Compatibility question / Tang v. Foxface

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Matt Ziemer

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Nov 14, 2012
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I bought a Foxface Lo (Siganus vulpinus) yesterday and I'm really concerned for the guy. He is getting mercilessly hassled by a yellow tang. The tang is about 3" and was the largest fish in my 70 gal mixed reef tank. (Other fish include 2 damsels, 1 clown, 1 strawberry pseudocromis, 3 striped cardinalfish) I know the compatibility chart shows "with caution" for these two fish. I have also read that the Foxface can generally stand it's ground against aggressive fish because of it's venomous spines. The foxface is getting run into corners of the tank, behind live rock. My concern is the stress he is under - he seems to just lean on rock when he gets driven into the back of the tank. (I actually thought he was dead this morning when I saw him just leaning on a rock in the back of the tank.

My key question is, after less than 24 hours of this, do I immediately take him back to the LFS before he gets hassled to death, or do I give him and the tang time to find their balance? If so, how much time?

Thanks in advance for your reply!

Matt :confused:
 
If you think it is so bad that he is going to die then i would take him back. In my opinion the tank is too small for the yellow tank so he is agressive to anything that is taking up his space. It could also be that the tang and foxface are the same color.
 
I agree with Nu-Nu. The yellow tang will eventually outgrow the 70g and even if small now, probably feels the tank is his (or hers). I'd almost take that back and keep the fox face.

Tangs can get pushy when new fish are introduced but Foxfaces generally can hold their own, even in aggressive tanks. I'd give it a little more time and see if things settle down. If not, then I'd take one or the other back.
 
TheTodd said:
I agree with Nu-Nu. The yellow tang will eventually outgrow the 70g and even if small now, probably feels the tank is his (or hers). I'd almost take that back and keep the fox face.

Tangs can get pushy when new fish are introduced but Foxfaces generally can hold their own, even in aggressive tanks. I'd give it a little more time and see if things settle down. If not, then I'd take one or the other back.

+1. Its really your call though (op). We cant see how bad the foxface is doing so i couldnt tell you when to take him back, but you will need to monitor its health
 
Thanks for the advice. Again, when I get home from work today, it will only then be 24 hours. I will monitor the Foxface health and the behavior generally. And yes, they are both the same color - I suppose that is also an aggravating factor.

Thanks again,

Matt :thanks:
 
just read this now after coming back from the lfs and searching foxface lol. I have a yellow tang and after my ff was acclimated put him in the tank and hes chillen behind the rock spines up and turning black from the venom. He tried to get in the tangs cave so i think that's why he kept getting pushed around a little bit in my scenario. He hasnt come out and swam around since i put him in. I will keep an eye open. hows your two doing?
 
They seem to be working something out. The FF still goes through rapid changes but seems to always cycle back to apparent "relaxed" condition. I'll attach a couple of photos. In the first one, you can see the FF and the Tang swimming in the same side of the tank in relative ease. Although the Tang is behind the FF, he was not really chasing him. The second pic is about 5 minutes later, I saw the FF under a bit of red kelp with spines extended, and seriously blackened. 5 minutes later, he was swimming in the open, without the sickly coloration. Still monitoring closely, but does not seem to be as critical as I first thought.

Matt Ziemer
 

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Thank you. I hope my ff pulls through. He's still hanging near the sand bed sitting in the back of the tank behind the live rock staring at the wall. Spikes up and dark in color. Bad picture but here...

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I think you will both be ok. When I introduced my ff to the tank he didn't really come out for a week or so and was always changing color all the time. They are fairly timid fish. If it gets worse u might want to put the tang in qt for a few days and move some rocks. Might help, but as said earlier he's gonna get to big and aggressive in a small tank.

He's out all the time now btw :)
 
You can move your rockwork around and cut off the lights during times of aggression. Yellow tangs can be mean but usually after a few days to a week they usually calm down
 
My foxface is a little bugger sometimes and goes after my big naso tang, whose twice his size.

My tank is 800 gallons so there's definitely enough space for both of them.

Sometimes I'll catch my ff sleeping and he looks white and blotchy with all his spines out.
 

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Exactly what my ff was doing I guess he was taking a nap. He was out more and more the yesterday and this morning. It seems like when the lights are on he hides.
 
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