Orange spotted filefish

[Baby Damsel 219]

My LFS sells these boys for $20 each. My qt has been set up for 4 month s pods are everywhere should I get

 

[Strad12]

Pods alone aren't enough to sustain them. I've heard MassStick is particularly enticing to them, especially if stuck to a coral skeleton. I looked into keeping this fish not too long ago, and my LFS recommended mixing egg yolk with pellets and freezing the mixture onto the skeleton before adding it to the tank (proto massstick). I believe they can be trained onto pellets and frozen, but you can't count on them accepting prepared foods right off the bat. Look up Matt Pedersen's captive breeding success with this fish to learn more about its care. These fish are very delicate and their care is not to be taken lightly if you hope to keep them alive in captivity.

 

[Kasrift]

Pods alone aren't enough to sustain them. I've heard MassStick is particularly enticing to them, especially if stuck to a coral skeleton. I looked into keeping this fish not too long ago, and my LFS recommended mixing egg yolk with pellets and freezing the mixture onto the skeleton before adding it to the tank (proto massstick). I believe they can be trained onto pellets and frozen, but you can't count on them accepting prepared foods right off the bat. Look up Matt Pedersen's captive breeding success with this fish to learn more about its care. These fish are very delicate and their care is not to be taken lightly if you hope to keep them alive in captivity.

I tried them. Had one that was fat in QT for three months or more and then it died randomly when I was away. I ordered two, one was too skinny and didn't eat. The other one did fine, but ate less when the one perished. They are social fish and like others in the tank. It went through the rest of QT with a tilefish and they got on great and ate everything.

I'm going to try then again, but I'll order three or four as they do best in groups (one male to more female). I bought a fake coral from petco and they tucked into that every night to sleep. They weren't into masstick at all, I tried it. Frozen brine and cyclopeeze worked fine.

 

[Strad12]

I tried them. Had one that was fat in QT for three months or more and then it died randomly when I was away. I ordered two, one was too skinny and didn't eat. The other one did fine, but ate less when the one perished. They are social fish and like others in the tank. It went through the rest of QT with a tilefish and they got on great and ate everything.

I'm going to try then again, but I'll order three or four as they do best in groups (one male to more female). I bought a fake coral from petco and they tucked into that every night to sleep. They weren't into masstick at all, I tried it. Frozen brine and cyclopeeze worked fine.

How were you feeding them in QT? Did they take to the brine and cyclopeeze right away?

 

[Joj]

My experience with 2 in the past was that they pick at their food. In my case, they ate 1mm pellets (nee life spectrum) but their fused beak mouth was too small so they pecked at it till it was gone. In hindsight might have got them some
Smaller pellets at the time. Lived for a good year and gained weight (thickness) untol a kalk dosing accident that wiped out my fishes. I had these osff in my fuge where flow was lower and they can eat wothout competition.