Orangespotted Filefish info

nc87 · 09/13/2006, 10:28 PM

Hey guys, I recently picked up a Orangespotted Filefish from my lfs and was just wondering how were peoples experience with them. From what i understand they nip at polyps, but so far mines been pretty good nad i havent seen him nip at anything. My only concern is that he does not appear to be eating and may turn on my corals. I've been feeding flakes, cyclopeeze and frozen mysis shrimp. Anyone have any ideas on what else i could try?

Thanks

SDguy · 09/13/2006, 10:36 PM

Well, they only eat small coral polyps in the wild, so I'd hope it does start nipping at your corals.

Seriously, only success stories I've heard were from people with VERY big SPS tanks where the fish could graze without causing too much damage.

This is why it's always best to research the fish before buying.

sugartooth · 09/13/2006, 10:49 PM

WoW!
I never thought I would encounter another person posting about these fish on here.
This fish is the sole reason I got started in reefs and reef central. Basically I was told "no problem"by the LFS. Well, BIG problem. You may get a select few that will do well, but that's out of many that are sold and die. I tried to return it, and was told there is no reason to return it, they are fine in nanos. (yeah, right....thanks a lot for your advice)
I bought every kind of sps I could get my hands on after reading that these guys' survival stories are very few. I purchased a 45 setup to keep the sps, and T5's, and so on. I found out the gut contents of these fish and subsequently bought everything I could find online, in hopes of getting it to survive.
I bought every sps I could get my hands on, thinking that I can have it nip and not kill any of the coral.
I bought seagrass, turtlegrass, amphipods, copepods, and more sps!
I had him for 3 weeks, then he got some sort of parasitic infection that I treated as bacterial. Unfortunately he didn't make it.
I have now weeded out many LFS and found 2 that I would trust.
Good luck. I would take it back if possible, unless you are willing to go far to keep him.

Ooulophilia · 09/13/2006, 10:55 PM

You might want to go ahead and take that "orange spotted filefish" out of your signature now. Take it back to where you got it and please don't buy anything from that store again. That species of filefish does not live in captivity (except in very specific tanks as noted above) and should not be collected, any reputable LFS should be educated/responsible enough not to stock them.

Carman34L · 09/13/2006, 11:01 PM

I know of one person who has been succesfull in keeping a orange spotted filefish. That is Energy. He has the 1700 gal. Stingray reef from the Large reef tanks forum. He has 1000's of corals in there or close to 1000's anyways. The fish will only eat SPS polyps.

Carman34L · 09/13/2006, 11:04 PM

.... It is somewhere in there where it is talked about... very long read, but a great thread.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...5&pagenumber=1

SS21CA · 09/14/2006, 01:42 AM

Hey,
When I bought mine I was told that eat feeds on mysid, which i tried. The fish was doing well for around a month, possibly a little more when I noticed a brown spot on its fin, and then it dissapeared days later. These are gorgeous fish, and had I know it only feeds on sps and the details I wouldnt have purchased it. I guess if you can return it, and inform the store what it eats if they do not know. I think what it eats is only Acorapora , so thats from the research I gathered. The fish is gorgeous, and contrary to what most people say they can be kept, and there are a few success stories, but only because they are in reef tanks with plenty of food(coral) that they feed on. If you are willing to spend the money buy some Acorapora.

Good Luck!

SDguy · 09/14/2006, 06:52 AM

Well yeah, no one's saying they don't live in captivity for some unknown reason. The problem is they only eat SPS polyps. And even if you did find one that ate prepared foods, I doubt a fish which only feeds on coral polyps will get proper nutrition and survive long term with even the biggest variety of prepared/frozen foods. JMO.

adw · 09/14/2006, 08:42 AM

I believe Greg Hiller has kept one sucessfully for a long time, but his tank is a large SPS tank.

smcnally · 09/14/2006, 11:20 AM

Greg does have one in his large tank that has been doing well for (I believe) a few years. But as stated, they need a lot of SPS to feed on.

RichConley · 09/14/2006, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by adw
I believe Greg Hiller has kept one sucessfully for a long time, but his tank is a large SPS tank.

Greg's tank is 400g if I believe, and Greg probably provides 1/2 the corals to LFS in Ma, so his has PLENTY of food.

Maybe a good idea would be to find someone in the area who has a tank that could handle a fish like this.

nc87 · 09/15/2006, 07:36 AM

yeah, i think thats what i'm gonna do.. thanks for the info guys

imprtreef20 · 09/15/2006, 07:46 AM

In a recent issue of either TFH or FAMA...they had a showcase of a couple thousand gallon reef tank with tons of SPS corals and he had sucessfully been keeping an orange spotted...we actually have two in my store where I work right now cuz ppl wanted them and we tell them that they NEED coral polyps to survive and they r hard to keep but some customers r not the smartest, so one got sold and they brought it back cuz it wasnt eating for them, big supprise...I did get that one to eat live brine before it left the store but that doesnt do it any good nutrition wise...but they r absolutely beautiful species......by the way I am new to this forum I just registered today, hope I can use my small amount of knowledge in marine reef keeping to help some ppl out haha

09/13/2006, 10:28 PM	#1
nc87 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 23	Orangespotted Filefish info Hey guys, I recently picked up a Orangespotted Filefish from my lfs and was just wondering how were peoples experience with them. From what i understand they nip at polyps, but so far mines been pretty good nad i havent seen him nip at anything. My only concern is that he does not appear to be eating and may turn on my corals. I've been feeding flakes, cyclopeeze and frozen mysis shrimp. Anyone have any ideas on what else i could try? Thanks

09/13/2006, 10:36 PM	#2
SDguy Fish heads unite! Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: San Diego Posts: 23,384	Well, they only eat small coral polyps in the wild, so I'd hope it does start nipping at your corals. Seriously, only success stories I've heard were from people with VERY big SPS tanks where the fish could graze without causing too much damage. This is why it's always best to research the fish before buying. __________________ Peter SDMAS member Marine tanks since 1989. ><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><((((º> ·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·.. ><((((º> Current Tank Info: 240g butterfly and angel FOWLR. 15g QT.

