Sohal Tang Care Guide
Acanthurus sohal is a Red Sea and Persian Gulf surgeonfish with black-and-pale stripes and blue fin margins, very territorial, reaching 40 cm.
Compiled by Aquairi from published sources · Published · Updated
Overview
Acanthurus sohal, the sohal surgeonfish of the family Acanthuridae, has a body marked by longitudinal black stripes separated by paler greenish stripes, black fins with vivid blue margins, an orange patch beneath the pectoral fin and an orange caudal peduncle sheath. FishBase records a maximum total length of 40 cm.
Taxonomy
- Family: Acanthuridae
- Genus: Acanthurus
- Scientific name: Acanthurus sohal
- Described by: Forsskål, 1775
Habitat
The species is marine and reef-associated in the Western Indian Ocean, from the Red Sea east along the Arabian Peninsula to the Persian Gulf. It favours seaward edges of reefs exposed to surge, with FishBase recording depths usually of 0-20 m.
Tank requirements
- Minimum tank volume: 1500 L (396 gal)
- Temperature: 24-26 °C (75-79 °F)
- pH: 8.1-8.4
- Specific gravity: 1.024-1.026
- Carbonate hardness: 8-12 dKH
- Strong water flow
- Lifespan: 10-25 years
Diet
Acanthurus sohal is a herbivorous grazer, feeding on algae including Sargassum and fine filamentous green algae. In aquaria it requires frequent offerings of marine algae and dried seaweed.
Compatibility
Acanthurus sohal is an aggressive, highly territorial diurnal swimmer that controls food resources and patrols territory boundaries. It is suited only to very large systems with robust tankmates such as wrasses, clownfish, angelfish and sturdy triggerfish, while other tangs of similar shape must be avoided. The caudal-peduncle spine has been reported to bear venom.
Reef compatibility
The species does not eat coral and is considered reef-safe, though its size and aggression demand a spacious reef. Maintain carbonate hardness of 8-12 dKH and specific gravity of 1.024-1.026.
Conservation status
IUCN Red List: Least Concern, assessed in 2010 via FishBase.
Sohal Tang (Acanthurus sohal): Breeding Guide
Overview
The Sohal Tang, Acanthurus sohal, is a Western Indian Ocean species ranging from the Red Sea to the Persian Gulf. FishBase gives a maximum total length of 40 cm and a depth range of 0 to 20 m. It is described as aggressive and territorial and lives along the seaward edges of reefs exposed to surge, where it feeds on algae such as Sargassum and filamentous green species in water of 24 to 30 degrees Celsius.
Because of its strong aggression it is usually housed singly in very large systems, and there are no records of captive breeding.
Spawning Behavior & Trigger
FishBase lists reproduction, spawning and egg sections for A. sohal but provides no species-specific text. As an Acanthurus surgeonfish it is a pelagic broadcast spawner: the genus generally spawns at dusk in short pair- or group-spawning ascents near the seaward reef edge, often timed to lunar phases so that currents disperse the eggs.
Given its preference for surge-swept outer reef, spawning would occur near that high-energy reef edge. Fertilization is external in open water, with no nest or parental care.
Egg & Fry Care
Eggs are pelagic and float in open water, hatching into transparent acronurus larvae. As in other surgeonfishes, this planktonic stage can last more than 39 days before settlement onto a reef.
The long oceanic drift and dependence on natural plankton make captive larval rearing unattainable. Surgeonfish larviculture is limited to research aquaculture programs.
Common Challenges
- Extreme aggression makes it unsafe to keep more than one specimen, ruling out a maintained spawning pair.
- Open-water spawning at the surge-swept reef edge leaves no eggs to collect.
- The pelagic acronurus larvae require weeks of ocean plankton drift that aquariums cannot supply.