Foxface Rabbitfish

[edit] Overview

Rabbitfishes are terrific marine aquarium community members, and this species is a strikingly colored algae-eating machine that is hardy and a valuable aquarium resident. This is an active fish that roams about the aquarium looking for grazing opportunities. Beware of its venomous fin spines that can cause painful stings.

[edit] Feeding

Herbivore. Offer fresh, dried or frozen algae-based foods at least three times a day. You may be able to feed it less if there is a good algal crop in the aquarium.

[edit] Aquarium Compatibility

This rabbitfish will not behave aggressively toward other fishes, but may occasionally chase other herbivores (especially tangs) and it may quarrel with other rabbitfishes. It is best to keep one per tank, unless you can acquire a pair or have a very large tank (180 gallons [684 L] or more). They are often used in reef tanks to control algae and are typically well-behaved—however, the occasional individual may nip at and even eat large-polyped stony corals or mushroom anemones.

[edit] Special Care

VENOMOUS. Handle with care to avoid puncture wounds from its sharp dorsal spines.

[edit] Breeding/Propagation

Egg scatterers that produce pelagic eggs, often in midwater mating rituals. Both eggs and larvae that drift with plankton in the water column and settle back onto a reef at about the time of metamorphosis. These are among the most challenging types of marine fishes to propagate in captivity.

[edit] Notes

When stressed or at night it will adopt a dark mottling coloration over its body. Initially, it will be nervous in its new home, but will mellow and show its true, beautiful colors as time goes on.

Category: Species