Fox face in reef

[phil bevilacqua]

I was in the process of buying a fox face off live aquaria and I noticed in the comments that it said it could pick at soft coral and hard coral… But yet I see one and almost everybody’s reef Tank . I already deal with a pain in the butt purple tang that picks at some of my Zoe’s and Acan‘s .... do you guys have any insight ? Thank you

 

[Crabs McJones]

Following along as a Mag Foxface is in my future :)

 

[Lukas75]

My majestic is a perfect citizen. That having been said I keep him fat and happy.

 

[minus9]

I have a one spot in my reef and he's so much fun to watch. First on the scene when I come around with food and the first to flee when I blink my eyes. Sometimes it doesn't matter what you feed, fish will nip at things and develop a taste for something or they simply don't get enough of what they should and "stray" away. I feed my tank several times a day, nori being one of those times, so most of my grazers are well fed, but they still graze throughout the day. Keep 'em fat and healthy and hopefully they'll be model citizens? With that being said, you can describe a fish in general terms regarding behavior, but each fish has his or her own personality and that can change, just like we change.
Go for it, but be careful of the spines and keep them well fed. Good luck! I'll try to post a pic of my one spot (my son named him Jupiter). Btw, they grow quickly when well fed, so be prepared.

 

[phil bevilacqua]

I was lookin at the maj.... my purple tang just has me really skittish. I mean I know he supposed to be a herbivore but he ate a small frag of fireworks clove polyps the second day they were in the tank.. lol. I mean he ate all of it all the way down to the Frag plug… LOL and I’ve tried to catch him with several different traps but he is a very suspicious fish and doesn’t even look like he’s going to entertain going into one of the traps even after the traps have been in the tank for seven days I mean he ate all of it all the way down to the Frag plug… LOL and I’ve tried to catch him with several different traps but he is a very suspicious fish and doesn’t even look like he’s going to entertain going into one of the traps even after the traps have been in the tank for seven days Lol

 

[Jesterrace]

I don't have any acans but I do have a few small Zoa Polyps that are currently growing and my One Spot hasn't touched them or my Euphyllia LPS frags and I have had it for nearly a year. Most consider the Foxfaces Reef Safe as long as they are well fed and many have them with no issues. As mentioned they can nibble under the right circumstances but a solid feeding of seaweed/nori along with a mixed diet (ie LRS Reef Frenzy) goes a long way to keeping them away from Corals. As mentioned above just because a fish is generally considered reef safe doesn't mean you can't get a nippy individual. There are a surprising number of tangs (particularly Blue Hippo Tangs) that do develop a taste for coral even though they are generally considered reef safe.

 

[smartwater101]

I've kept foxface off and on for 20 years and only seen them "nip" at corals when they are cleaning of algae I've been to lazy to brush away. It happens very little. It's never been an ongoing thing, and I would never worry about a coral even closing up let alone being harmed by it.

 

[minus9]

Yeah, some fish are wired differently. Try to find a smaller foxface and see. I bought mine in October of last year and he was barely 3" tip to tail and now is twice that size, in both directions. He/her and my yellow tang are best buds.

 

[MaccaPopEye]

I was lookin at the maj.... my purple tang just has me really skittish. I mean I know he supposed to be a herbivore but he ate a small frag of fireworks clove polyps the second day they were in the tank.. lol. I mean he ate all of it all the way down to the Frag plug… LOL and I’ve tried to catch him with several different traps but he is a very suspicious fish and doesn’t even look like he’s going to entertain going into one of the traps even after the traps have been in the tank for seven days I mean he ate all of it all the way down to the Frag plug… LOL and I’ve tried to catch him with several different traps but he is a very suspicious fish and doesn’t even look like he’s going to entertain going into one of the traps even after the traps have been in the tank for seven days Lol

Tangs, rabbit fish (including the fox face) & angels etc. are all omnivores. They graze all day on algae but they can and do eat meaty foods (mine go crazy when I add Mysis to the tank).

Because of that they all have the potential to eat coral if they feel like it. Angels are certainly most well known for it (not sure why but they apparently develop a taste for coral more readily). But I have read lots of stories about tangs and rabbit fish also developing a taste for coral.

The chance is there, just like with your purple tang. But I think if you feed lots of nori and lots of meaty foods to supplement the chances should be pretty low.

 

[ludnix]

I had been feeding my euphylia lately and my foxface has gotten used to stealing food from them. The other day I was just cleaning the tank, no feeding, and the foxfaces nipped a bunch of tentacles off one the hammers. I dont think he was interested in eating it but rather a force of habit. I netted up the loose tentacles floating around but he hasnt done it since thankfully.

I still love this big boy.

 

[phil bevilacqua]

Cool. Thanks guys

 

[Lukas75]

Mine is in with GSP, Zoas, a monti confuse, frogspawn and Kenyan tree. I feed exactly as stated above. Nori 3x per week and LRS Reef Frenzy daily. He's in with a desjardini and a tomini, none of them pick at the corals. That having been said I can definitely agree that all fish are different and it's not a guarantee.

 

[ARGYGANG]

I was in the process of buying a fox face off live aquaria and I noticed in the comments that it said it could pick at soft coral and hard coral… But yet I see one and almost everybody’s reef Tank . I already deal with a pain in the butt purple tang that picks at some of my Zoe’s and Acan‘s .... do you guys have any insight ? Thank you

mine eats clove polyps BUT only the yellow one he leaves my fireworks alone this fish is weird bro hes been at it for a few months now lol.

 

[Waters]

I have had one in pretty much every reef tank I have set up. Only had one that was an issue and had to be removed. Like any other species it often depends on the individual fish but Rabbit fish are normally pretty safe.