I found these a little over a year ago shortly after my reef tank crashed and wanted one at the the time but couldn't justify paying for shipping to try it. A few months ago walked into my local Petco and they had one of these and a lawn mower blenny which was actually what I was looking for that day. Swooped both up for the FOWLR as I knew there was still was Aiptasia in that tank. Took them home and started drip acclimating over three hours, my FOWLR has puffers so salinity is 1.021. Two hours into acclimating I walked into the living room to find alone the blenny in the bucket. Apparently my three year old had reached into the bucket and knocked the filefish out somehow. Ten minutes of searching and asking the kids I was finally able to get enough out of them to realize he thought it was dead when he knocked it on the floor and had thrown it away. I found the fish and got him back on a bucket and acclimated. A month later he had cleaned all the Aiptasia from my FOLWR, and I moved him to the external Refugium aka my old reef tank and he cleaned the Aiptasia from that tank in two weeks. He has now been in the FOWLR with the puffers ever since and has been a great addition in cleaning up behind their sloppy eating habits. At feeding time the Maroon and three puffers create a feeding frenzy at the surface and the filefish just swims near the bottom and picks up scraps that fall through the water column. My only complaint with him is his fearless attitude allows him to steal food from my Dogface puffer occasionally which causes the puffer to go off food and pout for days at a time.
Filefish...aiptasia eaters?...info.
- Thread starter Sk8r
- Start date
Dkuhlmann
New member
I have a green Filefish and a red tailed Filefish - love them both - very cool fish, but they don't eat aiptasia - at least not yet (I've had them a week). Remind me of triggers, but more peaceful. They love mysis shrimp and are way faster than you might think. Very precise swimmers.
Both are very cool fish, However, they'll never eat aiptasia. Only the Matted Filefish does
Maybe get a few peppermint shrimp, just be sure they don't sell you camel shrimp instead. Camel shrimp won't eat aiptasia either.
Dkuhlmann
New member
At first they're kinda ugly, but once you get to watching them they are very cool fish and like said above very precise swimmers. They can hover in place in most any current and then make small adjustments for where they want to go. Just remember to only get the Matted Filefish if you want them for eating aiptasia.
My Matted Filefish acts like a puppy dog when it's food time, or even if I come up to the tank it's like he's wiggling his butt just like a puppy does and begging to be played with
:lmao:
devimik
Member
Thanks - I didn't think they'd eat aiptasia - I don't really have an aiptasia problem - small numbers of them - I use aiptasia x and already have peppermints that don't eat them and they are not camels. I've had berghia nudibranchs and they just got eaten by something, so a waste of money.
I just really like the filefish as they're interesting to watch.
I just really like the filefish as they're interesting to watch.
devimik
Member
I do realize I posted in the filefish aiptasia eaters thread - seemed to be the most current thread on filefish. Turns out they're related to the triggers - makes sense given their fin placement and the way they swim. My red tail is like a puppy too the way he comes out when I feed.
Jscwerve
New member
I didn't go the way of the FileFish. I had a pretty decent Aiptasia problem in my 125. I bought three pep shrimp to see if they would take care of the problem.
I didn't notice any difference for a couple of weeks (maybe I wasn't looking), then on the third week every single aiptasia was gone from the entire tank.
The fish looks cool, but with the threat of eating coral, I'll stick to shrimp.
I didn't notice any difference for a couple of weeks (maybe I wasn't looking), then on the third week every single aiptasia was gone from the entire tank.
The fish looks cool, but with the threat of eating coral, I'll stick to shrimp.
MondoBongo
Obligate Feeder Obsessed
I do realize I posted in the filefish aiptasia eaters thread - seemed to be the most current thread on filefish. Turns out they're related to the triggers - makes sense given their fin placement and the way they swim. My red tail is like a puppy too the way he comes out when I feed.
that actually makes quite a bit of sense:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triggerfish
on the filefish they dorsal fins make this motion as well.
one of my favorite features of the filefish is their little head spike. my OSFF will often pop it up when they're excited or surprised. i call it their cow-lick.
Tanthaitrung
New member
Aiptasias shrink and hide in the rock, so the fish can not eat them.
I have a Copper Banded, he looks working well. After few weeks, I can not see any aiptasias.
When I have ich, I move the Copper Banded to FOWLR tank, aiptasias come back again.
I'm finding some Peppermints
Dkuhlmann
New member
I completely agree with this statement! I really do love mine. It's an ORA matted filefish, got it at just over an inch and it's growing like a weed. Got it at Petco special order for $18
devimik
Member
One of these Filefish (or maybe both) is eating Aiptasia - I had some on the back side of my rocks near the top - there were quite a few, but I couldn't get to those with my Majano wand or syringe - now, they're all gone. I know the peppermints didn't do it as they've been in there for years - had to be the Orange Tail, or the Green. Haven't nipped any corals yet though.
It was the top one pictured. Mine, in QT, looks identical and my transplanted rock has been cleaned completely.
devimik
Member
That's what I was thinking too. That's a Green Filefish - looks a lot like the Matted, only larger.
What is the craziest color your Matted has changed to in an effort to camouflage? So far mine has been shades of brown and green, but the other day I walked by the tank and he was a Autumn red and I had to take a second look to realize it was him. I had no idea they could change color till after I got mine.
hkgar
Active member
The Green Filefish and the Matted are the same fish different names.
Bristle-tailed Leatherjacket, Bristle-tail Filefish, Bristle-tail Leatherjacket, Green Filefish, Green Leatherjacket, Seagrass Filefish, Seagrass Leatherjacket, Matted Filefish, Matted Leatherjacket, Fantail.
Bristle-tailed Leatherjacket, Bristle-tail Filefish, Bristle-tail Leatherjacket, Green Filefish, Green Leatherjacket, Seagrass Filefish, Seagrass Leatherjacket, Matted Filefish, Matted Leatherjacket, Fantail.
Indymann99
New member
My Bristle Tail File Fish was a great aptsia eater. He wiped out 200 or so in a week. However he then took out a Hammer Coral and Frog Spawn... I had him for 2.5 yrs. Just 2 weeks ago he consumed about a pea sized chunk out of a Harry Toadstool Mushroom, the next day he wasn't swimming correctly (upside down and no control). He has been MIA for 2 weeks so he is gone and consumed by my clean-up crew.
He was a fun fish with lots of "personality"... kind of reminded me of a Niger Trigger I had many years ago.
He was a fun fish with lots of "personality"... kind of reminded me of a Niger Trigger I had many years ago.
devimik
Member
I'm not sure they are the same fish - the Green Filefish is Monacanthus Ciliatus, while the Bristletail or Matted Filefish is Acreichthys Tomentosus - at least that is what it looks like based on my research. I think they are very similar looking, but the Green grows to a larger size - Matted 3.5" while the Green grows to 6". Nevertheless, cool fish that do eat Aiptasia.
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