two matted filed fish , is that ok?

[CTaylor]

Hi
My matted, aiptaisia eating file fish is not so interested in aips anymore :-/ . It did a great job for a longgg time then the aips came back. He's too inteserested in actual fish food, ugh. I cant not feed the tank for many days, I'm afraid my anthias will get sick (and they always die once they start looking bad).

*If I get another matted file, will the now-two likely fight? I know there's no way to tell for sure, but are they normally peaceful to each other? I'm going to guess no. Reason I think maybe is because I have a random male and female orange spot file in my other tank for a year, and they love each other -- maybe wouldnt be like that if they were the same sex ?

TY!

 

[Michael Hoaster]

From what I've read, you can have multiples of that fish, if there's room. But it's best to add them at the same time. Adding one to an established one might not work, unless there's plenty of room for them to avoid each other. I think they are sex-able. Bristles at the base of the tail indicate male. Get different sexes and you're good.

 

[cody6766]

Bhergia nudibranchs are a great way to avoid adding another fish. Eradication starts slowly, but really picks up when their population increases. They'll kill off an infestation entirely, including the ones burred in the rocks.

 

[bearpeidog]

Bhergia nudibranchs are a great way to avoid adding another fish. Eradication starts slowly, but really picks up when their population increases. They'll kill off an infestation entirely, including the ones burred in the rocks.

Thing about Bhergia is they are PRICEY for a large tank. If they were more affordable I'd recommend them.

 

[cody6766]

They're only pricey if you expect quick results. Even then, "quick" is extremely relative.

I had a pretty bad aptasia outbreak in a 120g tank I had in a previous house. I tried peppermint shrimp, filefish, and manual treatments. None of those techniques really had any real impact on the problem. Some died off in easy to get places, but the infestation never went away and the aptasia always resurfaced in visible areas.

I tossed around $80-100 in bhergia and let them do their thing. After two or so months, I didn't see another aptasia in the tank for the 2'ish years I kept it up. You'll obviously see faster results if you add more nudis up front, but a small population will develop into an effective population until the problem is solved.
It kind of sucks not getting to see your $100 after adding the nudis, especially when you don't see noticeable results for 2-4 weeks. Bhergia are pretty much the opposite of instant gratification, but they work. I added some to my 60g a little more than a year ago and haven't seen an aptasia since.

They're definitely no the only solution. I don't know enough about the fish you asked about to give an educated answer. Just know that they're a viable option (did I mention a slow on?) if other methods fail.

 

[laverda]

Hi
My matted, aiptaisia eating file fish is not so interested in aips anymore :-/ . It did a great job for a longgg time then the aips came back. He's too inteserested in actual fish food, ugh. I cant not feed the tank for many days, I'm afraid my anthias will get sick (and they always die once they start looking bad).

*If I get another matted file, will the now-two likely fight? I know there's no way to tell for sure, but are they normally peaceful to each other? I'm going to guess no. Reason I think maybe is because I have a random male and female orange spot file in my other tank for a year, and they love each other -- maybe wouldnt be like that if they were the same sex ?

TY!

I added a second smaller on to my 300 gallon tank and they became a pair and spawned a few times.

 

[CTaylor]

I might look into the bergias, thanks Cody.
I wish I could get a male - mine seems to be female. My LFS never has them and my goto online fish place Liveaquaria, I'll just have to wait til one comes up there. Luck you got a male and female laverda.