150 mixed reef for gang of harlequin filefish

[Rtaylor]

I have a 150 gallon SCA tank setup for about 18 months (I’ll have to look up the date). I built the stand using 2X4’s for the frame and wrapping it in oak. I also built a floating canopy to hide the three 65W Viparspectras lighting the tank. I have a basement sump with an Eshoppes skimmer, bio pellet reactor, gfo reactor, and external refugium. I’ll have to get pics of all that later.

Inhabitants:
Multibar Angel-Spike
Flame angel - Diablo
Firefish - Torch
Yellow tail damsel - Tinkles
2 blue star leopard wrasses - Millie & Lily
Yellow coris wrasse - Nanners
Mayer’s leopard wrasse - Wrasseberry
Pajama cardinal fish - PJ
Dragon sleeper goby - Sandy
Royal Gramma - Berkeley
Pair of mandarin dragonets - Draco & Drogon
Pair of clowns - Penelope & Krusty
Copper band butterflyfish - Topper
Yellow citron goby - Bubbles
Green clown goby - Green Bubbles
Molly - Molly
6 orange spotted filefish - (not named … they’re hard to tell apart )
Pair of barnacle blennies - Lenny & Benny
Blue Chromi - Hubcap

 

[Rtaylor]

Inhabitants: inverts
RBTS’s - currently there are 3
Heteractis malu
Magnifica anemone
RFA X 2
Tiger sand conch X2
Rock urchins (hitchhikers) X 2
Nassarius snails (a lot)
Cerinth snails (a bunch)
Turbo snails- 4
Astrea snails
Blue leg hermits (a bunch)
Limpets (hitchhikers)
Money cowries X 2
Marginella snails - several
Anemone crab X2
Acropora crab (hitchhiker)

 

[najer]

Very nice.

 

[Rtaylor]

Very nice.

Thanks!

 

[Rtaylor]

The story on my gang of six orange spotted filefish:
I received 3 males on September 20, 2020. I had done a ton of research and had tons of food options ready for their arrival. They arrived thin, so I was a bit concerned. I had seen people have good luck with Masstick so I offered it to them shortly after acclimating them and they all took to it immediately. There was some aggression in the group initially, just chasing, but after a few weeks they seemed to have worked out the hierarchy and were much more peaceful and usually traveled the tank as a group.
I’ll continue the story later with females of the group.

 

[revhtree]

I have a 150 gallon SCA tank setup for about 18 months (I’ll have to look up the date). I built the stand using 2X4’s for the frame and wrapping it in oak. I also built a floating canopy to hide the three 65W Viparspectras lighting the tank. I have a basement sump with an Eshoppes skimmer, bio pellet reactor, gfo reactor, and external refugium. I’ll have to get pics of all that later.

Inhabitants:
Multibar Angel-Spike
Flame angel - Diablo
Firefish - Torch
Yellow tail damsel - Tinkles
2 blue star leopard wrasses - Millie & Lily
Yellow coris wrasse - Nanners
Mayer’s leopard wrasse - Wrasseberry
Pajama cardinal fish - PJ
Dragon sleeper goby - Sandy
Royal Gramma - Berkeley
Pair of mandarin dragonets - Draco & Drogon
Pair of clowns - Penelope & Krusty
Copper band butterflyfish - Topper
Yellow citron goby - Bubbles
Green clown goby - Green Bubbles
Molly - Molly
6 orange spotted filefish - (not named … they’re hard to tell apart )
Pair of barnacle blennies - Lenny & Benny
Blue Chromi - Hubcap

Great reef tank!

 

[Rtaylor]

The story on my gang of six orange spotted filefish:
I received 3 males on September 20, 2020. I had done a ton of research and had tons of food options ready for their arrival. They arrived thin, so I was a bit concerned. I had seen people have good luck with Masstick so I offered it to them shortly after acclimating them and they all took to it immediately. There was some aggression in the group initially, just chasing, but after a few weeks they seemed to have worked out the hierarchy and were much more peaceful and usually traveled the tank as a group.
I’ll continue the story later with females of the group.

 

[Rtaylor]

Great reef tank!

Thanks!

 

[Rtaylor]

I decided to add some female orange spotted filefish a while back and ordered 2. They arrived both thin, but one extremely so. The healthier one began eating day 1. Sadly, the other wouldn’t eat and was so far gone she lasted less than 3 days. I would try a few things differently if I were to do it again, but I don’t know that it would have made a difference. So, I had the 3 males and just 1 female for several months (I was having a hard time sourcing additional females). This combination led to a huge spike in aggression between the males. One of the males paired off with the female, but was still constantly chasing the others. About a month ago, I added 2 additional females. They both began eating the first day. One of them was a little scary thin and I did keep her separated for about a week to ensure she could get enough food to regain her strength and start to fill out a bit. Over the last week it seems she may become the dominant female. There is a lot of chasing in the group still, it does seem to be subsiding a bit. They appear to have paired off which is neat to see.

 

[thumbsy]

Any updates on the filefish group?

Have they settled down or did it not work out long term?

 

[Rtaylor]

Any updates on the filefish group?

Have they settled down or did it not work out long term?

I’ve still got 4 of them together. I had 5, but separated the most aggressive pair and the female died. Not sure if it was stress or what? I put the male back in with the other 3 and it has been a lot more peaceful.

 

[Nano_Tuners]

Are you still just feeding them masstick? I’ve wanted to try my luck with a couple of these guys for a while now

 

[Steve and his Animals]

Oh man, not only can you keep the orange spots but a multibar too. Looks like you can do everything I want to but can't haha.

 

[Rtaylor]

Are you still just feeding them masstick? I’ve wanted to try my luck with a couple of these guys for a while now

They eat anything small enough to fit in their mouths; pellets, frozen, Masstick, flake

 

[Rtaylor]

Oh man, not only can you keep the orange spots but a multibar too. Looks like you can do everything I want to but can't haha.

The multibar was way harder to get eating than the osff. Live clams were the first thing I was able to get him to eat.

 

[Nano_Tuners]

They eat anything small enough to fit in their mouths; pellets, frozen, Masstick, flake

Oh nice! I might pickup a few and try them out then!

 

[Rtaylor]

Oh nice! I might pickup a few and try them out then!

Make sure you get Masstick and really small pellets. Update us if you get them!

 

[Steve and his Animals]

The multibar was way harder to get eating than the osff. Live clams were the first thing I was able to get him to eat.

I think out of the 6 or so I've had, none of them looked at anything like it was food, especially clams. What was your source?

 

[Rtaylor]

I think out of the 6 or so I've had, none of them looked at anything like it was food, especially clams. What was your source?

It took multiple attempts at offering clams, probably at least a month. It appears to have been surviving on whatever microfauna it could forage……and my acans….I don’t think it would have survived a long qt in a sterile tank without stuff to ‘hunt’. Since figuring out all the stuff I kept throwing in the tank was food he hasn’t bothered my coral again either.
I bought it from reefbeauties.com

 

[ReeferHD]

how are the filefish doing? i'm planning on getting a pair for my new FOWLR