Your experience with Foxface

[bulletsworld]

In all the years I've been in the hobby, I have yet to get a Foxface.

Just looking for people's feedback that house this fish.

*Did you have them in a reef?
*Did they hide a lot? Did it eat Nori?
*Did you have the problem with it fading in color?
*Have you ever got a sting? What was your reactions?
*Did you find the fish to be hardy?
*What are the cons of this fish you found?


Thanks for any feedback.



Lee

[Joe Reefer]

I had mine in a reef, he was kind of skitish but was always was the first one to the top when it was time to feed. I thankfully was never stung by him, he hid very well when my hands were in the tank. His color was was always bright unless he was scared or something was ****ing him off. This fish was sold to Mark on the board maybe he can let you know how he is doing now. :biggrin:

[justinl]

i had a foxface in my fowlr. it was always out and about. if i freaked it out, it would change colour and hide in a hole... five seconds later it would forget it was scared and come out begging for food.

ate pretty much anything i offered. cyclopeeze, nori, brine shrimp, etc. they are supposed to eat algae, so i got a ball of red macro, but it never touched the stuff.

Ive never been stung but i always took care not to get stung. if you do, know the first aid required. you should avoid having hands in there in the first place though.

very hardy fish. tough enough to hold its own against most fish, gentle enough to live with the more timid ones too. just avoid fish that eat slowly because the fox will easily outcompete it.

i cant think of any cons to this fish except that it gets fairly big. needs at least 75 gal as an adult. definitely among my fave fishes.

[michika]

Mine started out in the 230g mixed reef, and is now in a softy tank. Its not there out of punishment or anything, just because the 230g came down. Mine didn't hide that much after it got used to the tank itself. I think the foxface that I have, a One Spot, is extremely hardy.

It eats like a pig, and subsequently its belly shows it! Mine loves basically anything you'll feed it, from mysis, to krill, and everything in between. My particular fish is very social, and I've never had a problem with it and compatability with other fish.

I never had any color fading, just changing when it got scared, or at night, it would turn into a molted brown color, see the photo below.

Yes I did get stung, about two weeks ago. I just had a little row of puncture wounds that itched a little. I cleaned the wound, and kept an eye on it. It was fine after an hour or so.

The only con that I can think of is that it is a strong fish, subsequently when catching this fish it splashes and fights the net like a mofo!

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSCF0122.jpg

[fishoholic]

Hi, Steve and I have a foxface you can always come visit :biggrin: hint hint :biggrin: If he gets spooked he loses his colour and hides, and it did take him awhile to settle in, but now he thinks he's a tang and he swims around with them (a lavender, regal, salfin and yellow tang) all the time front and centre. Our's is a big pig he eats nori, mysis and pellets. He is a very peaceful fish other aggressive tanks mates (a powder brown tang and a nigger trigger) we had in the past had to go because they tormented him. He's very hardy our only survivor out of all of our original sw fish. Steve got stung by him once and he said that his hand hurt like an SOB for about 10 sec. then went numb for about 30 sec. then was fine. I was there when it happened and it wasn't too bad. We have him in our reef tank and the only coral we can't have with him are zoos, he likes to eat them, but other corals he leaves alone. The only con is if you want aggressive fish or zoos you might have to rethink getting a foxface, otherwise go for it! Our foxface was the first big sw fish we got and we love having him in our tank. Hope this helps:biggrin: PS our friend has one too and his leaves his zoos alone, however ours used to leave zoos alone too and now he likes to snack on them! -Laurie

[DanG]

I have one in my reef tank, never nipped at anything that wasn't supposed to be eaten.

Mine gets scared easily, and will run and hide or just sit in a corner looking brown and spotted. No feeding issues at all, he eats both red and green nori like there's no tomorrow, same with spiriluna flake and the regular 4 flake frenzy that I feed the rest of the tank, but he never touches the mysis or bloodworms when I feed those.
Hasn't picked on anyone, and no issues with getting bossed around by my big maroon clown. He even lets the cleaner shrimp clean him from time to time.

(knock on wood) Never been stung.

He does frequently hide in the anthelia that's growing wild in my tank, almost clownfish and anemone like.

[Canadbis]

The Foxface is one of the first fish I purchased for my 90G
It is doing great with my Anthias, clowns, Blenny, and yellow tang, in my Reef.
Does a great job of eating algae off the glass and rocks. It doesn't always touch the nori but sometimes. Seems to get along great with everything and everyone. Loves NLS. I have never been stung but I bet it would hurt. The colour is as strong on it as it was when I got it.

Tell you the truth there are NO cons about having it in my tank.

