Filefish eating anemones (not aiptasia)

[Reefer79]

I had about 6 snakelock anemones in my tank which were super hardy, nothing could kill them off, (even one being accidentally put into a bucket of rock I was selling, still in water but no light, heat or flow for almost 2 weeks) I bought a filefish to clear my aiptasia, didnt have many but wanted to keep them under control. A week after buying him, not a single snakelock in sight!! They are small with long thin tenticles similar to aiptasia. Could this guy have eaten them? One day there, next day all wiped out. They were only between 1-2 inches and multiplied rapidly in my tank. They are definitely not hiding as the tank they were in had very little rock and only my bubbletips with clowns, its a small tank piped through my main tank.

 

[P-Dub]

I think it is certainly likely. Given the choice between a steak and a hot-dog, I'd go for the steak too. Have the aptasia been wiped out as well?

 

[Reefer79]

I think it is certainly likely. Given the choice between a steak and a hot-dog, I'd go for the steak too. Have the aptasia been wiped out as well?

Yes! But luckily we have a filefish that'll eat brine shrimp. Won't touch any flakes though. So he gets a bit spoiled as I don't feed the fish frozen foods very often. Mostly flakes. I direct feed the corals with powder foods like reef roids, and anemones with pieces of shrimp or smelt twice a week. With no aiptasia left avd not touching flakes, it's all he'll eat! Assume he was still hungry. I've just never heard of them eating any anemone apart from aiptasia.

 

[WMR]

Filefish(aiptasia eating, & all the others) are omnivores, but more on the carnivorous side, prefer meaty fare more so than flake, that doesn’t mean that they won’t eat it, they just prefer it. I’m sure if there’s other anemones in the tank similar to aiptasia, they’ll eat them as well. Mix up the frozen foods, the fish & corals will love it as well

 

[Reefer79]

Filefish(aiptasia eating, & all the others) are omnivores, but more on the carnivorous side, prefer meaty fare more so than flake, that doesn’t mean that they won’t eat it, they just prefer it. I’m sure if there’s other anemones in the tank similar to aiptasia, they’ll eat them as well. Mix up the frozen foods, the fish & corals will love it as well. As long as it doesnt go for the bubbletips, it's OK lol

I was alternating flakes and frozen but I was getting phosphate spikes. Cutting down on frozen helped a lot. Now I do frozen twice a week when I direct feed the tank. The other days I just use flakes. But the filefish gets frozen daily.

 

[MERKEY]

That sucks I'm sorry to hear that.

They can suck up into rock pretty well but it sounds like he got them.

 

[WMR]

I was alternating flakes and frozen but I was getting phosphate spikes. Cutting down on frozen helped a lot. Now I do frozen twice a week when I direct feed the tank. The other days I just use flakes. But the filefish gets frozen daily.

Got it

 

[Reefer79]

That sucks I'm sorry to hear that.

They can suck up into rock pretty well but it sounds like he got them.

Definitely not hiding, they never have in the 8 months I've had them, they literally disappeared when I added the filefish. It's a shame but they were multiplying so fast, I was giving them to my fishstore monthly. They pack a serious punch and arnt very reef friendly, which is why I had them isolated with clowns and bubbletips only. They were banned from my main tank.