anyone have an orange spot filefish?

sjfishguy

Active member
I remember seeing a couple SPS guys comment that they had one or a pair in their large SPS tank, just letting them graze around. Wanted to hear more: what setup you have them in, how long have you had them, some pics of course! This is one of my favorite fish and although I would probably never attempt to keep one even in a large setup, I would love to hear from those who have had success.
 
obligate coral polyp eater. My buddy just had one in his 300 sps and had to get him out.

Not many people feed live acros to obligate polyp eaters.

Tend to agree with u one beautiful fish.
 
I know they eat SPS corals, that is why I asked the question here. I remember someone on here having one or two long term in their big SPS system. The file did indeed eat polyps, but he claimed all his corals were healthy. Just wanted to see if others have done the same and had good results? Guess your buddy had problems, anyone with success?
 
Same here a friend has a 550g SPS had one,& had to get him out in a week.

Hey Rich. Corals are looking great.
 
Awesome! BTW I put my tank pic up for nTOTM this month since you said I might have a shot, we'll see.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12244752#post12244752 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sjfishguy
Awesome! BTW I put my tank pic up for nTOTM this month since you said I might have a shot, we'll see.


No doubt,is it in the nano forum?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12247236#post12247236 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Emster
When I get my big tank set up I'm going to try one. Greg Hiller has one check it out...

http://www.greghiller.com/
I can guarantee u the Mr hiller does not have that fish in his tank.

I'm willing to bet that that pic is a mistake there's no way that fish is in a SPS tank.He might have had one for a couple of months and had to take him out 4 sure.

NO DOUBT that Fish is NOT IN AN SPS TANK-unless u have a dead wish.;)
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12247236#post12247236 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Emster
When I get my big tank set up I'm going to try one. Greg Hiller has one check it out...

http://www.greghiller.com/


Open that link & doubble click on the pic notice there is ZERO PE on those acros.:uzi:
 
I can guarantee u the Mr hiller does not have that fish in his tank.

I'm willing to bet that that pic is a mistake there's no way that fish is in a SPS tank.He might have had one for a couple of months and had to take him out 4 sure.

NO DOUBT that Fish is NOT IN AN SPS TANK-unless u have a dead wish.

I can guarantee that Greg does have that filefish in his tank; I have seen it. It is a very cool fish. Also, if you happen to look up the story behind Greg's Blueberry acro, you will see that it turned solid blue after he added the filefish due to the polyp retraction. Unfortunately, I do not have a filefish in my tank so the Blueberry Acro is not so blueberry, but still a nice piece.

FYI, his web site is a little outdated. The filefish is now in his new tank, which I believe is about 460 gal.

JD
 
Last edited:
>I can guarantee u the Mr hiller does not have that fish in his tank<

I can guarantee you that he does. :D And has had the fish for about 4 years now (just checked my notes), and the fish has eaten nothing other than Acropora, Pocillipora, and Hydnophora. Does not touch LPS, or Montipora. Won't take any prepared or frozen or live foods. It was originally in my 110 for about a year or so before I shut that tank down and moved everything into my 400 G. Dozens of people have seen this fish in my tank, so please let's not say it is a figment of my imagination. :rolleyes:

How does false info like this get spread around? I've also tried adding a second fish to mate up with the first. My understanding is that Joe Y. at Atlantis has successfully done this in the Atlantis reef tank.

I got a hold of a second filefish and had him in my frag tank and he/she? fattened up. Once it was healthy I introduced it into the 400 G with the resident filefish. Unfortunately, they did not seem to get along as the new filefish went into hiding and was never seen again.

I'm surprised of the mentions above of people adding one to a large tank and having so many problems. My fish seems to spread any damage around to all the colonies, and other than keep the polyps retracted, doesn't really cause any damage. My pair of golden angels cause a lot more damage, eating tissue at the base of some Acro colonies (and NO it's not the AEFW flatworms).

There are some shots of my 400 gallon in this thread, but they are a bit dated, there's been a lot of growth from that time.

http://www.bostonreefers.org/totm/2006Fall/

The front page of my old web page has some photos of the fish. (greghiller.com) There was someone at my place just a few weeks ago that made a little video of the tank, and as I recall by turning out some of the lights at the end of the shoot we were able to get the fish to do the standard 'perch' that they when they are getting ready to sleep. Mine sleeps in it's choice of staghorn Acroa. I believe they got this all on film.

FWIW, if you ever dive in the Indo-Pacific you know that this fish is extremely common, there's one hovering over just about every Acropora you will see. Someone in my club recently compared them to hummingbirds....good analogy.

Let me state my position again on this fish....if you have 100 gallon or larger system with a lot of Acros or Pocillipora, and don't mind having the polyps retracted, go for it. Don't expect the fish to take any prepared food of any kind. Also, you will need to get the fish quickly from a shop (or mailorder) as they are not likely to feed it Acros for you. :) They are still available in the hobby. I saw one at a shop just a week ago.
 
Thanks Greg ...

I'm letting the pocis and acros in my 155 grow out. In a year or two I plan on getting just such a fish.

Your input has been very reassuring.

Is it your observation that they are "light" eaters? Has "nature" found a way to balance their appetite with the growth and health of corals.
 
Interesting and, tempting.

How would you go about removing a fish like this? I have removed many fish before using a fish trap, I just stop feeding the tank and only put fish food in the trap. However, with so much food available throughout most tanks (SPS all over the show) I would not feel very confident in removing the filefish ?
 
Back
Top