Orange spot filefish (Oxymonacanthus longirostris) feeding success

[Willragan]

Just wanted to post a quick video of these guys eating but it will not work so I included link at bottom. Tried a bunch of different foods(mysis,brine,frozen formula foods,nori sheets,spirulina flakes,the hot pellet brands) both in the water column and pasted to mille skeletons with a little success but imo not enough to keep them healthy. Also offered a couple inexpensive mille frags to keep them going during the attempted transition to normal aquarium fare and they honestly showed little interest in those. They picked all the time at the glass and at rocks but not much at any of the corals they're kept with. Then someone gave me some masstick to try and on the first attempt they ate it with much more gusto than anything I had attempted. I froze some onto a mille skeleton too but honestly it was not necessary. Within a day they are eating it off a plastic knife and off the frag racks and even out of the water column. I'm not making a commercial for masstick but I have to give it high praise. It absolutely got these obligate corallivores to eat.

https://m.facebook.com/will.ragan.90

 

[Frtdrmrose7]

Beautiful fish!

 

[Willragan]

Thx brother!!!!

 

[BestMomEver]

Lordy! They’re beautiful! Glad they’re doing well.

 

[Willragan]

Thx so much I had passed on them for years.

 

[Sean Fitz]

Always wished these guys werent coral eaters- one of the coolest looking fish imo

 

[drstardust]

Awesome! Masstick is the bomb

 

[Willragan]

These really haven't been eating any coral honestly. The latest studies I've read find that they only eat millepora and not even other acro species so while I wouldnt put them in my acro growout trough I feel ok with them in softie and Lps tank. Granted they could prove me wrong and suddenly decide to eat all the coral in there lol. After all we know they dont eat masstick in the wild and they are eating it in the tank so whose to say they won't decide to eat other corals in the absence of millepora. Although the articles do say they were observed trying to eat dead milles when there were many other live acros in the vicinity.

 

[Willragan]

And I'm sure as in all fish behavior varies individual to individual.

 

[norfolkgarden]

They are absolutely beautiful!

Glad yours look like they are doing great!
Thank you for the tip!

 

[Willragan]

Absolutely!!!

 

[lion king]

Great job, you did it the right way, did your research, and stuck with it until you got them in a routine. Now the trick to get them eating from the water column. Are there other fish with them to show them the way.

 

[Willragan]

Yes there are a few a black T'ang a multibar angel and a big red Mandarin

 

[Willragan]

They actually started swallowing flake this morning they been sampling a lot of different foods i put in there but mostly spit them out but this morning I saw them swallowing spirulina flakes

 

[Willragan]

They will sometimes grab it from the water column but prefer for it to fall on The bottom or a rock and pick it off

 

[coralreefexotics]

Nice!!!