you could think of would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Steve Morvay
<Thank you for your well-thought out message... I could suggest some mechanisms for reducing, eliminating the reflection (coatings mainly), but I would do as you make reference... wait, let the animal work itself into a more casual repertoire with its semblance. Bob Fenner>

Acanthurus sohal (Note: amend article on WWM)
Hi crew,
<Howdy Peter>
Just a quick note. I've noticed several emails concerning Sohal tangs lately. Just thought you should check your website link:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/Asohal.htm
It's rather contradictory to your email responses, specifically concerning size:
"Though some open-ocean surgeons approach two feet in length, the Sohal max's out at about eight inches overall length."
<Mmm, well... I agree that this isn't clear (enough)... Will amend to state: "generally max's out at about eight inches in captivity". This sounds like a more-accurate, meaningful stmt.>
I know you all are very busy on this site, so I just thought I'd point this out to you. Great site! Keep up the good work!
<Thank you. Bob Fenner>
Sincerely,
Peter

The Klutzy Sohal...
I have a Sohal tang.  He seems to be accident prone, right now he has a injury on his fin that is on the side of his body by his head.  I don't know what he keeps getting hurt on all I have in my tank is live rock and some fake coral, and a clown trigger. The injury he has right now is not puffy red or anything like that, he has gotten hurt before and it heals right up.
<Glad to hear that! If a fish is going to clobber himself all of the time, it's always good to heal quickly!>  
Could it be that my clown trigger is biting him?
<Could be...But it could also be a function of the fish's behavior...If the tank is too small for this guy, his nervous "pacing" could result in him bashing into stuff. Or, if that's not the case, the fish may have some vision problems or problems maintaining hydrostatic control (i.e.; his swimming capability is compromised)...Lots of possibilities>
When I watch my fish they both seem to be getting along just fine even at night.  They both are eating fine and swim around and don't chase each other.  I know that the Sohal could easily kill my clown trigger if it wanted to. Also I was wondering as far as tankmates go I was thinking about a blonde Naso tang, or a powder brown tang, or a flame angel, or a yellow tang.  Will any of these fish be ok with the two I have now??
<In my opinion, no. The Sohal will usually just beat the crap out of any other tang added, unless you have a very large (like 500 gallons plus) tank...Not worth the risk, IMO>
Thank you for your time. Scott
<My pleasure, Scott! Regards, Scott F>

Sohal Tang
I was wondering if you could give me some help. I have a 330g reef tank currently with a 4" Sohal tang. I also have a flame angel, two small black percula clowns, diamond goby, yellow tail damsel. The Sohal Tang spends most of his time chasing the goby around the sand and the others rarely come out from the rock.<Sohal tangs are very aggressive> At feeding time he flies from one end of the tank to the other to scare the others away from feeding.<yes... they do this!!> They are all eating fine. I have 6 green Chromis, and 2 small orange perculas clowns, a red margin wrasse and a purple Firefish in quarantine for this tank. With the introduction of these, especially the Chromis, help disperse his aggression for the long term or will it just be a matter of time?<Sohal tangs are very aggressive and will go after anything just for the fun of it> If not I would like to remove him from the tank.<this is what I would do> This is going to be a big challenge. I have a fish trap, any suggestions on what is the best bait to get him to go in? <a small barbless hook> I don't think netting him is going to be an option. He is to fast.<indeed> I am so frustrated with him he attacks my scrapers for cleaning the windows and everything else I put in there. <yes, I had one before and I know what you mean>I have even joked about having my friend come over and go fishing for him.<this is the best way to get him out> Any tips you may have would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Ian <your welcome, IanB>

Sohal Sand Slap 12/15/06
Hi There!
<Hello Heather...Always liked that name.>
I have a behavioral question about my Sohal Tang.  He? is housed in our 240 gal. reef tank that is aquascaped with many caves, caverns and tunnels.  He races through the tank when not constantly grazing on our rock or supply of Caulerpa <Caulerpa>. He is wonderful to observe; but his one behavior puzzles me.  He will zoom through the tank, dive to the bottom and slide sideways on the stretch of sand bed that does not have rocks on it slapping the sand with his tail. Sometimes he will take the side of his face and do the same thing.
His tank mates include a Naso Tang, Hippo, and Yellow Tang (who unbelievably rules the tank at this point -reminds me of a mother trying to control unruly kids - we put her in first) 2 clarkii's with Anemone.
All mates are equally spirited towards another, no cowards or bothersome aggression as each have claimed their own space and have seemed to create a community space in the middle rock area of the tank where the cleaner shrimp has set up his services.
<The benefits of a large tank.>
We know the Sohal is the bad boy of the tang group, is he just showing off?
<Sand slapping is generally a sign of an oncoming parasitic infection.  <<And aggression. RMF>> Never saw one doing this to show off, but have seen tangs do this on occasion but not on a continual basis.  Have you quarantined this fish before placing in the show tank?  Hopefully so.>
My sweet Naso appears that she is trying to learn how to do the sand slap - I think she is too much of a lady to exhibit such behavior though!  Any experience with this?
Amused and Puzzled,
<I'd keep a close eye on your Sohal for signs of disease.  James (Salty Dog)>
Heather