Japanese Pinecone Fish (Monocentris Japonica)

[Zionas]

I found an online seller who lives near my city in China, he lives near the coast and scuba dives to collect fish and corals and inverts to sell. Sometimes (quite rarely) he collects the Japanese Pinecone Fish and sells it for a pretty decent price. I wonder if anyone has had experience with this fish or another kind of Pinecone Fish (the Australian species, maybe?). Here it’s actually a food fish once it reaches a decent size lol but the guy told me he usually gets ones that are about 8cm or slightly over 3”.

He says these fish are easy to keep, but everywhere else I’ve read says I should probably not attempt one as they only take live foods and they’re very prone to disease and infections.

So, I’d like to know:

1. They get to 8”. Are they an active fish or a slow and sedentary fish like the other 8” fish I’ll be getting (Marine Betta)?

2. Do they have specialized and highly demanding requirements for their environment?

3. Is it easy for them to take captive fare? (Frozen, Pellets, Flakes)


4. Will they be bullied by faster swimming fish or a species like the Flame Hawk?



Thanks.

 

[Zionas]

I found an online seller who lives near my city in China, he lives near the coast and scuba dives to collect fish and corals and inverts to sell. Sometimes (quite rarely) he collects the Japanese Pinecone Fish and sells it for a pretty decent price. I wonder if anyone has had experience with this fish or another kind of Pinecone Fish (the Australian species, maybe?). Here it’s actually a food fish once it reaches a decent size lol but the guy told me he usually gets ones that are about 8cm or slightly over 3”.

He says these fish are easy to keep, but everywhere else I’ve read says I should probably not attempt one as they only take live foods and they’re very prone to disease and infections.

So, I’d like to know:

1. They get to 8”. Are they an active fish or a slow and sedentary fish like the other 8” fish I’ll be getting (Marine Betta)?

2. Do they have specialized and highly demanding requirements for their environment?

3. Is it easy for them to take captive fare? (Frozen, Pellets, Flakes)


4. Will they be bullied by faster swimming fish or a species like the Flame Hawk?



Thanks.

 

[pcon]

Pretty fish, somewhat commonly seen in public aquariums but uncommon in private collections. A quick google search will answer all these questions. Expert only fish on live aquaria. Requires cold waters, precluding it from being housed with a species like the flame hawk. or most common aquarium fish and corals. in my experience seeing them at public aquaria they are a moderately active fish, somewhat like a pufferfish.

 

[Zionas]

Alright. Guess I’ll give this one a pass and stick to fish I can actually keep alive.

 

[Han]

Not to go off topic, but I’d be careful with mixing the betta and hawkfish. Bettas can eat pretty good sized fish, so if you plan to mix the two id either go with a big hawk or a small betta. I have a species of betta similar to the comet, and lost a good sized cleaner wrasse to him.

 

[Zionas]

Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind. I plan to get my Betta in the 6-8cm range. Would that be dangerous? I know these guys (Callepsiops altivelis) get to 8” but are slow moving fish.

Would the rest of my fish be safe with the Betta? The Ocellaris Clowns get to 3” max, the PI Cardinals 4” max, I’ll also go for a trio of Australian Stripeys that get to 6”.

Which species do you have? Is it Paraplesiops poweri AKA Southern Blue Devil? Does it bother any of your other fish?

 

[Han]

I’m not personally familiar with the comet, so I can’t say for sure, but I wouldn’t trust my guy with clowns or cardinals. I have a plesiops corallicola, and he leaves his tankmates alone. They’re all too big for him to eat though. Occasionally has territorial disputes with my dusky jawfish, but nothing serious.

 

[Zionas]

From what I’ve read the Comet may be the least grouper-like in its family. Everywhere I’ve read the Comet seems to leave smaller fish alone for the most part unless it’s very small or very streamlined in its appearance. It does eat shrimp and snails so unfortunately no inverts for me.

It’s a shy and reclusive species that takes time to warm up to the owner. I’ll be giving it a nice little cave.

Since yours is a similar species, did it have trouble taking frozen and dry foods at first? Did you have to wean it off live foods?

 

[Han]

Yeah, the comet does look to have a more slender body than most other plesiops/paraplesiops. I lucked out and got mine when he was already weaned onto frozen food, he has never been a problem eating. Even got stung by a lionfish, got up a couple hours later, and ate the next day. From what I’ve read about comets mine seems to be less cryptic.

 

[Zionas]

Comets, from what I’ve read, are the fish equivalent of a tanky character in an MMO. I’ve read people who’ve had theirs survive ich and velvet outbreaks, one was in a tank with an Anthias that had uronema and the Comet was barely affected. I assume its relatives are the same. Its hardiness is also a factor when it comes to why I want one. A tough beauty, though it looks fragile. My plan is to have it eat frozen at the LFS before I get one. Other than that, I’ll be training it to eat pellets and maybe even flakes.

 

[Han]

Great analogy lol, mine was the sole survivor of a velvet outbreak as well. Good luck with yours, they’re truly amazing fish and it’s a shame the other species aren’t commonly collected.

 

[Zionas]

Thanks! Hope you enjoy yours too! I’ll give the Pinecone Fish a pass. I’d rather have something I can keep alive a lot more easily. Also, the idea of having a food fish (where I am) in my tank make sure me oddly.... uncomfortable.

 

[mort]

Marine bettas, even at full size, aren't particularly predatory when it comes to fish. Mine is 8" now and it doesn't even look at the other fish. What you need to remember is that of that 8", a decent chunk are the fins, so suddenly it becomes a smaller fish.
I'd be very surprised if it attempted to eat anything larger than a cleaner goby and those type of long thin fish are the only ones that would be at risk. A short, fat bodied hawk, definitely isn't on the menu and unless your clowns were super tiny, nor are they.
The roundheads have a few species in their group and they significantly range in there predatory nature. Marine bettas will have your shrimp but you'd be very unlucky to lose a fish to them.

 

[Zionas]

Yeah. Thanks for the reassurance. They seem like they just want to mind their own business most of the time.

Now, OTOH, I’ve opted to not get any damsels, not even Chrysiptera damsels, because I already have recurring nightmares in my head of them nipping at the much larger Betta lol.