Tilefish safe with a scissortail?

[Jeremy1988]

Hey there...looking into maybe getting a purple tile fish and or blueheaded tile fish. From what I understand they can fight with fish from there same species..which I assume the scissortail dartfish would count as this? Anyways just seeing what you guys think weather or not they would fight. Thanks. I'm pretty sure the answer will be yes lol. 90 gallon btw, plenty of LR and hiding places NOT an overstocked tank either. Current fish, Tanak Pygmy Wrasse, Tomini Tang, Blue Assessor, scissortail dart, and pink skunk clownfish.

 

[Scotch_c]

I don't think they will. I've successfully kept a pair of blue head, skunk, and purple tiles in an 180g, and there was never any fighting. They sometimes would swim together, which made a wonderful display. They are really peaceful fish and I think the purple even likes the hang out with smaller anthias. One word of caution is that you must have a very secure screen top and those tiles must be the dominant fish in the tank for long term survival. They don't compete well with larger fish such as tangs, angels, large wrasses, rabbit fish, and large anthias.


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[Jeremy1988]

I don't think they will. I've successfully kept a pair of blue head, skunk, and purple tiles in an 180g, and there was never any fighting. They sometimes would swim together, which made a wonderful display. They are really peaceful fish and I think the purple even likes the hang out with smaller anthias. One word of caution is that you must have a very secure screen top and those tiles must be the dominant fish in the tank for long term survival. They don't compete well with larger fish such as tangs, angels, large wrasses, rabbit fish, and large anthias.


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Thanks for the input...I have a sealed up canopy so thats a plus...I do have a 90 gallon with around 4"inch of mixed substrate already...I do have a small tomini tang whos actually a scardy cat. I have a tanaka pygmy wrasse, scissortail dart, blue assessor and pink skunk clownfish and everyone gets along wonderfully...I however only feed my tank once a day...I wonder if this would be a problem with these guys. It seems the websites say they need to be feed twice a day...your thoughts?

 

[Scotch_c]

I think it's fine. They aren't like anthias that would only eat small planktons. Mine ate medium pellets so I think feeding a larger meal once a day would be okay.


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[Scotch_c]

It will be a wonderful display if you can keep a pair of each tile specie. Other than the purple and blue head, there are also skunk, flashing, and yellow tiles.


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[Jeremy1988]

I think it's fine. They aren't like anthias that would only eat small planktons. Mine ate medium pellets so I think feeding a larger meal once a day would be okay.


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One more question...I cant find a lot of info on these guys. Do they burrow like jawfish...meaning constantly digging holes? Or do they get one burrow and keep that one? My sand is the medium coarse aragonite with a little bit of the large crushed coral shells laying around...he should have plenty of real estate to find a home though. Do they like to make a burrow in the open like Jawfish do as well, thanks.

 

[Bret61081]

I had a purple Tile many years ago in my 95g and it lived with my 3 barred Dartfish. They all lived in the same hole and it seemed to always go back there. I think once they find a safe hole or 2 they always go back there. Just make sure you always cover any holes! When they see an opening they will find it and jump! The store I ran for a few years had a Flashing in a 400g tank for about 6 months and it jumped the first chance someone left the door open! When I was at the Georgia Aquarium they had a few purples in a deep tank with Anthias and Garden eels. They seemed very content in there....and it was a stunning display!!!

 

[Jeremy1988]

I had a purple Tile many years ago in my 95g and it lived with my 3 barred Dartfish. They all lived in the same hole and it seemed to always go back there. I think once they find a safe hole or 2 they always go back there. Just make sure you always cover any holes! When they see an opening they will find it and jump! The store I ran for a few years had a Flashing in a 400g tank for about 6 months and it jumped the first chance someone left the door open! When I was at the Georgia Aquarium they had a few purples in a deep tank with Anthias and Garden eels. They seemed very content in there....and it was a stunning display!!!

Yeah my canopy is pretty sealed...are the purple ones hard to come by on the online sites? I think he will be really happy once he gets settled in. I'm no expert...but I think if a fish feels safe and calm they tend to try and jump out less...which either way I'm not worried about it escaping but I'v had jawfish and stuff and they never tried to jump.

 

[Scotch_c]

Yeah my canopy is pretty sealed...are the purple ones hard to come by on the online sites? I think he will be really happy once he gets settled in. I'm no expert...but I think if a fish feels safe and calm they tend to try and jump out less...which either way I'm not worried about it escaping but I'v had jawfish and stuff and they never tried to jump.

Whether or not they are easy to come by, I guess that depends on where you are. My LFS told me that they aren't hard to find in the ocean. If I request my LFS to get them, each one, other than the flashing, is about $40 and about 3" long.


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[Scotch_c]

One more question...I cant find a lot of info on these guys. Do they burrow like jawfish...meaning constantly digging holes? Or do they get one burrow and keep that one? My sand is the medium coarse aragonite with a little bit of the large crushed coral shells laying around...he should have plenty of real estate to find a home though. Do they like to make a burrow in the open like Jawfish do as well, thanks.

They don't burrow like jawfish. In fact, I don't think they burrow at all. They probably prefer to have a soft sand bed instead of rocky surfaces to protect their bodies, but mine never burrow/dig or split sand. They just find crevices or holes as their home.


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