Whitespotted Pygmy Filefish

stscream4187

stscream4187

Member
Hey all,

I am beginning to plan for a new tank, which will be a reef somewhere between 250 and 350 gallons. I really love the Whitespotted Pygmy Filefish, especially since they are now captive bred by ORA. I want to start with a group of these and then plan my fish from there, but I am having a hard time finding information out there on these fish and their compatibility.

Does anyone have experience with these? If so, what have you kept with them successfully? What fish should I avoid as tank mates?

Also, I would love to get a group of them, maybe 9 or 10. Any issues with this from your experience?

And if you have a resource for information on these fish I would greatly appreciate it.

Other fish I am considering based on my likes:

Pair of clownfish
Sailfin Tang/Purple Tang
Emperor or Queen Angel
Anthias (still not decided species)

Thanks for reading.

Jeff
 
It's not the type of fish you buy a group of. Single or pair. I've never heard of them existing in groups. They will also probably not do very well in a tank with tangs and angels and anthias. They are very small and VERY timid.

If you like filefish, then go for the big guy, the tassle filefish. It's a much larger version that would make more sense in a tank that large with large inhabitants.
 
Ive had two for a few months now, bought as a pair off DD. One of my favorite fish in the tank, they are defiantly not a timid little fish for their size. They eat anything what I feed which is mysis, emerald entrée, and coral frenzy. They also pick at the rock hunting for pods
 
bat21 said:
It's not the type of fish you buy a group of. Single or pair. I've never heard of them existing in groups. They will also probably not do very well in a tank with tangs and angels and anthias. They are very small and VERY timid.

If you like filefish, then go for the big guy, the tassle filefish. It's a much larger version that would make more sense in a tank that large with large inhabitants.
Click to expand...


Do you have any experience with them?

ORA notes on their website that they keep a group of them in a tank......

http://www.orafarm.com/blog/2014/11/07/whitespotted-pygmy-filefish/
 
triksrevival said:
Ive had two for a few months now, bought as a pair off DD. One of my favorite fish in the tank, they are defiantly not a timid little fish for their size. They eat anything what I feed which is mysis, emerald entrée, and coral frenzy. They also pick at the rock hunting for pods
Click to expand...


Great, thanks. Mind if I ask what size tank and what other fish you keep them with?
 
They are in a 75 gallon sps/zoa with a midas blenny, tailspot blenny pair, two clowns, flasher wrasse, and bristle tooth tang. Also they haven't touched any corals like some other filefish do.
 
The one I had only made it a few weeks after going in my DT. Had trouble competing for food, but it may have had vision issues. It was also wild caught. I'm going to try one of the ORA ones next.
 
bat21 said:
The one I had only made it a few weeks after going in my DT. Had trouble competing for food, but it may have had vision issues. It was also wild caught. I'm going to try one of the ORA ones next.
Click to expand...

Thanks, bat21. If you do end up getting one, let me know I am curious as to how your experience will differ.
 
stscream4187 said:
Thanks, bat21. If you do end up getting one, let me know I am curious as to how your experience will differ.
Click to expand...

So I ended up getting that tank raised pair of whitespotted pygmy filefish from divers den. And I could not have been more wrong with what I said earlier in this thread. The original wild caught file that I got definitely had something wrong with it from the start.

These guys though? Oh man, I have never seen such voracious eaters! They don't care who is around them, they dart in and take whatever food I put in there. Pellets, ROE, frozen, live blackworms. And then they also spend the rest of their days picking at algae all over the tank. They poop a ton for such small fish.

I got what was referred to as a bonded pair. And while they have no problems with eachother at all, they don't really pair up. They each do their own thing, which I have no issue with. But they are awesome fish. Great personalities, not timid, and fantastic eaters. I highly recommend them.
 
bat21 said:
So I ended up getting that tank raised pair of whitespotted pygmy filefish from divers den. And I could not have been more wrong with what I said earlier in this thread. The original wild caught file that I got definitely had something wrong with it from the start.

These guys though? Oh man, I have never seen such voracious eaters! They don't care who is around them, they dart in and take whatever food I put in there. Pellets, ROE, frozen, live blackworms. And then they also spend the rest of their days picking at algae all over the tank. They poop a ton for such small fish.

I got what was referred to as a bonded pair. And while they have no problems with eachother at all, they don't really pair up. They each do their own thing, which I have no issue with. But they are awesome fish. Great personalities, not timid, and fantastic eaters. I highly recommend them.
Click to expand...

Wow, great to hear! Making me more excited to set up the new tank. What size tank are they in of yours right now?!
 
stscream4187 said:
Wow, great to hear! Making me more excited to set up the new tank. What size tank are they in of yours right now?!
Click to expand...

I have a 66 gallon which they share with a pair of clowns, royal gramma, firefish, possum wrasse, and neon goby. All small and peaceful.
 
You need to make sure you don't have too much flow in your tank. I bought one of the ORA white spotted pygmy from my LFS, after reading on the ORA site that they like high flow.

I had 1 x Jebao wp25 on my 75 gallon when I first bought it and for 2 weeks it was happy and eating everything, including tisbe pods on my LR which surprised me. Then after adding a 2nd Jeboao wp25, I noticed it began biting on too the LR and hanging on for hours at a time. When I turned off one powerhead it would let go and resume pecking and swimming. After 1 week with both on, I noticed it starting to "ride the waves" more, it died soon after as it got weaker each day.

Point being, I recommend lower flow tanks for these.
 
from what i hear, they do not eat aiptasia sadly. theyre almost too reef safe. i have two in my tank as well, absolutely one of my most favorite fish in the aquarium.
 
The way mine tear apart live black worms and frequently nip at rocks, I can absolutely see them chowing down on aiptasia. But I don't have any, so, only a guess.
 
Bat21.. maybe you could get a rock from a close lfs that is covered in aiptasia to see if it would eat them. This would be the perfect addition to all reef tanks if they do in fact eat aiptasia.
 
Did you ever put together a group of these? Can anyone else comment on the sensativity towards high flow?
 
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