Small filefish question

[Krzydmnd]

That's what I thought! Thats the species Ive been looking at potentially getting. How often do you typically feed if I may ask, and what? Im trying to plan as much as I can, my cycle is getting close to completion!

I feed anywhere from 1 to 3 times a day and he eats anything but I think he's partial to blood worms and nori. He's a porker!

 

[PrimaryQwilfish]

I feed anywhere from 1 to 3 times a day and he eats anything but I think he's partial to blood worms and nori. He's a porker!

Lol love it! Thanks for the info!

 

[mort]

This may be a dumb question but why wouldmt you be too worried about softies? This is my first venture into coral care, so I know they are tough but they still seem touchy. Also do you think leathers would be ok?

Softies tend to be less palatable than fleshy lps simply because they have more noxious compounds in them (soft corals tend to use allelopathy to deter neighbours, basically chemical warfare, whereas lps use sweeper tentacles meaning they don't need to house these chemicals).
It like us having the choice of biting into a nice juicy apple versus an onion. Some fish specialise in eating soft corals but they are less common, especially if the fish doesn't come from that environment, like two of oras filefish species.

 

[PrimaryQwilfish]

Softies tend to be less palatable than fleshy lps simply because they have more noxious compounds in them (soft corals tend to use allelopathy to deter neighbours, basically chemical warfare, whereas lps use sweeper tentacles meaning they don't need to house these chemicals).
It like us having the choice of biting into a nice juicy apple versus an onion. Some fish specialise in eating soft corals but they are less common, especially if the fish doesn't come from that environment, like two of oras filefish species.

Ahh ok. I had read that but since a lot of people were saying they liked xenia I was unsure if that was the case for filefish. Regardless it seems it is worth a short since most of my tank is gonna be soft coral, just a matter of deciding on my final fish

 

[Jeff_H]

I have two ORA apitasia eating filefish (Hans and Franz) for about 7-9 months, and have never seen them nip any of my LPS corals or GSP. I did a ton of research before getting them as I was concerned they might go after some of my corals, just like everyone else. I came to the conclusion many of the wild caught filefish sold in the LFS might not be Acreichthys Tomentosus and where ID'ed wrong. I call ORA and talk to them about the odds of them nipping corals and they said it was a possibility, which I assumed was a CYA. I took the chance anyway, and have been very happy with them. They are very interesting fish and add character to the tank. I've also recently seen some interesting behavior from them, and I'm now wondering if it's mating behavior. When I have time, I might post a video and see if anyone knows.

They spend most of the day cruising around the tank hunting pods, which brings me to a second point about the possibility of some of the coral nipping behavior being false. I've seen them on many occasions go after pods on or near corals, and it looks like they are going after the corals, but they are not. Could it be others have seen this behavior and assumed wrong?

That said - The final point I will add regarding my experience is I feed generously twice a day. I'm sure if I was one of those reefers that barely fed my livestock, I might see different behavior. Think about it, when you get really hungry you're more likely to try something you wouldn't normally eat... Right? I'd be more worried about the Toby Puffer I think. ;)

I hope this helps with your decision... Good luck!

 

[PrimaryQwilfish]

I have two ORA apitasia eating filefish (Hans and Franz) for about 7-9 months, and have never seen them nip any of my LPS corals or GSP. I did a ton of research before getting them as I was concerned they might go after some of my corals, just like everyone else. I came to the conclusion many of the wild caught filefish sold in the LFS might not be Acreichthys Tomentosus and where ID'ed wrong. I call ORA and talk to them about the odds of them nipping corals and they said it was a possibility, which I assumed was a CYA. I took the chance anyway, and have been very happy with them. They are very interesting fish and add character to the tank. I've also recently seen some interesting behavior from them, and I'm now wondering if it's mating behavior. When I have time, I might post a video and see if anyone knows.

They spend most of the day cruising around the tank hunting pods, which brings me to a second point about the possibility of some of the coral nipping behavior being false. I've seen them on many occasions go after pods on or near corals, and it looks like they are going after the corals, but they are not. Could it be others have seen this behavior and assumed wrong?

That said - The final point I will add regarding my experience is I feed generously twice a day. I'm sure if I was one of those reefers that barely fed my livestock, I might see different behavior. Think about it, when you get really hungry you're more likely to try something you wouldn't normally eat... Right? I'd be more worried about the Toby Puffer I think. ;)

I hope this helps with your decision... Good luck!

Those are definitely some solid potential hypotheses! That makes sense, thanks for your help, I appreciate it!

 

[Hha]

Wish my experience was a good one but unfortunately is not . I purchased an Ora pygmy file fish from live aquaria 14 months ago and he is as cool of a fish and very unique .
After the tank hit the 1 year mark I wanted to delve into corals and all the colors . So I order several zoas ,a zenia, Gsp , cyphastria, birdsnest and pavona( easier beginner corals ) . Once i got my parameters to the corals liking they began to take off.
I went out of town for 3 days ( and left the feeding and tank care to the family,,,made up premixed feedings so i know all the feedings would be as I do ) when i got home first thing I noticed is the GSP was totally wiped out,,,gone,,, and any zoa with bright green on it had the bright green eaten....im affraid Dave the file fish ( and family favorite ) is the culprit. Its a 75 gallon tank. It has 2 clowns , 3 pj cardinals, 1 yellow tail blenny, 2 yellow gobys , and Dave the file fish.We also have a urchin and turbo snails and a couple scarlet hermits. So I thought at first possible hermit but the GSP was on a magnetic rack on the back wall of tank and totally inaccessable by the hermits. That pretty much leaves only Dave.
Another interesting thing is that Dave over the last couple weeks went from model citizen to a jerk to the PJs . Im thinking because the Pjs have similiar body shapes to the file fish . Maybe its a spring time mating thing but hes constantly chasing and flashing and changing patterns ( which is cool to see the color change ,flashing)
So now im at crossroad ,,do I just settle for a fish only tank,,,,or rehome dave and get the corals and colors in the tank i really want... Or make a smaller tank for bad boys like Dave....
Your experience may vary,,,but mine went sideways as Dave matured. And hes definetly not zoa, Gsp safe.

 

[jeffchapok]

Mine did a fantastic job at eliminating aiptasia, but once it was all gone it also wiped out all my rock flower nems and elegance coral. I've even caught it picking at my lobo.