Great Disappointment - File Fish "massacre"

[TheTruTaric]

After receiving my order from biota im sad to say my radial filefish has been a disaster, a massacre really.
Now i know there wasn't a guarantee that he wouldn't nip corals however i was assured the radial files were not observed to do anything more than to hold onto soft corals. Being a captive-bred fish i was willing to make that investment but actually, this captive file is worse than any aptasia eating filefish i have witnessed. Im sad to say i must get rid of him, although I'm fond of him and his personality. My filefish has been eating, not nipping, eating my hammers, zoas, toadstool, gorg, and worst of all he's eaten much of my GONI. Its been over a week and my tank is miserable to look at, everything is closed and upset it feels my tank is slowly dying. Not sure I would trust it again, however it seems I may be an anomaly and this may not represent the general quality of biota fish but according to what i was told or reasonably promised that i could expect this is every way is the opposite, especially since this is my favorite fish and i did in fact save for what i thought was my best chance to keep one, and I must say I'm really sad, heartbroken and disappointed.

(Very unsure what to do now, he must go, however finding a tank recipient who would not mind a fish with his demeanor is unlikely, and my local fish stores are not places that assure me that he will be treated as i wish for him to)

 

[IKD]

After receiving my order from biota im sad to say my radial filefish has been a disaster, a massacre really.
Now i know there wasn't a guarantee that he wouldn't nip corals however i was assured the radial files were not observed to do anything more than to hold onto soft corals. Being a captive-bred fish i was willing to make that investment but actually, this captive file is worse than any aptasia eating filefish i have witnessed. Im sad to say i must get rid of him, although I'm fond of him and his personality. My filefish has been eating, not nipping, eating my hammers, zoas, toadstool, gorg, and worst of all he's eaten much of my GONI. Its been over a week and my tank is miserable to look at, everything is closed and upset it feels my tank is slowly dying. Not sure I would trust it again, however it seems I may be an anomaly and this may not represent the general quality of biota fish but according to what i was told or reasonably promised that i could expect this is every way is the opposite, especially since this is my favorite fish and i did in fact save for what i thought was my best chance to keep one, and I must say I'm really sad, heartbroken and disappointed.

(Very unsure what to do now, he must go, however finding a tank recipient who would not mind a fish with his demeanor is unlikely, and my local fish stores are not places that assure me that he will be treated as i wish for him to)

There may be folks with non-reef tanks that would take him. Post him up in the classifieds and see if you have any luck.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Agree with above. Put an add in kijiji or something and offer him for free, many people keep FOWLR tanks.

 

[TheTruTaric]

Agree with above. Put an add in kijiji or something and offer him for free, many people keep FOWLR tanks.

after 1 week recon there is any chance he would stop trying to eat my other corals? for now he's in a Acclamation box

 

[TheTruTaric]

i really like him

 

[Tamberav]

White spotted pygmy filefish bred by ORA are reef safe and could serve as a replacement. They also have that great filefish personality.

 

[blaxsun]

after 1 week recon there is any chance he would stop trying to eat my other corals? for now he's in a Acclamation box

Haha, I think that’s wishful thinking at this point. Filefish are generally considered reef-safe with caution or not safe at all.

 

[Lavey29]

Are you feeding him enough so he doesn't have an appetite for your coral?

 

[ninjamyst]

There's no 100% guarantee in this hobby. Sucks to get a fish that nips coral but they are individuals.and have their own personality and choice of diet. I doubt the fish will stop eating corals and even if it did, it may suddenly decide to nip again. All you can do now is either set up a new tank for it or sell it locally to a fowlr tank. Captive breed means nothing when it comes to nipping which is a genetic trait passed down through generations.

 

[Enkopaaisen]

i also learnt it in a hard way: when you see its reef compatiblility as: with caution. just dont try that fish in a reef tank.
is really a 50/50 chance.... no garantees at all.....
i had a foxface, a good guy never nipped on any corals for years. I than added a rabit fish so that they became swim mates, and the fox face started to nip tips of torches of, so there were always shiny tissues floating around in the tank, and the rabit fish would swim after him to eat the coral tissues, but he never nipped any corals himself.....
had to remove them from the tank, had to tear the landscape down.....

