How to get food to a tilefish in a cave

[i cant think]

So, I’m calling out to people who have had a tilefish or a fish in a cave with one easy entrance to get food into. The flashing tilefish is in the very back of the cave but I can’t get my hand through to the bottom of the cave. Here’s a photo of what it’s like, the triangle bit in the second photo is just above the main body of the flashing tilefish. I can’t tell if he’s flashing or not, he hasnt been in there for a full day yet however I don’t know if it’s normal. The below image is the entrance of the cave, his face is just behind the part that’s popping out in the cave (Right side).

The triangular part in the image below is formed because his body is on the bottom line, he’s an electric blue but not changing colours so I don’t know if he’s stressed and if he was I don’t know why (My tang and Jade wrasse have ignored him completely).

I can’t get a photo of his head but he is breathing quite fast. Is this bad? In the LFS when I watched him he was swimming in the lower half of the tank but wasn’t stressed. I just want to make sure he eats and only some food is going into the cave but he’s ignoring it. Is this a bad thing for tilefish?

 

[Tamberav]

I believe they eventually stop flashing when in captivity.

How long has it been in the tank?

They make some long target feeder bulbs.

 

[i cant think]

I believe they eventually stop flashing when in captivity.

How long has it been in the tank?

They make some long target feeder bulbs.

It went into the tank last night but I don’t know if this is normal behaviour, should I leave it a few days and see if he comes out? There are some “larger” fish (4-5” fish) in there but most are around his size if not smaller.
I know they eventually stop flashing (I didn’t get him just because I saw him flash). The reason they tend to stop flashing in captivity is due to them not having stress or not being grouped up (They use flashing for communication or when stressed). Mine hasn’t flashed from what I know and can see, which is the main body and it’s stayed an electric blue/teal.

 

[Karen00]

It's hard to tell if the rapid breathing is something to worry about without a full body pic. It might just be stress of a new tank. Did his body look clean when he went into the tank (meaning no spots, red gills, etc)? Also, how long did you acclimate for and did you acclimate for temp and salinity? If you can get a better pic under white lights that might help.

You can try target feeding. I use a medicine dropper (like the ones you can buy at the drugstore). My fish are small so I don't need to push that much food. This is how I feed my cave dwelling goby and shrimp. Others use a turkey baster for larger fish. There are also long feeders for folks with big tanks that can't the area where the fish is.

 

[i cant think]

It's hard to tell if the rapid breathing is something to worry about without a full body pic. It might just be stress of a new tank. Did his body look clean when he went into the tank (meaning no spots, red gills, etc)? Also, how long did you acclimate for and did you acclimate for temp and salinity? If you can get a better pic under white lights that might help.

You can try target feeding. I use a medicine dropper (like the ones you can buy at the drugstore). My fish are small so I don't need to push that much food. This is how I feed my cave dwelling goby and shrimp. Others use a turkey baster for larger fish. There are also long feeders for folks with big tanks that can't the area where the fish is.

He was completely fine but all I acclimated him for was a temp acclimation at 20 minutes (He had been in the bag for about 1.5 hours already). I have a turkey blaster so I could try and see if he eats then, as for salinity it usually sits at 0.30 and the shop’s salinity is always sat at 0.30 so I only temp acclimate for fish, whereas coral I drop acclimate. I also didn’t want to risk him jumping from a bucket which is also why I just temp acclimated.

 

[Tamberav]

Hiding in a cave is normal, rapid breathing is concerning.

From what I remember, the flashing tilefish can be more difficult to get eating and acclimated to captivity compared to other tilefish. I remember the mortality rate being pretty high years ago, not sure now.

 

[i cant think]

Hiding in a cave is normal, rapid breathing is concerning.

From what I remember, the flashing tilefish can be more difficult to get eating and acclimated to captivity compared to other tilefish. I remember the mortality rate being pretty high years ago, not sure now.

I can’t find anything on this fish but I couldn’t tell if it was rapid breathing or just the lighting doing the odd thing where it has the shimmering affect

 

[Karen00]

He was completely fine but all I acclimated him for was a temp acclimation at 20 minutes (He had been in the bag for about 1.5 hours already). I have a turkey blaster so I could try and see if he eats then, as for salinity it usually sits at 0.30 and the shop’s salinity is always sat at 0.30 so I only temp acclimate for fish, whereas coral I drop acclimate. I also didn’t want to risk him jumping from a bucket which is also why I just temp acclimated.

That's good regarding the acclimation. If your salinity matches the store salinity then you're really only concerned about temp. When salinity isn't a problem, the only additional thing I do is add some of my tank water every 5 mins for about 30 mins. I was told about a shot full (like a shot glass) every 5 mins for 30 mins. So I temp acclimate and then start adding my tank water bit the most important part is salinity but you didn't have to worry about that.

Let's hope the rapid breathing is just stress due to being in a new tank. Try target feeding. I would try squirting some in the entrance to see if he comes for it. If he doesn't then squirt a little bit into the cave and hopefully you see him go for it. It's not unusual for fish to not eat the first couple days but I know we all rest easier when we see them eat sooner rather than later. Also watch when lights are out. Sometimes fish get braver after lights out. You can try feeding then. I know nothing about these fish. Are they daytime fish or nocturnal? Good luck and keep us updated.

 

[i cant think]

That's good regarding the acclimation. If your salinity matches the store salinity then you're really only concerned about temp. When salinity isn't a problem, the only additional thing I do is add some of my tank water every 5 mins for about 30 mins. I was told about a shot full (like a shot glass) every 5 mins for 30 mins. So I temp acclimate and then start adding my tank water bit the most important part is salinity but you didn't have to worry about that.

