Sixline Soapfish

[Oddball]

The gloves are to guard against any toxin intrusion into any skin break (scratches/cuts). The hemolytic characteristics of the toxin breaks down red blood cells to the point the hemoglobin contained within the cells is released.
The tankmates are guarded by their slime coats. New additions should be Qd until healed of all shipping damage. Then bag-caught for introduction into the tank with the soapfish.

 

[Scuba Kid]

So in general, how dangerous is it to keep them in a community tank? His main tankmate is going to be a coral catshark and there will be others which I have not fully determined yet. Is it a bad idea to have one with the shark and in general a risk with other fish?

 

[Oddball]

IMO a 55 is too small for more that a couple of juvie soapfish. However, a larger tank will be less at risk with efficient protein skimming (The toxins are proteins) and regular maintenance.

I kept my M/F pair for 6 years. They shared their 240 with my leopard shark grow-outs. Everything was fine until I tried to move them to larger quarters.

For relocating them, I'd recommend temporarily housing all tankmates in large bins/other tanks first. This way, they won't be lost if the soaps slime the tank during their capture. Keep tankmates separated until the protein skimmer runs clean after the soaps are relocated to new quarters. In the same event, let the soaps be the 1st occupants until their tank's protein skimmer also runs clean.

 

[Scuba Kid]

IMO a 55 is too small for more that a couple of juvie soapfish. However, a larger tank will be less at risk with efficient protein skimming (The toxins are proteins) and regular maintenance.

I kept my M/F pair for 6 years. They shared their 240 with my leopard shark grow-outs. Everything was fine until I tried to move them to larger quarters.

For relocating them, I'd recommend temporarily housing all tankmates in large bins/other tanks first. This way, they won't be lost if the soaps slime the tank during their capture. Keep tankmates separated until the protein skimmer runs clean after the soaps are relocated to new quarters. In the same event, let the soaps be the 1st occupants until their tank's protein skimmer also runs clean.

Well I'm only going to be keeping one soapfish, and he will be in a 150 once its all set. This is where I will have the coral catfish and whatever other tankmates I decide on down the road.
Thank you so much for the help and giving me the correct information! Hopefully I won't have any problems with him and you can bet my eye will be on him. He really is a fantastic looking fish though. I will post pics in a bit.

 

[Scuba Kid]

Here's a few pics of the new little guy. He's about 3-4 inches at the moment.

Sorry, bad quality.