Orangespoted filefish

[netjamer]

Hi All:

I have had 2 orange spotted filefish for about a month now. All my reading says these fish are coral eaters-- and that they will die unless they have acropora to feed on...

Well, mine are eating flake like there is no tomorrow. I feed twice a day, and I feed alot-- they eat like monsters. I have them in my QT tank, A 15 high- I do have some zoo coral in there and no problems--

Anyone else have a good experience with these fish... AKA longnose filefish-- Oxymonacanthus longirostiris is the species, I believe..

I can only assume that the books are wrong, or rather that in recent times this fish has learned to eat other available foods.

-btw- a very cool fish-- am thinking of moving them to my 30G reef--
advise? suggestions?-- I can show feeding behavior on video too, if anyone is interested.

best,

 

[Anonymous]

My father kept a pair long ago and had them eating frozen foods such as brine shrimp with gusto.

They eventually withered and died despite the hearty appetite. Maybe if yours eat a good flake and you supplement with liquid vitamins, they can get whatever nutrient they were lacking in the diet he fed them.

 

[Ijkreef]

Feed them a good flake food, or even better, a mix. Mine is swimming happily in my tank for more than half a year now. Initially I had to wean him with live acropora though (an expensive and heartbreaking process which I will never repeat again...)

I noticed that he generally does not bother other residents nor does he get bullied in turn. At night he likes to sleep motionless near straight objects (in my case, the filter return pipe)... a type of camouflage i think. In the daytime he zips around... a wonder to watch

 

[netjamer]

I have two-- and for lack of a better way to describe it, they tend to dance all day long. It does not seem to be aggressive behavior-- these fish could hurt nothing as their mouths are very small. It almost seems as though it's pair behavior- but there seems to be very little known about this fish, so who could tell.

Mine have gained weight in the last month-- they are almost fat now-- they also had a touch of eye cloud that has cleared up completely.

They also do some headstanding behavior- I think in search of scraps of food off the bottom-- when my naso tang finds a new home -- they will go into my reef- I have no acropora-- and we'll just have to see how they do with my LPS and softies- fingers crossed.

thanks for the input.

Best,

Drew

 

[GSchiemer]

They are only a risk to SPS corals. Your LPS, soft corals, etc. will be fine. You were very lucky to find two that are eating prepared foods. Where they eating prepared foods at the store or did you wean them onto flake? Where did you get them?

Greg

 

[netjamer]

I got them at Reef Encounter-- LFS in Little Ferry NJ--- they had about 6 of them for a long time.... They were eating flake at the store- but all were very thin-- I bought the best two-- about $30 each... They have gained fullness over the last month-- neither fish is boney anymore-- I feed marine flakes-- but I soak them for just a second -- then pour it in.. With their beak they have a hard time collecting dry flakes from the surface, but when poured in- they eat like fiends-- just sorta sucking them in-- for these two fish they each get two healthy pinches of food twice a day... Then the little bit that settles to the bottom-- they pick off in the next few minutes-- but then my bristleworms come out to suck the flakes down too!

They are in a 15G high- with a blue damsel- totally copascetic. I also feed them brine shrimp once a week-- they seem to like flake more-- but my softies go crazy for brine... so far these fish seem to be thriving- and they are quite spectacular mid water swimmers.. As I have said this pair do a helix type dance all the time-- they just spiral around each other for hours on end- in a fairly regular pattern-- recently, they have also started breaking their dance when I come in front of the tank and generally posture in the begging behavior so many fish perform.

So-- to answer - no, I never weened them-- they ate like monsters from day one-- Ohh-- since max size is supposed to be 4 inches- I'd say they are just about full grown- one is just slightly smaller than the other.

best

drew

 

[SpecialK]

Wow thats good to hear they normally do very poor in captivity. Keep us updated.

 

[netjamer]

Here's a shot of my 15 misc tank --the current humble home of these filefish----it's not much but so alright so far....

 

[fishfanatic2]

WOH i first thought that it was two tanks cuz of the background.
Those fish are cool when they survive, GL with keeping them healthy and happy.

 

[Tanu]

They are beautiful.

My experience is that some of them indeed do accept prepared foods but they NEED sps polyps to survive more then a few months.

I would donate them to someone with a large sps tank who is accepting the fact the sps don't show their polyps during daytime anymore. Nighttime the polyps open more, just like in nature. The polyps contain some essential stuff they need.

Good luck with these beauties!

 

[fishgills]

What a great looking fish!!
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