Sohal Tang + Achilles Tang = .....

A Good Match if you're careful. The established Sohal Tang shows initial aggression so I placed a mirror in front of the aquarium. The Sohal chased its reflection all day giving the Achilles Tang time to acclimate. A day later after removing the mirror, the fish are swimming together in harmony. No flaring or picking. Nothing scientific here but this is the second time the mirror approach has worked for me. Pictures of the Achilles and his two tank mates below.

 

very nice fish. I have previously used the mirror trick to great effect before as well.

 

I've never heard of the mirror method. Interesting. Good looking tangs.

 

Brilliant fish. They look very healthy. That just proves that with some training, even enemies can ignore their natures.

 

Interesting I have never heard of this trick but can say my sohal attacks himself daily against the glass.

 

Interestingly enough, I observed the behavior when I added the Sohal and Purple Tang into the tank. They initially fought but there was a Manitaus Grouper in the tank which harassed them both. The Sohal and Purple Tang seemed to ignore their differences and turned their attention to the Grouper (joint effort). I removed the Grouper a while back because of his eating habits, but the Tangs seem to join forces in the presence of a common enemy. Placing a mirror in front of the tank creates a temporary distraction where the fish will not hurt themselves and get used to each others presence.

 

I maintain aquariums and one of my customers had asked for a purple tang and a hippo tang. After a few days there was some tension between them and I had heard about the mirror trick but didn't try it until then.

I used 3 circles of mirrors in 3 different spots and heights in the tank. They never really seemed to pay any attention to the mirrors but each fish was less aggressive towards the other. The mirrors were removed after 2 or 3 months and the tank is still peaceful to this day.

 

nice tip as those two historically have had issues being kept together. How large is your tank? they look like small specimens. fwiw, in my tank with a 10" sohal, 8" Naso and 6-7" purple, the purple is the meanest fish. the Sohal has put him in his place with a few scars, but when I added a small butterfly, it was the purple tang who was the bully and the sohal only showed off once and then ignored. took about 24 hours before mr purple calmed down.