foxface

[lisamweston]

my foxface is the largest fish in my tank right now, i have 2 black clowns, 2 orange clowns, 2 bluedamsel fish and a royal gramma w inverts. he is a scaredy cat, when he comes out he is always flicking his spikes. i was thinking about adding a juvenile emperor angelfish next. do you think having another larger fish will help him come out more? or the opposite? it is a 220 gallon tank

 

[bribo12]

I may be in the minority here but I feel that tank is to small for an emperor. It's be fine for a while but full grown its to small. That's probably just me and others will probably say it's ok. Just my .02.

 

[lisamweston]

220 gallons is too small? my research says at least 135 gallons, it seems to be lots of space, I'm interested to hear from others who have these fish, thanks

 

[bribo12]

No problem just seeing them in aquaria and large specimens in fish stores, anything smaller than a 10 foot tank seems unfair. But a small one would do much better in your tank than the people who usually buy them. It would be fine for some years too IMO. Just giving my opinion on large angels.

 

[lisamweston]

is there a smaller fish that would do better, and would encourage my foxface? i want my fish to be happy...

 

[bribo12]

I've always seen foxface a become buddy-buddy with tangs. Just do one that isn't the same color or shape. A kole, purple, hippo, tomini. There are others just gave some options.

 

[carey]

What I have found brings out my shy fish are a bunch of smaller fish that swim alot. A good example are chromis. They school and are very active. My tangs have always been a bit shy, actually, VERY shy, lol but after I threw in 6 blue green chromis they come out much more. I think they call it fodder fish? I could be mistaken....its done in freshwater as well, get some active happy fish and it brings out the shy ones

 

[bribo12]

What I have found brings out my shy fish are a bunch of smaller fish that swim alot. A good example are chromis. They school and are very active. My tangs have always been a bit shy, actually, VERY shy, lol but after I threw in 6 blue green chromis they come out much more. I think they call it fodder fish? I could be mistaken....its done in freshwater as well, get some active happy fish and it brings out the shy ones

Dither fish . That completely went by me haha. I'd try that first. Great suggestion carey

 

[carey]

lol thanks for the correct term bribo. lol I'm such an airhead sometimes.

 

[lisamweston]

i have heard conflicting things about chromis- getting 5-7 means that they will keep picking off the smallest one, getting 8 or more that is less likely to happen. thoughts?

 

[bribo12]

Haha I only know that because when I kept rams in fw they needed dither fish to come out.

 

[bribo12]

Get anthias instead then. They're much prettier and don't do the dying off thing

 

[carey]

If you have the budget for anthias, I agree. But at $25 and up for a single one that can get pricey quick. Plus depending on the type of anthias, they can be difficult to get eating.
I bought my chromis like 2 months ago and still have them all. Minus the one that went into the overflow and just disappeared.
But yeah, a small school of maybe 5 anthias would look awesome and most likely make your foxface a bit more social.

 

[bribo12]

True I just hate chromis . But they are $20 cheaper

 

[carey]

I used to have blue reef chromis, alot bigger and different than the regular blue/green ones you always see. The blue reef's are a bit more $$, I think at liveaquaria they are $15 each. But they are very blue, school well and have black streaks on them, quite cool in my opinion

 

[bribo12]

I used to have blue reef chromis, alot bigger and different than the regular blue/green ones you always see. The blue reef's are a bit more $$, I think at liveaquaria they are $15 each. But they are very blue, school well and have black streaks on them, quite cool in my opinion

Just looked them up. Those are actually pretty nice.

 

[carey]

lol I wouldnt steer ya wrong.

I like having different fish and those are way different than the average chromi. They can get to almost 3 inches too which is a nice size, especially with a 220g they would be visible from a distance unlike the little green/blue ones

 

[ff.rice]

Can the anthias go in a 55 gallon tank and if so.... How many? And can they be added at different times? Ot go they need to be added at the same time?

 

[woody390]

I have my foxface in a tank with a yellow tang who it is inseparable from. the blue throat trigger I have is usually swimming round with them too