Foxface Rabbitfish question

[Ann Enomy]

I am restarting a 120 gallon reef tank after a extended power failure (over 2 months ago) and started re-stocking fish with a dozen clownfish gave it a couple weeks and then added a foxface and tomini tang about 3 weeks ago. The foxface is easily 2x the size of the tang.

Everyone is eating and not hiding but the foxface is staying black from midline to dorsal fin. I mean never turns fully yellow, ever. The last time I saw him full yellow was at the LFS. The foxface never leaves the tomini's side and vice versa. They are often in direct physical contact with each other, rubbing up to each other, side to side and have not observed the tang trying to hit the foxface with its barb or the foxface flaring it's spines. Both work together picking at the same patches of rockwork all day and will come into the open to eat Nori but are not really open water swimmers when someone is close to the tank. The Tomini and Hippo tangs I had in the past were also not open water swimmers but thought Foxface's were a bit more bold.

Is the Foxface exhibiting stress behavior that I should be concerned with or is it choosing to mimic the coloration of tomini? I find it very weird for dissimilar species to tolerate such close contact with each other.

I am going to fill out the open water space with 5-7 Anthias within the next few weeks (LFS has them on order, plus quarantine time). Maybe that will help make him less stressed if that is what it is.

 

[The_Skrimp]

In my experience all of this sounds pretty common, at least untill the fish gets used to you and the amount of traffic in your house. The one spot fox face i had recently stayed camo for a few weeks as well before getting used to the tank. In fact as soon as I added her she found my Melanurus wrasse and followed it around like best friends for a while. She stayed pretty close by his side for most of the few years I had her before selling her. She was fat happy and healthy though. I kind of wish she would have stayed shy because I ended up getting rid of her when she started picking on my coral and being a nuisance.
As long as yours is eating and not being picked on, I’d personally just give it a little more time.

 

[i cant think]

I am restarting a 120 gallon reef tank after a extended power failure (over 2 months ago) and started re-stocking fish with a dozen clownfish gave it a couple weeks and then added a foxface and tomini tang about 3 weeks ago. The foxface is easily 2x the size of the tang.

Everyone is eating and not hiding but the foxface is staying black from midline to dorsal fin. I mean never turns fully yellow, ever. The last time I saw him full yellow was at the LFS. The foxface never leaves the tomini's side and vice versa. They are often in direct physical contact with each other, rubbing up to each other, side to side and have not observed the tang trying to hit the foxface with its barb or the foxface flaring it's spines. Both work together picking at the same patches of rockwork all day and will come into the open to eat Nori but are not really open water swimmers when someone is close to the tank. The Tomini and Hippo tangs I had in the past were also not open water swimmers but thought Foxface's were a bit more bold.

Is the Foxface exhibiting stress behavior that I should be concerned with or is it choosing to mimic the coloration of tomini? I find it very weird for dissimilar species to tolerate such close contact with each other.

I am going to fill out the open water space with 5-7 Anthias within the next few weeks (LFS has them on order, plus quarantine time). Maybe that will help make him less stressed if that is what it is.

Do you have a photo of this foxface?
There’s two species that are different;
One is solid yellow whilst the other tends to have a black spot that can vary to a black ‘bar’ from the middle up towards the dorsal.

 

[Ann Enomy]

I run a very blue tank. Can't get a good pic. Tried to adjust light but that sent him into hiding. I saw him full yellow at the LFS. No spot or bar there he can go full yellow if he chooses to.

 

[slingfox]

I run a very blue tank. Can't get a good pic. Tried to adjust light but that sent him into hiding. I saw him full yellow at the LFS. No spot or bar there he can go full yellow if he chooses to.

how is you Foxface doing now?

I also just got a One Spot Foxface that likes to hide most of the day. When it goes out to eat nori it is side-by-side with my Yellow Tang. I hope it will be less of a scaredy fish once it gets used to the tank (it abs only been a week or so).