Is Masstick a Game Changer for Orange Spot Filefish (Oxymonacanthus longirostris)?

[Rtaylor]

I have had a trio of orange spot filefish for about 6 months in my 150 mixed reef. I ordered them online site unseen as that was my only option. I had done a ton of research and had about every type of food available on hand, but had seen multiple success stories with Masstick.
I received the trio looking healthy, put some Masstick on the glass and all 3 immediately began eating with gusto. They quickly added Panta Rhei Polyp and Panta Rhei Sponge pellets to their diet and now eat anything they can fit in their mouths. Curious if others have had such an ‘easy’ time with these typically considered extremely difficult fish?

 

[JumboShrimp]

Gorgeous fish you have there. And an inspiring story.

 

[CMMorgan]

These are just gorgeous... I'm sorry about your little girl but the 3 boys and the other girl are lucky to have a fish father like you.

 

[Rtaylor]

These are just gorgeous... I'm sorry about your little girl but the 3 boys and the other girl are lucky to have a fish father like you.

Thank you! I wish I could have saved her. But I am happy the other 4 are doing so well....and i suppose I’m a fish mama, not papa

 

[Quiverfull]

I love this fish and would love to have a pair. how are they doing? I noticed you have SPS in your tank. Do they pick on the ups at all?

 

[Rtaylor]

I love this fish and would love to have a pair. how are they doing? I noticed you have SPS in your tank. Do they pick on the ups at all?

They peck at it, but don’t damage the coral. I think it’s a bit of a misconception that they eat coral. Their natural diet is the mucus from coral polyps. Their mouths are little tubes, they can’t bite down and tear like typical corilavores. I will admit that you likely won’t ever see polyp extension on the SPS due to the annoyance of the filefish. Here’s a pic where you can see a better view of their mouths. They seem to use it like a straw.
They are all doing great. I actually ordered 2 more, but unfortunately 1 arrived extremely emaciated and died 3 days after arrival. So, I now have 4 doing great. The fourth also started eating Masstick on the day she arrived.

 

[Quiverfull]

Great. such a cool fish... I will have to think about it a bit. Good luck with them!

 

[Ninic Luka]

They peck at it, but don’t damage the coral. I think it’s a bit of a misconception that they eat coral. Their natural diet is the mucus from coral polyps. Their mouths are little tubes, they can’t bite down and tear like typical corilavores. I will admit that you likely won’t ever see polyp extension on the SPS due to the annoyance of the filefish. Here’s a pic where you can see a better view of their mouths. They seem to use it like a straw.
They are all doing great. I actually ordered 2 more, but unfortunately 1 arrived extremely emaciated and died 3 days after arrival. So, I now have 4 doing great. The fourth also started eating Masstick on the day she arrived.

im setting up 40g sps dominant tank just for them that is on same sump as my other 2 tanks (total 200g). could i go with 2 or its better to go with 1

 

[Rtaylor]

im setting up 40g sps dominant tank just for them that is on same sump as my other 2 tanks (total 200g). could i go with 2 or its better to go with 1

It probably depends. They do tend to show aggression towards each other initially, but it’s not too bad, mostly just chasing. If you could get a trio of either 1 male & 2 females, all males, or all females that might be best. 1 will be dominant and having 2 others spreads their aggression a bit so one isn’t constantly being chased. When I had 3 males there was very little aggression. I’ve since added 1 female (trying to find more) and that has wreaked havoc a bit. The dominant male chases the other 2 males a LOT.

 

[recreative]

Would trying 5 of them be a bad idea?

 

[Rtaylor]

Would trying 5 of them be a bad idea?

I currently have 4 and don’t like the level of aggression. The female has paired off with one of the males, which is cool, but the male has become much more aggressive towards the other males. It’s not physically harmful aggression, but a lot of stressful chasing from the dominant male to the other males. I think 5 could work, but I would try to get no more than 2 of them males, preferably just 1, or all males. As soon as I can find 2 or 3 more females I’ll add them to see if that helps. A few more pics of my gang below.

 

[Cetus]

These are easily one of my favorite fish ever and I would love nothing more than to own a pair. Where do you get yours and has masstick ever failed you? Any other advice you'd give to those who are looking to own some down the line?

 

[Quiverfull]

I am interested in this fish as well. I have seen pictures of them in SPS tanks. What has been your experience with these species and sps corals?

