my lfs has a few orange spotted filefish and I originally thought that they where destine to die but they have had them for a few months now so I thought I would ask abt. them and there success he said that they had been eating frozen and as long as they where fed at least 3 times a day that they could do very well long term. I am wondering how true this is I did a little research and what they said seems to be true people have even bred them in bare bottom stock tanks I was wondering if I set up a sea horse tank could I keep them with each other ie. will they eat the same foods and will they be compatible and should I throw some junk acros in on occasion for the fish to eat.
orange spotted filefish
- Thread starter reefer315
- Start date
dppitone
In Memoriam
You're gonna get folks telling you not to mix them. IMO, give it a shot, and if it doesn't work out you'll be the first to know and can work something else out. It's actually not a bad plan if you have the attention and determination to keep seahorses. make sure you post back on how it's going 
Monkeyfish
Active member
I've had an OSFF for just over 2 years. They are docile and need to be in with peaceful tankmates. OSFF have tiny mouths and prefers small foods such as live black worms, small mysis, the smallest NLS pellets and Nutramar Ova. Mine is active and swims all over (he's in a 180g softy reef).
namxas
Things With Stings R Us!
OSFF are indeed great fishes, and once weaned, are pretty hardy, IME.
We have kept a mixed species SH setup in the past (semi-successfully), however, the trouble with a SH/pipefish tank, is that mixing Syngnathids successfully isn't an easy task, as even CB specimens, often don't mix well across species lines (you generally lose one or the other). Also, there are precious few CB pipes out there, and mixing CB with WC fishes is another problem.
For this to work, you'd want to establish a mixed species SH/pipe setup first, make sure it's going to work for you, THEN consider adding the OSFF after a good QT and weaning process.
Also, you'd want to get the OSFF acclimated to water in the low 70's, as even tropical SH species should be kept below 74*F to mitigate the chances of bacterial infection.
That being said, flagfin pipes would do OK at "reef temps", so you could consider leaving the SH out of the equation. I recommend a M-F pair of Janss' pipes (Doryhamphus janssi).
We have kept a mixed species SH setup in the past (semi-successfully), however, the trouble with a SH/pipefish tank, is that mixing Syngnathids successfully isn't an easy task, as even CB specimens, often don't mix well across species lines (you generally lose one or the other). Also, there are precious few CB pipes out there, and mixing CB with WC fishes is another problem.
For this to work, you'd want to establish a mixed species SH/pipe setup first, make sure it's going to work for you, THEN consider adding the OSFF after a good QT and weaning process.
Also, you'd want to get the OSFF acclimated to water in the low 70's, as even tropical SH species should be kept below 74*F to mitigate the chances of bacterial infection.
That being said, flagfin pipes would do OK at "reef temps", so you could consider leaving the SH out of the equation. I recommend a M-F pair of Janss' pipes (Doryhamphus janssi).
Whiterabbitrage
New member
I kept one of these beauties years ago. Teaching it to eat something other than acropora was difficult. If they are already eating frozen food, that's great, but it will still be a challenge to get them all the nutrition they need for long term success. I used to gut load live brine shrimp with Selcon and feed with a pipette. Very time consuming.
As people say, they are slow eaters.
Also they are very peaceful and defenseless creatures IME. Keeping them with other completely harmless fish is, I think, essential.
Good luck.
As people say, they are slow eaters.
Also they are very peaceful and defenseless creatures IME. Keeping them with other completely harmless fish is, I think, essential.
Good luck.
Chad Vossen
New member
I've kept my pair of orange spots in my 29 biocube for over a year. I have them on TDO C1 usually, but currently have them on NLS small fish pellets. I employ an automatic feeder to feed 4x daily, plus what ever I feed. Their bellies usually look like they'll pop from eating so much.
I recently moved them to a 40 gal tank because I have to many fish in the biocube and they were not getting enough food.
I recently moved them to a 40 gal tank because I have to many fish in the biocube and they were not getting enough food.
