Mimic / saddle filefish 2x/day feeding?

[magpie33]

I don't even have a SW tank currently, but have done freshwater for many years. I'm a researcher, not an impulse buyer, and since this aspect of the hobby is new to me, I'm keeping a list of fish I'm interested in eventually having.

I have always wanted a puffer, have seriously contemplated freshwater puffers over the years, but the problems usually arise with tankmates and feeding. Mainly, that some don't tolerate tankmates, and others need to occasionally have their teeth trimmed, even if fed snails.

I went to a LFS recently and saw a Mimic Filefish (P. Prionurus), and of course was immediately drawn to it's puffer-like look. :inlove:

But... I keep reading that to they need to be fed twice a day. I work 10-hour days, starting at 7 am. I am tempted to just take the filefish off of my stock list, but I thought that maybe others on here could share their stories of how they manage to feed twice a day. Maybe there's a clever workaround? I would think that an autofeeder would make a mess of a tank....

 

[Dmorty217]

You could feed before you leave for work and then when you get home. It's more about adjusting the lighting schedule to when you can enjoy and observe the tank. I feed my fish sometimes more than once a hr if they are new and Im around the house.

 

[Spslvr]

I feed mine a couple of times a day from when i get home untill i go to bed, these fish seem to have a really high metabolism and twice a day might not be enough, they can become very thin very fast and are a fish that requires attention, honestly i would leave it until you have the time to look after it.....

 

[Martini5788]

I would just get a Valentini. Toby puffers are barely a puffer in terms of aggressiveness. I have kept fresh, brackish, and saltwater puffers. Valentinis are harmless and definitely more reef safe than the filefish lookalike. And the Valentini would tolerate once a day feedings much better than the filefish. They truly are very docile, I have kept multiple valentinis and they have never showed aggression towards any tankmates. Except for snails. But just in general, I would train your fish to eat pellets and use an auto feeder once a day.


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[Spslvr]

Not quite true the mimic file is much more reefsafe than the valentini, the little puffer will pick at clam mantles and small sesile inverts, im not sure what the mimic eats in the wild but all the mimics ive had have never picked at anything and are quite hard to keep fat and healthy

 

[Martini5788]

Not quite true the mimic file is much more reefsafe than the valentini, the little puffer will pick at clam mantles and small sesile inverts, im not sure what the mimic eats in the wild but all the mimics ive had have never picked at anything and are quite hard to keep fat and healthy

Interesting, I read the opposite about
The mimic filefish. Good to know though. Either way, the Valentini is definitely easier to feed and will do better with less frequent feedings. But yeah clams would be off the table. I always forget about those haha, never kept them.

 

[Spslvr]

Easier to feed i agree with

 

[chartwell]

I purchased a mimic puffer from Diver's Den in early March. It didn't handle the shipping well, and arrived near death. Got it set up in a hospital tank and it made it, but would not eat in the hospital tank. Put it in my display tank and it did well, started eating frozen mysis or bloodworms.

Then I went on vacation and it didn't handle the pet sitter only feeding frozen once a day very well, and was a skeleton when we got home. I have been stuffing frozen food into it and am amazed at the quantity of food it can eat and still be very thin every morning. I am questioning if I am going to be able to care for this fish long term or not.

My husband works from home most of the time so I think I am going to get him trained to feed the fish frequently throughout the day, but I worry about causing an excess of nutrients by having to feed so much to this fish. It is a weak swimmer and can only eat if the food is sitting right in front of it. I might design a little basket or something up near the surface that I can put it in to eat undisturbed. It will let you scoop it up and in fact attacks my hand/arm every time I need to do anything in the tank.

Anyway, just my experience with this super cool fish - so far it is worth it to me, but I worry about its long term prognosis. I've even wondered if I should attempt to deworm it, but I think it is more likely that this is just how these fish are.

 

[chartwell]

I thought I'd post a follow up, since I solved my mimic puffer feeding problem I made her a "diner" by hanging a small plastic container from the top of the tank. I put it quite close to the wall and cut a narrow slot in it. She always stays up in that area and is very bold about exploring things, so I figured she'd go in for food. Sure enough, I can put a cube of frozen food in there and she goes in and gorges herself and the other fish don't tend to bother her. She has fattened up so much is is incredible, I had hugely underestimated how much food this fish can eat! Anyway, she seems to be out of the woods and doing well, which makes me super happy.

 

[Spslvr]

she??? Im pretty sure you have a male lol...

 

[chartwell]

Shhhh, her name is Mimi, lol! Maybe he identifies female ;-) How do you tell the difference?

 

[Spslvr]

A much bolder patterning and the presence of tail spikes