Foxface Rabbitfish behavior ??

[weatherman]

I have a Foxface Rabbitfish that tends to 'hang' around at the top of the tank. His colors are fine, but seems to love staying at the top of the tank swimming slowly around.
I have him in a 150 gallon reef tank. I also have a yellow tang and a Naso tang that swim freely around the tank. But the Foxface continues to stay close to the top MOST OF THE TIME.
It sort of makes me nervous, but am not 100% sure if there is a problem here or not. You can probably pet him (I know about the poisonous spines) as it seems his 'back' is on top of the water.
Anybody else see this happening with their fish?
There is plenty of circulation of the water and the corals are doing great!
Ron

 

[maeistero]

mine exhibited strange behavior for a couple days, namely going camo against some lr. after awhile they found a buddy trigger and now just follow it around nonstop. they have some weird tendencies.

 

[weatherman]

Thanks.
I was concerned that I was losing the fish. BUT, it did NOT exhibit any strange 'stressful' colors so I was hoping it would be alright. Still a little concerned.....we'll see in time I guess.

 

[maeistero]

not necessarily stressful colors, often they will be camo'd out when the lights come on in the morning. i get up early to see if i can find mine sometimes.

if you're worried, do 3 checks on all tests and definitely use a refractometer. they're pretty hardy, it just takes awhile if you don't properly acclimate. i'm sure you'll be okay if you keep up water quality.

 

[unleashed]

what other tank mates are with this fish it may be avoiding an agressive tankmate by staying close to the surface..

 

[maeistero]

i will express my doubt on that, but it is possible. depending on tank size and aggressiveness...
i've seen them with millions of yellow tangs, sharks, puffs and numerous others. in my experience they tend to take to the biggest fish and trail it almost like a cleaner fish does. i personally now have one that follows my humu and one that follows my pinktail trigger. they fight each other, but it seems they're guarding their "bud"
they're the most aggressive in my tank, i don't have eels or lions. my triggers are wusses so far.

 

[weatherman]

Water quality is PERFECT. Nitrate, Nitrite, Ammonia, salinity...all perfect! The only other tank mates right now are a yellow tang and a Naso. They don't even know he's in the tank it seems. I've watched for long periods of time and show NO interest in the fish...kind of sad being lonely I guess.
Thanks for the comments.

 

[unleashed]

its it very possible that he is just avoiding the other fish at this time he is related to tangs but hes not hiding this is a good sign maybe he just needs a bit more time to adjust to his surroundings..in the past with my tangs and foxfaces there was almost a pecking order they present at first there was agressions but once things settled all was fine ..i just say give him some time feed him regularly and se how it goes

 

[michelle l]

Did you just get him? If so, I agree with the others, he's just getting his bearings. Mine hung out at the top of my 220 reef for several days when I first brought him home, then gradually went lower. He was being bullied by a large tang, though.
maeistero said, "i've seen them with millions of yellow tangs, sharks, puffs and numerous others. in my experience they tend to take to the biggest fish and trail it almost like a cleaner fish does. i personally now have one that follows my humu and one that follows my pinktail trigger. they fight each other, but it seems they're guarding their "bud""
Really funny he mentions this, as now the yellow tang that bullied him relentlessly is now his best friend. Everywhere the tang goes, the foxface is right behind him. I swear, if the tang swims away while he's not looking, he acts lost until he spies him and scrambles over to hover right next to his buddy.

 

[grumpygils]

Originally Posted by weatherman
I have a Foxface Rabbitfish that tends to 'hang' around at the top of the tank. His colors are fine, but seems to love staying at the top of the tank swimming slowly around.
I have him in a 150 gallon reef tank. I also have a yellow tang and a Naso tang that swim freely around the tank. But the Foxface continues to stay close to the top MOST OF THE TIME.
It sort of makes me nervous, but am not 100% sure if there is a problem here or not. You can probably pet him (I know about the poisonous spines) as it seems his 'back' is on top of the water.
Anybody else see this happening with their fish?
There is plenty of circulation of the water and the corals are doing great!
Ron

I put up a post a few weeks ago about my foxface. He hangs at the top and actually breathes air. He sucks in air through his mouth and then blows bubble out of his gills. He does this all of the time. Other than that he is fine. He has beein in the tank for about 9 months?
Mc