Show off your tilefish!

[i cant think]

Okay, so theres a show your wrasses and tangs thread. Where’s the love for tiles! I’d love to see some of your tilefish and also know what you have with it. I’ll go first.
So for those of you who don’t know yet I am a rather newer owner to the tilefish and instead of starting with the more basic, common tilefish (Blue heads, Purples, yellows ect…) I started with one of the harder to keep tilefish, the flashing tilefish (Hoplolatilus chlupatyi). Do I trust he will thrive in my tank? Yes. He didn’t eat for a day in my tank (Or Atleast I didn’t see him eat), in the LFS he ate just fine and after a week of reservation wasn’t flashing anymore! If I could have another (I probably will try squeeze one in) I would go for either a Marcosi or wait until next year when the flashers are back in season!! I have mine in with a twin spot bristletooth tang, magnificent foxface, jade wrasse, radiant wrasse, both lubbocki fairy wrasse variants, a black margin fairy wrasse, a CBB, Black photon clownfish and a sub male melanospilos angelfish. This guy came out 3 days into being in the tank (He has an entire burrow in the back of his cave) and is now out almost the whole time lights are on!! He’s about 2.5” and certainly my favourite fish. He’s in a 4’ tank at the moment (The Jade wrasse will be returned to the LFS for aggression towards the radiant wrasse).

 

[blaxsun]

Nice fish!

 

[i cant think]

Nice fish!

They really are and I don’t think they get enough love due to the jumpy behaviour. They’re also more unusual due to how deep down they come from but how easy most of them are to get accustomed to an aquarium! I certainly love these fish and if I have room I may try get another flashing tilefish or a marcosi tilefish. If I was able to I would set up a separate 3’ tank for just tilefish (Maybe one other fish).

 

[blaxsun]

They really are and I don’t think they get enough love due to the jumpy behaviour. They’re also more unusual due to how deep down they come from but how easy most of them are to get accustomed to an aquarium! I certainly love these fish and if I have room I may try get another flashing tilefish or a marcosi tilefish. If I was able to I would set up a separate 3’ tank for just tilefish (Maybe one other fish).

The closest equivalent I have right now is a pair of scissortail dartfish. They are much more scheming than people give them credit for; I started with four but the larger pair drove the smaller too out of the tank literally within a few hours of introduction (apparently 160 gallons wasn't big enough for the four of them). During the day they're out and about (but they always stick together). Soon as the lights go down they are gone and you couldn't coax them out from their cave with a worm on a hook.

 

[i cant think]

The closest equivalent I have right now is a pair of scissortail dartfish. They are much more scheming than people give them credit for; I started with four but the larger pair drove the smaller too out of the tank literally within a few hours of introduction (apparently 160 gallons wasn't big enough for the four of them). During the day they're out and about (but they always stick together). Soon as the lights go down they are gone and you couldn't coax them out from their cave with a worm on a hook.

That’s for sure what I find tilefish to behave like! These guys deserve their name haha, the amount of times I have had to get one from the floor in my LFS when I worked there was high. They’re certainly characters and the dart fish are probably the only fish even close in personality to these guys. I have had a pair of purples and a pair of blue heads show up in the LFS whilst working there and now my 3 favourites are;
1. Flashing tilefish,
2. Marcosi tilefish,
3. Purple & Yellow Tilefish(es).
I would love a tank with Atleast 2 of each species of tilefish but that’s probably way too far in the future haha. Hmm, a goni and tilefish dominated tank, that sounds like a plan that will be done eventually!

 

[blaxsun]

That’s for sure what I find tilefish to behave like! These guys deserve their name haha, the amount of times I have had to get one from the floor in my LFS when I worked there was high. They’re certainly characters and the dart fish are probably the only fish even close in personality to these guys. I have had a pair of purples and a pair of blue heads show up in the LFS whilst working there and now my 3 favourites are;
1. Flashing tilefish,
2. Marcosi tilefish,
3. Purple & Yellow Tilefish(es).
I would love a tank with Atleast 2 of each species of tilefish but that’s probably way too far in the future haha. Hmm, a goni and tilefish dominated tank, that sounds like a plan that will be done eventually!

Good to know that my dartfish are secretly waiting... plotting.
I've probably got far too many fish as it is (33 and counting), so everything I add at this point is an exercise in balancing! My LFS got in some chameleon tilefish not that long ago and they were all sold before I'd even had a chance to go in and look at them (supposed to be pretty spectacular, though).

 

[i cant think]

Good to know that my dartfish are secretly waiting... plotting.
I've probably got far too many fish as it is (33 and counting), so everything I add at this point is an exercise in balancing! My LFS got in some chameleon tilefish not that long ago and they were all sold before I'd even had a chance to go in and look at them (supposed to be pretty spectacular, though).

They really are, I wish videos worked because I got a video of mine flashing last week when I went to the LFS. I’ll try and see if it works, If yours is a 160 and those 33 stick to around 2-3” then maybe you could fit one in!!