 

[Labridaedicted]

Unfortunately that's the sad gamble with a Filefish. Some will eat corals, some won't. Keeping them heavily fed will help keep them from eating coral, but it really takes a *heavy* feeding regimen sometimes. Have had them previously that would munch on anything. My current one is a model citizen.

If they've shown a propensity for eating coral in the past, that is unlikely to change. I'd try to swap them for another if you really like the fish. You can try quarantining them with various corals and seeing how they react, but over time, this can change as well. Seen them decide after years that they have a taste for corals.

 

[Hydrored]

My filefish will nip at things on occasion but I let him roll, I have some emeralds that do the same. My file fish eats nori and will pick at it all day, so maybe try giving him that for something to do.

How often are you feeding?

I’ve never had nipping so bad that everything is closed up, my tank is also fed 3 times a day.

 

[__Jreef__]

Sorry to hear about your experience, I have a pair for a little over 3 years and they never bother any of my corals or other fish.

 

[TheTruTaric]

Sorry to hear about your experience, I have a pair for a little over 3 years and they never bother any of my corals or other fish.

Thaks man, Unfortunately, It seems i got unlucky. Now im just really sad and i wish to find him a new home, however, nobody is interested so far, and because i am attached i don't want to put him somewhere where he wont be treated well

 

[Biota_Marine]

Thaks man, Unfortunately, It seems i got unlucky. Now im just really sad and i wish to find him a new home, however, nobody is interested so far, and because i am attached i don't want to put him somewhere where he wont be treated well

I'm sorry to hear the filefish has decimated so many of your corals. We appreciate your feedback; this is good information. We listed this species as "reef safe with caution" simply because it is a filefish, but this is the first report I've heard about this particular species being so damaging in a reef tank. Unfortunately it isn't feasible to test filefish for coral eating before sale, but we have always recommended risk-averse reefers to avoid filefish in general because they are "reef safe with caution." To be on the safe side, I updated the product page to mention specifically that they may eat other species of coral, though they aren't typically observed eating their host species Xenia.

I hope you can find a good home for the fish; they're so unique and interesting with great personality. - Biota Felicia

 

[TheTruTaric]

I'm sorry to hear the filefish has decimated so many of your corals. We appreciate your feedback; this is good information. We listed this species as "reef safe with caution" simply because it is a filefish, but this is the first report I've heard about this particular species being so damaging in a reef tank. Unfortunately it isn't feasible to test filefish for coral eating before sale, but we have always recommended risk-averse reefers to avoid filefish in general because they are "reef safe with caution." To be on the safe side, I updated the product page to mention specifically that they may eat other species of coral, though they aren't typically observed eating their host species Xenia.

I hope you can find a good home for the fish; they're so unique and interesting with great personality. - Biota Felicia

Thank you, i understand i got the less likely end of the stick, ill make sure he's taken care of.

 

[foxt]

If you have a sump, keep him in there?

 

[TheTruTaric]

If you have a sump, keep him in there?

great idea although i dont have a sump xD

 

[Vinnie1959]

I'm sorry to hear the filefish has decimated so many of your corals. We appreciate your feedback; this is good information. We listed this species as "reef safe with caution" simply because it is a filefish, but this is the first report I've heard about this particular species being so damaging in a reef tank. Unfortunately it isn't feasible to test filefish for coral eating before sale, but we have always recommended risk-averse reefers to avoid filefish in general because they are "reef safe with caution." To be on the safe side, I updated the product page to mention specifically that they may eat other species of coral, though they aren't typically observed eating their host species Xenia.

I hope you can find a good home for the fish; they're so unique and interesting with great personality. - Biota Felicia

I got one from the LFS. Doesn't touch Aiptasia but had a buffet totally eating a purple cespitularia, waving hand anthelia, and a pulsing xenia. The tank was fed three times a day.