High Tide Aquatics

Training a foxface to eat nuisance algae

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richiev

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I picked up a Magnificent foxface recently. It arrived very skinny, but it's eating well and is gaining size. My goal in getting it was having something that'll go to town on bubble and hair algae in my various tanks, since none of my other tangs/lawnmower blennies/... are doing so.

While fattening it up I'm keeping it in a separated isolation tank, a 13.5gal Fluval I've had sitting around cycled. It's become my "isolate new inverts and fish" tank.

Since it's in there, I decided to do a bit of an experiment, and I'm trying to train it to eat everything, including bubble algae and hair algae. So far it actually seems to be going successfully. My process:

1. have it eating mysis and get it not totally and completely afraid of me (it's still pretty timid right now though)
2. pull some bubble algae from my other tank, toss it in to the isolation tank along with some hair algae. It seemed like it was not interested, but might've pecked at it
3. next time, crush the bubble algae and toss it in, slightly better response, but seemed to spit it out
4. next time, crush some bubble algae and add it in a cup with some dethawed mysis. Let it soak. Then toss the algae in

After a couple rounds of #4, it's consistently eating popped bubble algae and I think it's eating unpopped. I've done the same with hair algae, but less reaction. It is definitely sucking the full hair algae into its mouth, but it tends to spit it out after a bit. Going to try tomorrow to do hair algae first, followed by unpopped bubble algae, followed by popped, ...

Also have it eating pellets using the soaking trick.

Eventually hoping I'll be able to just toss unpopped bubble algae into the tank, along with hair algae, and have it eat it. If I get to that point, he'll get moved into the main display.

Anyone else done this before?
 
richiev said:
I picked up a Magnificent foxface recently. It arrived very skinny, but it's eating well and is gaining size. My goal in getting it was having something that'll go to town on bubble and hair algae in my various tanks, since none of my other tangs/lawnmower blennies/... are doing so.

While fattening it up I'm keeping it in a separated isolation tank, a 13.5gal Fluval I've had sitting around cycled. It's become my "isolate new inverts and fish" tank.

Since it's in there, I decided to do a bit of an experiment, and I'm trying to train it to eat everything, including bubble algae and hair algae. So far it actually seems to be going successfully. My process:

1. have it eating mysis and get it not totally and completely afraid of me (it's still pretty timid right now though)
2. pull some bubble algae from my other tank, toss it in to the isolation tank along with some hair algae. It seemed like it was not interested, but might've pecked at it
3. next time, crush the bubble algae and toss it in, slightly better response, but seemed to spit it out
4. next time, crush some bubble algae and add it in a cup with some dethawed mysis. Let it soak. Then toss the algae in

After a couple rounds of #4, it's consistently eating popped bubble algae and I think it's eating unpopped. I've done the same with hair algae, but less reaction. It is definitely sucking the full hair algae into its mouth, but it tends to spit it out after a bit. Going to try tomorrow to do hair algae first, followed by unpopped bubble algae, followed by popped, ...

Also have it eating pellets using the soaking trick.

Eventually hoping I'll be able to just toss unpopped bubble algae into the tank, along with hair algae, and have it eat it. If I get to that point, he'll get moved into the main display.

Anyone else done this before?
Click to expand...
You can make a nice side hustle if you can accomplish this feat plus being QT’ed!

Nice work..so far.
 
richiev said:
I picked up a Magnificent foxface recently. It arrived very skinny, but it's eating well and is gaining size. My goal in getting it was having something that'll go to town on bubble and hair algae in my various tanks, since none of my other tangs/lawnmower blennies/... are doing so.

While fattening it up I'm keeping it in a separated isolation tank, a 13.5gal Fluval I've had sitting around cycled. It's become my "isolate new inverts and fish" tank.

Since it's in there, I decided to do a bit of an experiment, and I'm trying to train it to eat everything, including bubble algae and hair algae. So far it actually seems to be going successfully. My process:

1. have it eating mysis and get it not totally and completely afraid of me (it's still pretty timid right now though)
2. pull some bubble algae from my other tank, toss it in to the isolation tank along with some hair algae. It seemed like it was not interested, but might've pecked at it
3. next time, crush the bubble algae and toss it in, slightly better response, but seemed to spit it out
4. next time, crush some bubble algae and add it in a cup with some dethawed mysis. Let it soak. Then toss the algae in

After a couple rounds of #4, it's consistently eating popped bubble algae and I think it's eating unpopped. I've done the same with hair algae, but less reaction. It is definitely sucking the full hair algae into its mouth, but it tends to spit it out after a bit. Going to try tomorrow to do hair algae first, followed by unpopped bubble algae, followed by popped, ...

Also have it eating pellets using the soaking trick.

Eventually hoping I'll be able to just toss unpopped bubble algae into the tank, along with hair algae, and have it eat it. If I get to that point, he'll get moved into the main display.

Anyone else done this before?
Click to expand...
no
but I’ve found that when offering prepared foods, include flakes

and they are predisposed to consume algae
if you can get rocks that already have algal growth, put it in the tank, see what happens
I’ve had very good success with the rabbit fishes that I’ve had
ive had most of them at one time or another
without any special treatment
 
Love those Magnificent Foxface’s. Had to get rid of mine because he started to consume fields of Zoa’s. He used to eat bubble and any other algae he could get to. Would even get at the nori. They are Herbivores so getting them to eat the algae should be natural.
 
The nice thing is they will eat anything eventually. The downside is they will eat anything eventually. They are like sharks, they take a bite then decide if they like it or want to spit it out. Don't put any single polyp zoa frags in the tank with a fox face ‍
 
As for the hair algae, my understanding is that mature growth of the algae is less tasty compared to fresh growth.

It seems that manual removal is the best treatment for the long stuff and herbivores for the new growth.
 
grizfyrfyter said:
As for the hair algae, my understanding is that mature growth of the algae is less tasty compared to fresh growth.

It seems that manual removal is the best treatment for the long stuff and herbivores for the new growth.
Click to expand...
That's my understanding as well, but going to see if I can get it to treat it as a food source initially. Maybe it'll consider it a grazing item in the future...
 
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