Fox face in a 55 gallon reef

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Cooperdude916

New member
I made a form a couple of days ago and somebody said I can put a fox face in a 55 gallon reef. I have a clownfish,a pajama cardinal,a fire fish,and a six line wrasse with 10 crabs and a peppermint shrimp. I want to know if it is possible to put a fox face in until it dies of old age.
 
I would say it's marginal. I've got one in a 60x24x30 tank and it's starting to seem a bit cramped to me even in there. They won't bother anything in your tank, but they do get big and beefy. They're also kind of skittish.
 
I kept one in my 120 and it was getting too large for that tank. I personally wouldn't keep one in a 55.
 
Agree with the others. I have a foxface in a 215. He's not a really active swimmer like a tang, but he's by far the biggest fish in my tank, he's long and pretty beefy. I don't think a fish this size would be comfortable in a 55.
 
I've read that a one spot fox face gets up to 7" but I think that's still a bit big on what you guys have been saying. I do want to know what kind of fox face you were talking about when you said that it's getting to big for your 120g.
 
Mine is what Liveaquaria.com refers to as a foxface lo. To use precise terminology it's a Siganus vulpinus.

According to Liveaquaria, this animal can grow to be up to 9" in length. I should also note that mine has significant girth, which in essence adds to the bio load because he's not a small fish.
 
just gave my one spot foxface away after it started terrorizing ,my clam and duncan. Cool fish but you're taking a gamble with your corals
 
Depends on the particular one you go with. Some get up to 13"s in the wild while other types reach 6"s in the wild. Which means a 6" will be more like 4"s even in a 400 gallon tank. Would i put a small one in a 55 yes, would i plan on having it in a 55 for its entire life? No.
 
jaa1456 said:
Some get up to 13"s in the wild while other types reach 6"s in the wild.
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What type of rabbit fish/foxface reaches only 6 inches in the wild? I'm genuinely curious. Most sources I've seen puts the foxfaces that are commonly available at 9-10."

jaa1456 said:
Would i put a small one in a 55 yes, would i plan on having it in a 55 for its entire life? No.
Click to expand...
I agree with your ultimate conclusion, but in my experience, these fish grow very quickly. It would not take long before it gets tight in a 55 gallon tank.

To the OP, I commend you on looking at the entire life of the fish and not being unrealistic about future upgrades or being able to find a home for a fish that outgrows your tank. A big fish will make your tank look small. All in all, you'd be better off long term sticking with medium and small fishes.
 
I wouldn't do it personally. I got a one spot foxface a little while ago and while it's really cool, he grows fast! If my tank was any smaller, I would never have brought him home. I won't purchase a fish if I need to re-home it due to max size, just not fair to the fish as far as I'm concerned.
 
you could probably get away with that tang easier than the fox face, but again, it depends on which fox face as some are bigger than others, the fox face rabbit fish gets big.

But, you probably could get away with keeping either one, it just wouldn't be ideal, and the fox face rabbit fish has a venomous spine so in a smallish aquarium it could become a problem. That's one problem with saltwater fish, most of the coolest and best looking fish are large and need large tanks.
 
Mishri said:
you could probably get away with that tang easier than the fox face, but again, it depends on which fox face as some are bigger than others, the fox face rabbit fish gets big.

But, you probably could get away with keeping either one, it just wouldn't be ideal, and the fox face rabbit fish has a venomous spine so in a smallish aquarium it could become a problem.
Click to expand...

What about keeping the tang until it gets max size.
 
you certainly could, it certainly wouldn't be as bad as the guy that I know that kept a blue tang (Paracanthurus hepatus) for years at max size in his 55 gal. 1 ft fish with a 1ft wide aquarium is just sad looking, especially since they like a lot of room for swimming. that tang only gets about 1/2 that size.

You wont have the recommended size of tank but that doesn't mean you can't do it.
 
Mishri said:
you certainly could, it certainly wouldn't be as bad as the guy that I know that kept a blue tang (Paracanthurus hepatus) for years at max size in his 55 gal. 1 ft fish with a 1ft wide aquarium is just sad looking, especially since they like a lot of room for swimming. that tang only gets about 1/2 that size.

You wont have the recommended size of tank but that doesn't mean you can't do it.
Click to expand...

Sweet I think I might get one. Anybody who opposes just tell me.
 
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