Fish of the Day: Orangespotted Filefish

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Longnose Filefish (Orangespotted Filefish) / Oxymonacanthus longirostris

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SCIENTIFIC NAME - Oxymonacanthus longirostris

COMMON NAME - Longnose Filefish (Orangespotted Filefish)

SIZE - 4.7" (12 cm)

MIN. AQUARIUM SIZE - 20 US Gal. (76 L)

FOODS AND FEEDING - Obligatory coral feeder, polyps of Acropora, live Brine shrimp. Feed min. 2 times a day.

REEF COMPATIBILITY - Will eat, nip, the polyps of small stony corals.

CAPTIVE CARE - Difficult to acclimate to captivity, sufficient supply of its natural food must be present at all times, keep only with docile tank mates, is not aggressive towards its tank mates, can be kept in small groups in medium sized tanks, males may show aggression towards each other. Supply branching corals live, dead, or fake, for the specimens to use during night or if threatened. This fish is not recommended except for the most advanced,expert hobbyist, usually will not accept substitute marine fare and will starve if its natural food is not available in adequate quantities.

 

[Acrokeeper3729]

Nice fish. I remember Greg Hiller had a pair of them in his sps tank. Don't know if he still has them but they are beautiful fish. They eat sps polyps but he had such a large sps tank that he said they never did any real damage to his corals.

 

[MarvinsReef]

these are amazing fish. saw a pair of them at one of the coral displays at the Monterey Bay aquarium. if they weren't so hard to feed, I would probably get a pair.

 

[Flipside]

Huge Charger fan, so obviously love that fish!

 

[revsgirl]

So pretty!!

 

[Jlobes]

OOOHH one of my favorite fish! On my definite wish list, but dont want to risk them in my 120 mixed reef. they will need their own tank or a much larger tank where their SPS nibbles will go unnoticed. Or a tank with no SPS, just put one in there to feed them! LOL

 

[Hadiosbourne]

I had one in my invert tank, very beautiful,
and they don't just eat SPS, they take super shrimp and other foods as well

 

[SteveySingle]

My buddy geckoejon just scooped a pair from DD. Saw them earlier this week and they are AMAZING a to say the least. So far I bleieve they're doing pretty well for him- geckoejon show some pics for the fellow R2Rers!

 

[geckoejon]

@SteveySingle, gotcha buddy... thanks for the tag....

yes, i have a bonded pair of orange spotted filefish that are both doing great, imo! i bought them from dd, and was pleased. to give dd their props... they were just as described, packaged well, and apparently healthy.

i was blessed in being home for the first 10 days of having them. they were reportedly eating bring shrimp and ova before i purchased. i placed a couple acros in the tank. they seemed to pick at them, but did no visual damage. i would place them in my reef tank if there weren't so many other fish. they aren't the fastest feeders and need slower / fewer tank mates to do well, imo.

i turned the tank into a snow globe with food 4-5 times a day for the first 10 days. i tried literally 6 different frozen foods and some pellets. i was seriously starting to worry after several days of neither eating... after 3 days the female started eating. after 6 days the male started feeding. they have both been feeding steady on pretty much anything offered for about a week now, and they are now pigs!!! lol :wink: i cut down to feeding twice a day. i rotate sources and feed heavy. they both now look much thicker then when i received them. score!!! :smile:

i'm hoping and praying that they will spawn eventually. i have a spare room that i would be happy to turn into a osff breeding / raising room...

they remind me of something out of a dr suess book. lol they are without a doubt my favorite fish atm...