Move aside Casper. Cooper’s the new silver fox in town and he’s giving the real Anderson Cooper a run for his money. Off-coloured piebald aberrations are uncommon, but can be seen from time to time especially in certain genera of fish.
Zebrasoma flavescens seems particularly susceptible to this unknown affliction, and although it has been discussed to death, no one really knows why or how these fish look the way they do. To make things even more confusing, such aberrations often change and mosaic around in design as the fish matures in captivity, sometimes even disappearing altogether.
Siganus on the other hand are nearly always cookie cutter in production and rarely do we see any aberrations. This silver foxface is an unusual oddity and perhaps the first we’ve seen for its genus. The chrome yellow ground colour of this S. vulpinus can still be observed, but blanketed over much of its body is a sterling coat of silvery-white that if anything, draws even more attention to its monochromic facial pattern.
The white creeps into the ventral and caudal fins, where it leaves just an inkling of the original yellow. The single black spot that is so commonly associated with this species is only barely noticeable, manifesting itself instead as a silver buff.
No one knows for sure if this sterling stud will keep its colours, but if its anything like Casper the yellow tang, it may. It may also end up changing a little bit as it ages, becoming more or less white depending on the circumstances. Whatever the case, we’re sure this beautiful fox will land in a good home. This specimen was photographed at Bali Aquarium, and is scheduled to arrive at Nebraska Aquatic Supply this week.
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