Not furry, but we like them anyway.
Foxface Rabbitfish
Siganus vulpinus (Schlegel & Müller, 1845)
Also called Foxface, Foxface lo, Common foxface, Black-face rabbitfish, Badgerfish
From Eastern Indian Ocean and western Pacific, from Indonesia and the Philippines to the Marshall and Gilbert Islands, north to Taiwan and south to New Caledonia and Australia.12
At a glance the quick version
Looks how to spot one
Scaled, compressed rabbitfish with a pointed snout
A tall, flat-sided fish with a small mouth on a pointed, fox-like snout. The body is bright yellow, while the face is white with a bold dark band running from the mouth through the eye to the start of the dorsal fin, plus a dark chest. When alarmed it can quickly shift to a mottled darker brown camouflage.213
Personality what they are like
Calm and peaceful with most fish, but it does not tolerate other rabbitfish. It can switch on a mottled 'alarm' colour when startled and settles back to yellow once it feels safe.32
Daily activity how busy a day looks
Moderately active grazer that cruises around the rockwork through the day picking at algae.23
Grooming and care the hands-on bits
Its fin spines are venomous, so use a net or container and take care when working in the tank. Keep it well fed with plant matter so it leaves corals alone. Typical reef water: about 22 to 26 °C (72 to 78 °F), pH 8.1 to 8.4, dKH 8 to 12, specific gravity 1.020 to 1.025.23
Home where they are happiest
A large aquarium of at least about 125 US gallons (about 475 L) with live rock to graze. Wild fish live in coral-rich lagoons and seaward reefs, often near staghorn coral, from the surface to about 30 m.312
Food basics what goes in the bowl
Mainly herbivorous. Wild fish graze algae and also take some zooplankton; in aquariums offer marine algae such as nori, vegetable-based foods and some meaty items.213
Company who they like around
Adults live alone or in pairs, while juveniles may gather in schools. Keep one per tank unless it is very large, and avoid mixing with other rabbitfish.123
The story where it all began
Hermann Schlegel and Salomon Müller described the fish in 1845 as Amphacanthus vulpinus, based on specimens from Ternate in Indonesia. The name vulpinus means fox-like, a reference to its pointed snout. It is a well-known and hardy species in the marine aquarium trade.21
Fun facts for the dinner table
- 1
Its species name vulpinus means 'fox-like', after its pointed snout.2
- 2
When it feels threatened it can switch from bright yellow to a blotchy dark brown within moments.2
- 3
Its fin spines carry a venom that scientists have compared with that of stonefishes.2
- 4
Adults often shelter among branching staghorn corals.1
Recognised by the official bits
- IUCN Red List
- Least Concern (assessed March 2015)1
- Taxonomy
- Family Siganidae; first described as Amphacanthus vulpinus by Schlegel and Müller in 1845 from Ternate2
The care rhythm Furry Diary remembers it for you
A typical home-care rhythm for a Foxface Rabbitfish. It is our own starting plan, not a vet's advice, and you can change every line in the app.
- FeedingSmall amounts once or twice a dayevery day
- Temperature checkevery day
- Salinity checkevery week
- Top-upTop up evaporation with fresh RO water, not salt waterevery day
- Water testevery week
- Water changeAbout 10 to 20% of the waterevery 2 weeks
- Glass cleanevery week
You might also like
Yellow TangLike what we are building? Buy us a coffee.
The breed atlas is free for everyone, with a source on every fact, and it will never show ads. If it helped you, a small tip keeps the research going. Any amount is lovely, and no is a perfectly fine answer too.
Where this comes from
Every breed page shows where each fact comes from. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are pet people, not a science magazine. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
- FishBase: Siganus vulpinus fishbase.seused for origin, size, habitat, behaviour, colouration, IUCN status
- Wikipedia: Siganus vulpinus en.wikipedia.orgused for names, description, diet, venom, taxonomy, history
- LiveAquaria: Foxface Lo liveaquaria.comused for care level, tank size, water parameters, diet
Checked 2026-09-30. Text is written in our own words from these sources.