09/14/2006, 06:52 AM	#8
SDguy Fish heads unite! Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: San Diego Posts: 23,384	Well yeah, no one's saying they don't live in captivity for some unknown reason. The problem is they only eat SPS polyps. And even if you did find one that ate prepared foods, I doubt a fish which only feeds on coral polyps will get proper nutrition and survive long term with even the biggest variety of prepared/frozen foods. JMO. __________________ Peter SDMAS member Marine tanks since 1989. ><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><((((º> ·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·.. ><((((º> Current Tank Info: 240g butterfly and angel FOWLR. 15g QT.

09/14/2006, 08:42 AM	#9
adw Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Ashland MA Posts: 623	I believe Greg Hiller has kept one sucessfully for a long time, but his tank is a large SPS tank. __________________ When asked if he had any regrets about throwing the man through the window, Barkley said, "I regret we weren't on a higher floor." "It's all about bucks kid, the rest is conversation." Gordon Gecko Current Tank Info: 36x24x24 90 gal with 40B sump, 2x RADION XR30W, AC3, Tunze osmulator, Octopus XP-2000SSS Cone Skimmer, KORALLIN C-1501, MP40 and 2 Hydor PHs

09/13/2006, 10:49 PM	#3
sugartooth Reef bully Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: IL Posts: 2,832	WoW! I never thought I would encounter another person posting about these fish on here. This fish is the sole reason I got started in reefs and reef central. Basically I was told "no problem"by the LFS. Well, BIG problem. You may get a select few that will do well, but that's out of many that are sold and die. I tried to return it, and was told there is no reason to return it, they are fine in nanos. (yeah, right....thanks a lot for your advice) I bought every kind of sps I could get my hands on after reading that these guys' survival stories are very few. I purchased a 45 setup to keep the sps, and T5's, and so on. I found out the gut contents of these fish and subsequently bought everything I could find online, in hopes of getting it to survive. I bought every sps I could get my hands on, thinking that I can have it nip and not kill any of the coral. I bought seagrass, turtlegrass, amphipods, copepods, and more sps! I had him for 3 weeks, then he got some sort of parasitic infection that I treated as bacterial. Unfortunately he didn't make it. I have now weeded out many LFS and found 2 that I would trust. Good luck. I would take it back if possible, unless you are willing to go far to keep him.

09/13/2006, 10:55 PM	#4
Ooulophilia Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Norcal Posts: 482	You might want to go ahead and take that "orange spotted filefish" out of your signature now. Take it back to where you got it and please don't buy anything from that store again. That species of filefish does not live in captivity (except in very specific tanks as noted above) and should not be collected, any reputable LFS should be educated/responsible enough not to stock them.

09/13/2006, 11:01 PM	#5
Carman34L Moved On Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Lake Elmo, Minnesota Posts: 644	I know of one person who has been succesfull in keeping a orange spotted filefish. That is Energy. He has the 1700 gal. Stingray reef from the Large reef tanks forum. He has 1000's of corals in there or close to 1000's anyways. The fish will only eat SPS polyps.

09/13/2006, 11:04 PM	#6
Carman34L Moved On Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Lake Elmo, Minnesota Posts: 644	.... It is somewhere in there where it is talked about... very long read, but a great thread. http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...5&pagenumber=1

09/14/2006, 01:42 AM	#7
SS21CA Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: SoCal Posts: 66	Hey, When I bought mine I was told that eat feeds on mysid, which i tried. The fish was doing well for around a month, possibly a little more when I noticed a brown spot on its fin, and then it dissapeared days later. These are gorgeous fish, and had I know it only feeds on sps and the details I wouldnt have purchased it. I guess if you can return it, and inform the store what it eats if they do not know. I think what it eats is only Acorapora , so thats from the research I gathered. The fish is gorgeous, and contrary to what most people say they can be kept, and there are a few success stories, but only because they are in reef tanks with plenty of food(coral) that they feed on. If you are willing to spend the money buy some Acorapora. Good Luck!

09/14/2006, 11:20 AM	#10
smcnally Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: South Shore, MA Posts: 1,181	Greg does have one in his large tank that has been doing well for (I believe) a few years. But as stated, they need a lot of SPS to feed on.

09/15/2006, 07:36 AM	#12
nc87 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 23	yeah, i think thats what i'm gonna do.. thanks for the info guys

09/15/2006, 07:46 AM	#13
imprtreef20 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 20	In a recent issue of either TFH or FAMA...they had a showcase of a couple thousand gallon reef tank with tons of SPS corals and he had sucessfully been keeping an orange spotted...we actually have two in my store where I work right now cuz ppl wanted them and we tell them that they NEED coral polyps to survive and they r hard to keep but some customers r not the smartest, so one got sold and they brought it back cuz it wasnt eating for them, big supprise...I did get that one to eat live brine before it left the store but that doesnt do it any good nutrition wise...but they r absolutely beautiful species......by the way I am new to this forum I just registered today, hope I can use my small amount of knowledge in marine reef keeping to help some ppl out haha