Let's hope the rapid breathing is just stress due to being in a new tank. Try target feeding. I would try squirting some in the entrance to see if he comes for it. If he doesn't then squirt a little bit into the cave and hopefully you see him go for it. It's not unusual for fish to not eat the first couple days but I know we all rest easier when we see them eat sooner rather than later. Also watch when lights are out. Sometimes fish get braver after lights out. You can try feeding then. I know nothing about these fish. Are they daytime fish or nocturnal? Good luck and keep us updated.

I might try an all nighter of just watching the tank to see if he does that and if he does I’ll get food in there ASAP. I know little to nothing about these guys too other than they’re deeper water fish, I’m going off of the care of the other more common tilefish for this guy. It seems the only thing found about them is the flashing still, jumpers and they’re harder to get feeding in captivity.

 

[Karen00]

I might try an all nighter of just watching the tank to see if he does that and if he does I’ll get food in there ASAP. I know little to nothing about these guys too other than they’re deeper water fish, I’m going off of the care of the other more common tilefish for this guy. It seems the only thing found about them is the flashing still, jumpers and they’re harder to get feeding in captivity.

Then definitely watch at night. They might be nocturnal. Or he might be a bit braver at night. I got a new flaming prawn goby not too long ago and didn't see him for two days during the day but saw him zipping around the tank at night. They are daytime gobies but obviously he felt more comfortable checking the tank out at night. I fed during the day and after lights out. Now he's out and about during the day so feeding is easy although he still zips around at night so I don't know when he sleeps. Haha. It's always extra stressful when you can't find much info on the care of a specific fish. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you both They seem like cool fish. Hopefully he doesn't lose his flashing ability.

 

[i cant think]

Then definitely watch at night. They might be nocturnal. Or he might be a bit braver at night. I got a new flaming prawn goby not too long ago and didn't see him for two days during the day but saw him zipping around the tank at night. They are daytime gobies but obviously he felt more comfortable checking the tank out at night. I fed during the day and after lights out. Now he's out and about during the day so feeding is easy although he still zips around at night so I don't know when he sleeps. Haha. It's always extra stressful when you can't find much info on the care of a specific fish. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you both They seem like cool fish. Hopefully he doesn't lose his flashing ability.

I’m hoping I can get this guy to thrive and add to some more information on these guys in captivity since anything I find is doom and gloom or about them in the wild. If need be then I have a nano I could house him in and upgrade him in that. I hope I can add some light into the care of these guys

 

[i cant think]

The instant I got home, I checked the cave he was in and he has crept forward (That heavy breathing was his fins flapping). I think he’s making his small cave first and then going to go into the open. I have yet to feed him but probably won’t until lights out so he isn’t spooked by the larger fish. Just through the gap where his body was visible I can spot his tail but I can’t get a photo of his face so I can’t see if he’s flashing through that gap but there’s a third gap I can see his body and it’s still that nice sheen of blue/green.

just in the center of the three rocks is his body, It’s not changing colour or anything (It’s the shimmer of the lights making it seem like hes flashing).

 

[i cant think]

For some reason, I have this feeling that the tilefish is going to be a midnight fish… Im already getting drowsy haha, may have to set an alarm for a stupid time in the morning.

 

[Karen00]

For some reason, I have this feeling that the tilefish is going to be a midnight fish… Im already getting drowsy haha, may have to set an alarm for a stupid time in the morning.

At least it sounds like he's doing well so that's great news!

 

[i cant think]

At least it sounds like he's doing well so that's great news!

And now I have doubts he’s nocturnal, I woke up just a few minutes ago (It’s 3am) and no movement in the tank just how his body is back in that same spot it was yesterday.

 

[Karen00]

Let's hope all is well in the morning. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

 

[i cant think]

I can’t get a photo of his face, I have had my torch on and seen it, he isn’t flashing or anything just sat on the bottom. I’m tempting on poking food into the hole for him, his head has a tint of green however it’s not from flashing or anything. I know they’re deeper water fish so it could be him acclimating to the lighting?
I’m defrosting a cube of mysis in hopes I can get him fed this morning and nobody else wakes up and scares him. As for fast breathing, I don’t know what calm breathing for this fish is. It’s the same pace as my foxface is breathing now so I assume it’s calm.

 

[i cant think]

And that’s great, I don’t know if it’s because of stress or what but he won’t eat. I put some food directly into the cave and an angelfish is just hanging on the top but the tile isn’t being bothered by the Angel. I can’t figure out what’s wrong with him or anything since I can’t see the actual hill flap line but more the mouth moving up and down when he breathes.

 

[i cant think]

This is so dosheartening, I can’t tell if he goes after the mysis & brine shrimp and think of it as food or if he’s ignoring it. I feed a mix with 3 cube of brine and 2 cubes of mysis so there’s plenty for him to get along with the other guys, he’s still in the exact same spot as Friday and yesterday but keeps moving back and forth, I have several over hangs he can hide under when he’s getting too much light but he also doesn’t look skinny (Or Atleast from what I can see which is the center of his body and his tail). When should I truly start to worry? After a week maybe? I know wrasses hide for weeks but that’s usually the sand sleepers (Macropharyngodon and Anampses). If it comes to it then I will remove the tang (Jade wrasse is already going to be removed when I can grab her) and replace it with maybe a white tail bristletooth once this guy is out. I’ve never been more fascinated in a fish than with this guy so I would love to help him thrive, the only issue is if I put him into my nano then I have to upgrade to a 3’ long tank sooner rather than later… I don’t think that would be possible with this guy at 2.5” already.

 

[Funlad3]

I've brought half a dozen of these guys through quarantine over the past few months. Even in barebottom tanks, they'll eat sooner or later. They're just very shy fish; let it get settled, and as long as you don't see it struggling at the top of the tank (sign of swim bladder/decompression issues), you should be okay.