Magnificent Foxface

Care at a glance

Overview

This foxface is peaceful with other species but territorial with its own kind and other rabbitfish, so keep just one per tank unless the system is very large. It's reef safe when well fed, since a hungry foxface is more likely to sample soft corals. Offer plenty of nori and marine algae alongside prepared foods. Like other rabbitfish it carries venomous spines across its dorsal, anal, and pelvic fins; a sting causes sharp, lasting pain and swelling, so use a container rather than your hands when moving this fish, and take care during tank maintenance if it's nearby.

In the wild

Magnificent foxface come from a fairly narrow stretch of the eastern Indian Ocean, from Thailand's coast down to Java, which makes them scarcer in the trade than most other foxface species. They live in shallow reef lagoons, often in pairs, grazing algae from rock and rubble. Plan for at least 470 litres (125 US gal) with plenty of live rock to graze.

Good to know

Siganus magnificus is one of the more strikingly patterned rabbitfish, with a white head split by a black band through the eye and a body divided sharply between white and dark brown, trimmed in yellow or red along the fins. That bold, high-contrast pattern is where the common name comes from.

Did you know

Prices for this fish have swung enormously over the decades: it sold as a rarity for hundreds of dollars in the late 1990s, and while it's more available today, a fully colored-up adult still commands a premium over most other foxface.

Related species

• 

  Bicolor Foxface

  Siganus uspi

  9.4 in (24 cm)124 gal (470 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Foxface Rabbitfish

  Siganus vulpinus

  9.4 in (24 cm)75 gal (285 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)

• 

  Barred Rabbitfish

  Siganus doliatus

  9.8 in (25 cm)106 gal (400 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  One-Spot Foxface

  Siganus unimaculatus

  7.9 in (20 cm)70 gal (265 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Two-barred Rabbitfish

  Siganus virgatus

  11.8 in (30 cm)119 gal (450 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Moorish Idol

  Zanclus cornutus

  9.1 in (23 cm)125 gal (473 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)