 

[recreative]

I currently have 4 and don’t like the level of aggression. The female has paired off with one of the males, which is cool, but the male has become much more aggressive towards the other males. It’s not physically harmful aggression, but a lot of stressful chasing from the dominant male to the other males. I think 5 could work, but I would try to get no more than 2 of them males, preferably just 1, or all males. As soon as I can find 2 or 3 more females I’ll add them to see if that helps. A few more pics of my gang below.

Thanks for your reply . . . gonna give it a try. Unfortunately not sure my ifs can get the group sexed. Got a couple of tanks . . . if a couple pair and the group gets weird I can separate. A harem would be so nice . . . one of the coolest fish in the game imho.

 

[Rtaylor]

Thanks for your reply . . . gonna give it a try. Unfortunately not sure my ifs can get the group sexed. Got a couple of tanks . . . if a couple pair and the group gets weird I can separate. A harem would be so nice . . . one of the coolest fish in the game imho.

They are actually super easy to sex, the male has an orange ventral flap outlined in black with white spots. The females is just orangish black, let me find a pic.

 

[Rtaylor]

These are easily one of my favorite fish ever and I would love nothing more than to own a pair. Where do you get yours and has masstick ever failed you? Any other advice you'd give to those who are looking to own some down the line?

I purchased mine online from reefbeauties.com
I’ve purchased 5 total. They all arrived a bit thin, one extremely thin. 4 of the 5 ate masstick within seconds of offering it. The 5th was the very thin one and she never showed interest in anything, not even millepora coral. She died I presume of starvation in less than 3 days. Honestly, they have been super easy for me. I do also feed them Panta Rhei Polyp & Panta Rhei Sponge which are pellets specifically designed for coralivores. They are little pigs now and eat anything they can fit in their mouths.

 

[Rtaylor]

I am interested in this fish as well. I have seen pictures of them in SPS tanks. What has been your experience with these species and sps corals?

They peck at it enough that the sps will rarely show polyps, but they don’t damage it. If there were a lot of sps to spread out the attention they might get enough downtime to feel safe extending their polyps. The fish pay no attention at all to lps or softies. I wouldn’t put them with sps immediately so they have a chance to get accustomed to getting food elsewhere. But after a bit, I wouldn’t be concerned with putting them with sps. They don’t actually eat the coral, but the mucus from its polyps.

 

[Cetus]

I purchased mine online from reefbeauties.com
I’ve purchased 5 total. They all arrived a bit thin, one extremely thin. 4 of the 5 ate masstick within seconds of offering it. The 5th was the very thin one and she never showed interest in anything, not even millepora coral. She died I presume of starvation in less than 3 days. Honestly, they have been super easy for me. I do also feed them Panta Rhei Polyp & Panta Rhei Sponge which are pellets specifically designed for coralivores. They are little pigs now and eat anything they can fit in their mouths.

Alrighty! Yeah, they even have one up for sale atm. I'll def keep their site in mind 'cause they also have marine bettas at a decent price. I'm not sure if I'm willing to take the plunge on them just yet but this is certainly encouraging. Do they any particular sensitivities in a quarantine tank though? I know copper greatly suppresses appetite and I do know these fish can starve fairly quickly, so I'm wondering how I should go about that.

 

[Rtaylor]

Alrighty! Yeah, they even have one up for sale atm. I'll def keep their site in mind 'cause they also have marine bettas at a decent price. I'm not sure if I'm willing to take the plunge on them just yet but this is certainly encouraging. Do they any particular sensitivities in a quarantine tank though? I know copper greatly suppresses appetite and I do know these fish can starve fairly quickly, so I'm wondering how I should go about that.

I’ll admit I didn’t quarantine them, so no experience with that. I did put the first 3 in an observation tank for a couple of days (no medication). They do need to eat frequently. I try to feed them at least 3X a day. Masstick is good cuz they can graze on it over a few hours as long as your other fish don’t eat it all. If you want to quarantine and treat them, I’d fatten them up for a couple of weeks before starting copper.

 

[Rtaylor]

Alrighty! Yeah, they even have one up for sale atm. I'll def keep their site in mind 'cause they also have marine bettas at a decent price. I'm not sure if I'm willing to take the plunge on them just yet but this is certainly encouraging. Do they any particular sensitivities in a quarantine tank though? I know copper greatly suppresses appetite and I do know these fish can starve fairly quickly, so I'm wondering how I should go about that.

Reefbeauties seems to have them pretty consistently. For some reason they don’t get many females. I’ve been talking with them for the last 2 months trying to get 3 females.