Hope this helps

[Finaddict]

hI, i have a blue lined fox fish.

he is always begging in front with my tangs.

colorful, when my hand goes in the water he hides....
http://img353.imageshack.us/img353/2282/img2044zq9.jpg

[foxfishfan]

My foxface is the biggest pig in the tank and leaves the corals alone. Apparently, they are great for bubble algae and very peaceful. He gets along well with my mix of 4 clowns, a puffer, a mandarin and especially the beta marine who comes out to swim close to him. He does get easily rattled and will seek comfort in the rocks if something scares him. He's one of my favourites next to the mandarin and the puffer. The shade of yellow tends to change depending on time of day or stress. When bright yellow, it is as bright as a yellow tang's yellow. Tony

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

I have another type of rabbitfish, the yellow/gold one with blue dots. It hid for the first 3 days (smallest fish in the 220g reef) but has been out & about ever since. Seems much better at nibbling on little bits of nuisance algae than any of the tangs (Powder blue, Yellow, Elongate "A.mata", or Hippo). A rabbitfish is a great addition to a reef tank, imo. I never really liked the long snout look of the foxface, but there are many other, equally hardy species around.

Anthony

[corpusse]

Mine is very hardy, colour doesn't fade (i've never heard of this happening to anyone). Eats everything including xenia, i had a HUGE colony and he devoured it within a couple days. I have seen him pick at a dying acan but never any other corals. Never got stung and hope I never will. I'm actually thinking of replacing him with a tang but i'm undecided and might just add a tang since I only have 1 large fish in a 112 gallon.

[mark]

Got mine (S. Vulpinus) from Lando in this Feb so really have haven't had that long but nice fish.

To answer your questions
-in mixed reef and no signs of nibbling on anything he's not to be
-out all the time, cruising above and through the rockwork, will hide if I have my hand in the tank moving stuff around but not anymore than my Purple Tang and probably less that my Regal
-loves nori
-doesn't fade so much as may turn a black/brown but then usually only when all the lights off and even then not that often
-never stung
-hardy, not really sure as no stressors in the system. Mine was nice and healthy when I got him so not sure how they would tolerate ich etc
-can't think of anything bad

[bulletsworld]

WOW the feedback I got from everyone is incredible! Thank yOU! Much appreciated. Always good to hear from people that house this fish and their experiences.

Overall it sounds like it would be a good tankmate for my tank. I was worried it would be to big of a fish in a 90gal. Even though there is only 2 fish in the tank now. And was unsure if it territorial like a tang. But big enough to not be looked at by my always hungry med sized porcupine puffer.

[EmilyB]

http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/500/SpiffandFox.jpg

[EmilyB]

Spiff and Foxy Lady. My rabbitfish grew from 2" to about 7" in under two years. I had to give up Foxy because it's swimming behavior was weird in a 155 bowfront, it was large and they don't bend very well. Anyone who has had a large one can relate. :sad:

[Doug]

In all the years I've been in the hobby, I have yet to get a Foxface.
*Did you have them in a reef?
*Did they hide a lot? Did it eat Nori?
*Did you have the problem with it fading in color?
*Have you ever got a sting? What was your reactions?
*Did you find the fish to be hardy?
*What are the cons of this fish you found?
Lee

* Mine was a model citizen of my mixed reef. It had several fleshy lps, that they never bothered, nor the clams.

*It did scurry for cover when easily scared but most times was in the open with the tangs. The two I owned, {sold because of downsize}, ate like pigs. They would go through a nori sheet like nothing and liked spirolina flakes and the usual frozens.

*I also must have been lucky, as both were algae eating machines, including bubble algae. :smile:

*No colour fade, but then I never owned them for more than a year. :sad:

*I was never stung but always careful. Perhaps if one has problems with bee stings, etc. they should be very wary. I,ve read several cases like mentioned here, where there was no problems, then some with lots of pain in the bite area and then even some that required hospital attention. Like any fish/invert, that has venom in its spines, owners should be well aware before purchase.

*Mine were hardy in the time I owned them, but I have heard they can have shipping problems when larger. :question: I know the second one I owned, never made the 4hr. transfer to a friends. :sad: And it was well packed in a large container of water but just to much stress I imagine. I would look for a smaller one.
Plus if they are similar to tangs and large ones added to an established tank, would have acceptance trouble from other larger similar fish.
I have seen some pretty large rabbitfish, so size should be considered but the common foxface seems to be not so bad. As Deb mentioned though, even they can get a decent size and a 90g type tank would be near the bottom limit for a full grown adult.

Hope some of this helps. Although my experience was limited, I have read many threads on them and this seems to be the common consensus.