Your Spinefoot Signal

Everyone wants a Tang, Doctorfish, Surgeonfish or whatever you want to call them. We get it. They're gorgeous, lots of them are very hardy and appropriate for aquariums AAAND nearly all of them eat one kind of algae or another. That being said, for most aquariums, there's another choice, and they're often even more appropriate for most aquariums. We're talking about Rabbitfish, and more specifically, Siganus spinus, a fish better known as the Little Spinefoot Rabbitfish. These are gorgeous fish, that are the picture of reef safe and are both peaceful and hardy.

Little Spinefoot Rabbits get to be about eight inches long as adults. The record is just shy of a foot, but this would be a really really exceptional specimen. An eight-inch fish still needs a fairly large aquarium, and these fish will do best in small groups (three or more) because they are fairly shy. As a result, we suggest that the tank you keep them in should be at least 125 gallons when they are grown. These displays should offer a lot of rockwork for them to swim through and hide in, which will also make them more gregarious. Little Spine Rabbits will enjoy a lot of flow, shoot for at least ten times the aquarium capacity in gallons per minute (and more would be better). They don't need a substrate and are good candidates for bare bottom tanks with their love of flow and messy eating habits.

Speaking of messy eating habits, these fish are primarily herbivores and will mow down any hair algae (or other macro algae) that your tank has in it. They’ll need a good amount of supplemental feeding and a regular and large portion of their diet should be Nutramar Nori and Ogo, and we've recently posted an article all about feeding both these foods. Like all vegetarian fish, a surprising amount of their diet includes the protein they get from eating small invertebrates that live in the algae that they mow down. A quality pellet like the Algae and Color Boost formula from Nutramar is a great choice, and as a bonus this formula is also available as a shot. This means you can stick a small plug of food to the glass or rocks, and your Rabbitfish can graze on it, which is their natural feeding behavior, and we've had great results getting these fish enough protein, minerals and nutrients by utilizing Nutramar's shots. They'll also take small meaty frozen foods but be careful not to give them too much protein or it can cause digestive issues. Always stay away from terrestrial greens like kale and spinach, these are hard to digest for all marine fish. Really the only challenge people have in feeding LSRs is that they can be a bit shy initially and might miss mealtimes if you keep them with a lot of other aggressive eaters.

So, what can you keep with a Little Spinefoot Rabbitfish? You should start with at least two more LSRs, but after that, it's a beautiful and wide-open list. These fish aren't going to bother pretty much anything you keep them with, and with their spiny dorsal fins, aren't really going to be bothered by much of anything shy of aquarium keeping's most notorious villains (the list of which is another article, but most of you have a good idea of who we're talking about.) If a fish was ever safe with your corals, your cleanup crew, your clams and cleaner shrimp, it's these. You know what isn't safe? Your algae.

As long as your other aquarium inhabitants like the same parameters as the Rabbit, they're likely going to be okay, and these parameters are pretty standard / easy. Keep temps in the 70's, a stable pH around 8, and a specific gravity between 1.021 and 1.026. While pretty hardy, Little Spinefoot Rabbits can be sensitive to bad water quality, so keep up the regular water changes, and use appropriately sized filtration.

Little Spine Rabbitfish should be on the shortlist of fish you want, especially if you have a reef tank. These gentle and hardy critters are absolutely gorgeous. Now, their initial shyness is going to mean that they aren't their colorful best when initially placed into your display, but give them a day or two, and the amazing coloration will show itself. If you have a hair algae situation, you need to address some nutrient issues, but if you also need a mower, three LSRs are up to the task. Hardy, beautiful, peaceful AND useful is a list that not many marine aquarium fish can match. Add to this that they aren't super commonly seen in aquariums and you can add different / rare to the list! Dang, why are you waiting? If your display is big enough, and you take good care of it, think about adding three of these to your tank today! Tell your Local Fish Store that Quality Marine sent you and always ask for QM fish.