Acreichthys tomentosus: Aiptasia eating filefish

[Conesus_Kid]

I just thought I'd post a quick report on this little guy.

I had what was becoming a pretty heavy mojano infestation in the school aquarium . I added one of these guys at the end of April in the hopes that he would acquire a taste for them.

I stopped by school yesterday morning to check on things ,((it had been a couple weeks since I had been in) and noticed a marked decrease in pest anemones.

At this point in time, no corals are on the menu.

With any luck, this little fella will get a hankering for some Kenya tree! :lol:

Also, this fish has an extremely high "cool factor" because of its appearance and the way it swims.

Great fish so far!

 

[Firedog1962]

I agree, mine totally aradicated the aptasia, and is now my favorite fish.

 

[cardiffgiant]

Will they eat corals?

 

[Conesus_Kid]

Will they eat corals?

I've read about mixed results. However, there are other species of filefish that are often misidentified as this one. Based on my research, if you get the correct species, you have a good shot at it not eating your corals.

I have a distinct advantage over many aquarists due to the fact that I have a very large tank footprint, so even if I have a coral muncher, the fish is likely to spread the wealth between lots of different corals rather than pick on a few in a small area.

Also, I don't mind if a few things get munched. (That's why I have a flame angel and a coral beauty.) I also don't buy $100 frags ! :lol:

So far, I haven't seen any evidence of coral sampling.

 

[Conesus_Kid]

Update

Update

This guy is still awesome.

Mojanos are GONE.

I have never seen this fish eat a pest anemone.

I did witness it eating NLS pellets.

:bounce3:

 

[teamdulski]

They are model citizens IME and extremely hardy.

 

[Conesus_Kid]

Bad news

Bad news

I lost this guy today.

When I was using the Magfloat first thing this morning, he seemed to be swimming erratically/upside down and had his tail bent sideways in a "J" shape.

After the lights came on, he started wildly darting about in fits, then would sink to the bottom. (If you've ever seen how fast these guys can swim, he was going full tilt.)

I had a class in another room first period. When I came back, I didn't see him, so opened the canopy. He was on top of the eurobrace baking under a metal halide. His fins were still moving, so I pulled him out and put him in a critter keeper with some tank water and an airstone.

Within a half an hour, he was done.

I'm really bummed about this, and don't know the cause. No other outward signs/trauma, no pinched belly, no aggression from other fish. The only thing that I can think of is that he may have smashed into some rock when startled, causing some sort of damage.

Sux. :sad1:

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

Was food source (anemones) running low?

 

[Conesus_Kid]

Was food source (anemones) running low?

I haven't seen a pest anemone since this past fall.

I did witness this fish eating NLS pellets on numerous occasions.

A nutritional deficiency could be a possibility. That said, this fish never had a pinched belly or acted erratically until the other day.

From the time I first noticed the weird behavior to the time of death was less than two hours. (I'm sure the time spent on the eurobrace under the halides didn't help much...)

I'll be curious to see if and how long it takes for pest anemones to return. This little guy definitely earned his keep for the time I had him.