There is no perfect aquarium fi...
Wait, hold on. What about Bicolor Foxface Rabbitfish? You know, Siganus uspi?
Hmm, the case is strong here. Peaceful, useful herbivore, hardy, not too big, very active and striking colors... Okay, we'll accept the application and get back to you.
Where to start with these fish, first of all, they are not super well named. There are two dominant colors: black and yellow (go ahead, sing it, you know you want to) but there is also a big white dash behind their gill plate. Who knows, maybe the namers thought Tri-color Rabbit was going to be a bit too fancy. On the other hand, nothing mows down greens like a Rabbitfish, so on that front, the name is pretty accurate. Bicolors (yes, we have to stick with it) are among the smallest of the commonly seen Rabbitfish, and adults are rarely bigger than eight inches or so from tip to tail. The largest one on record is a tad over nine inches. They also are called Foxface, and this one also makes sense.
We've also been keeping them in reef displays for decades now and have never had an issue with them eating corals. However, reports of this happening do exist. Keep an eye on your Rabbitfish; if it starts to take some exploratory nibbles on stuff, you'd rather didn't get eaten, you're going to have to remove the fish. It's possible that we've never seen this behavior because we feed really well. These are active fish that are grazers and need to have a good amount of green in their diet. This means Nutramar Nori and Ogo are regular food, and we rely heavily on Nutramar Algae and Color Boost Pellets and (more importantly) Shots. The Shots can be stuck to rocks or glass, allowing the Rabbitfish to graze as they would naturally in the wild, and offer unparalleled nutrition. Bicolor Rabbits won't pass up a nice meaty morsel like Gamma Brine Plus Spirulina, or Brine Plus Omega, or Mysis. Offer these foods more sporadically. Keep your fish well fed, and it will be more active, stay healthier and maybe even stay away from eating your inverts.
Wait, hold on. What about Bicolor Foxface Rabbitfish? You know, Siganus uspi?
Hmm, the case is strong here. Peaceful, useful herbivore, hardy, not too big, very active and striking colors... Okay, we'll accept the application and get back to you.
Where to start with these fish, first of all, they are not super well named. There are two dominant colors: black and yellow (go ahead, sing it, you know you want to) but there is also a big white dash behind their gill plate. Who knows, maybe the namers thought Tri-color Rabbit was going to be a bit too fancy. On the other hand, nothing mows down greens like a Rabbitfish, so on that front, the name is pretty accurate. Bicolors (yes, we have to stick with it) are among the smallest of the commonly seen Rabbitfish, and adults are rarely bigger than eight inches or so from tip to tail. The largest one on record is a tad over nine inches. They also are called Foxface, and this one also makes sense.
We've also been keeping them in reef displays for decades now and have never had an issue with them eating corals. However, reports of this happening do exist. Keep an eye on your Rabbitfish; if it starts to take some exploratory nibbles on stuff, you'd rather didn't get eaten, you're going to have to remove the fish. It's possible that we've never seen this behavior because we feed really well. These are active fish that are grazers and need to have a good amount of green in their diet. This means Nutramar Nori and Ogo are regular food, and we rely heavily on Nutramar Algae and Color Boost Pellets and (more importantly) Shots. The Shots can be stuck to rocks or glass, allowing the Rabbitfish to graze as they would naturally in the wild, and offer unparalleled nutrition. Bicolor Rabbits won't pass up a nice meaty morsel like Gamma Brine Plus Spirulina, or Brine Plus Omega, or Mysis. Offer these foods more sporadically. Keep your fish well fed, and it will be more active, stay healthier and maybe even stay away from eating your inverts.