 

[Tamberav]

Glad he settled in and came around for you! Need a pic with less blue lol

I love tilefish but don't try to keep them, or firefish, or fairy wrasse as my 3 bengal cats are good at making super skiddish fish kill themselves... so I learned.

 

[i cant think]

Glad he settled in and came around for you! Need a pic with less blue lol

I love tilefish but don't try to keep them, or firefish, or fairy wrasse as my 3 bengal cats are good at making super skiddish fish kill themselves... so I learned.

I have a photo of him from when he was in the LFS (In his resting colours)

Unfortunately this is when he was flashing and I got a photo of his resting colours (I couldn’t get a photo of the beautiful yellows, purples or greens and I’m kicking myself over it because he didn’t even flash once in my tank).

 

[i cant think]

I never added a photo with lights out agh, I’ll try get one in the morning!! He’s still with me and it will be 1 month on Christmas Day so that’s one good thing that’s good (The rest has been death with my nano). He’s the most personable fish I own at the moment, even my foxface can’t beat him!! Here’s a photo of what he does when hungry now (Also the reason why I always make sure he’s on the opposite side of the tank to where I’m opening the lid).

 

[i cant think]

So, he commonly flashes in the morning and he doesn’t show signs of stress. Nobody picks on him, he just does it during a water change or in the morning as the lights come on (My bet is this is to hide in with the surroundings better). I somehow got a photo of him halfway through his colours changing!! These fish will flash in captivity and it’s not always due to stress, it can be because of communication, excitement or just because it can. As I watch him now, there’s a sudden flash of colour every so often but still no ‘other’ signs of stress. He’d flashing between a beautiful white with a tint of blue, electric blue and sometimes but not as often yellow (That’s the colour I caught in the photo actually!) he also flashes green sometimes during a water change. I think in the right tank these fish WILL flash but in most tanks they don’t because they don’t have a reason to assert dominance. I have found this specimen to actually deal quite well with minimal aggression (Never directed at him instead between the other fish). He’s definitely a more front and Center fish though, also filled to the brim with personality (I know I’ve said this before but I can’t stress it enough). I think if you can get hold of a tilefish and have a tight lid these are the perfect reef fish.

I just went through a video I got of this guy flashing during a water change and I got some quite good photos out of it!! Although they are top down because a side photo of this guy is both the easiest and hardest thing because he can dart quite quickly.

 

[Zionas]

Nice fish! How big is he currently and do you want to get him a mate?

 

[i cant think]

Nice fish! How big is he currently and do you want to get him a mate?

If I had room and saw another I would definitely get him a mate, at the moment he’s about 2.5 inch, I think he was 2 inch when I bought him but I’m unsure. If I have room, I probably would get a separate species of tilefish (The flashing tiles are uncommon and it’s relatively hard to get hold of one that’s been in the shop for more than a week unless it’s reserved).

 

[i cant think]

A month and a week of being in the tank now, he is the most personable fish ever. As said before, everywhere says these fish stay a dull colour and never flash unless stressed. To me those tilefish weren’t truly settled into the aquarium, mine changes colour depending on if it’s shaded or if it’s light. If it’s shaded it goes a deep purple but if it’s light it goes electric blue. He does go green for a bit when I dose AB+ and the surrounding water goes green. I’ve seen him go orange when he was swimming over my ricordea and I was looking at the top-down view of my tank. I always look forward to looking at the tank from above during a water change or even when Im just next to the tank. Here’s a ridiculous photo I got of this guy, he’s adorable.

 

[Tcook]

Here's mine. Just ordered a second one.

 

[i cant think]

Here's mine. Just ordered a second one.

I cant wait to see the second one, purples are beautiful and I’m tempted on asking my LFS for either a Marcosi or purple once the Jade is gone (Maybe even trade the Jade for one).

 

[i cant think]

I got some rather good photos of mine flashing. Also added a photo of his resting colours in the morning
Flashing:

Morning resting colours:

 

[Tcook]

Wow! Thinks he's a blue head.

 

[i cant think]

Wow! Thinks he's a blue head.

Haha yeah, I actually thought he was a discoloured blue head when I first saw him at my LFS. Didn’t realise what species he truly was until about 4 weeks later when I reserved him and brought him back after a month in the LFS.

 

[i cant think]

I never added a photo with lights out agh, I’ll try get one in the morning!! He’s still with me and it will be 1 month on Christmas Day so that’s one good thing that’s good (The rest has been death with my nano). He’s the most personable fish I own at the moment, even my foxface can’t beat him!! Here’s a photo of what he does when hungry now (Also the reason why I always make sure he’s on the opposite side of the tank to where I’m opening the lid).

He still does this, whenever the vibration of the lid coming off happens and gets to him, he shoots up to the top. Nearly gave me a panic of having to get the dogs away from the tank one day because he almost jumped out. Luckily I got the lid down in time and rebound got to him.