Orange spotted filefish feeding questions

[Chas J]

Bad news guys. My filefish died. I'm not sure what the issue was. they were fine for months with no issues. One day one of them stopped eating and hid/latched onto the rock. 2 days later it died. and the same day the other one began the same process and also died in two days. no signs of illness or stress prior to this change. no issue with water chemistry and no changes with any other fish. They just went from ravenous, active, and fat, to reclusive and fasting. I don't think they starved it was so sudden and they weren't emaciated when they died.

I was alternating between feeding spirulina brine and Mysis in my tank. my guess is that wasn't enough variety. maybe they were willing to eat foods other than coral but their bodies still needed some nutrients they weren't getting? Maybe they were collected with cyanide? I've heard that fish collected that way can seem healthy then suddenly succumb to organ failure as a result of exposure months earlier?

I was so proud of my fish I didn't want to announce to the forum that I failed in my husbandry. I've seen more filefish showing up at my LFS that eat prepared foods from time to time but I know I can't justify adding another pair to my tank without knowing what I need to do differently to care for them.

But this has revived my interest in these fish. I miss their beautiful colors and inquisitive personality and would love to keep them again. Does anyone think they can help me figure out where I went wrong? I really thought I had orange-spotted filefish figured out. It was great for about 3.5 months then the suddenly seemed to lose the will to live. Not for lack of trying but I know it's my fault I let them die. I just don't know what I did wrong?

Sorry to hear you lost your guy. I think the biggest thing, once they're eating prepared foods reliably,is maximizing fatty acids. Mine love brine too, but I don't use it anymore because it doesn't have enough nutrition for them. I use LRS Fertility Frenzy as their main diet. If you're not familiar with the Fertility Frenzy, it's designed for breeding clownfish. It is very high in fatty acids. I saw a noticable gain in weight after I started using it.

 

[Perpetual Novice]

Sorry to hear you lost your guy. I think the biggest thing, once they're eating prepared foods reliably,is maximizing fatty acids. Mine love brine too, but I don't use it anymore because it doesn't have enough nutrition for them. I use LRS Fertility Frenzy as their main diet. If you're not familiar with the Fertility Frenzy, it's designed for breeding clownfish. It is very high in fatty acids. I saw a noticable gain in weight after I started using it.

ok I’ll give that a try. But I wasn’t using plain brine. I was using that kind that was gut loaded with vitamin rich food before frozen so I thought it would be nutritious enough.

 

[Chas J]

ok I’ll give that a try. But I wasn’t using plain brine. I was using that kind that was gut loaded with vitamin rich food before frozen so I thought it would be nutritious enough.

I was using the enhanced brine too. It just didn't cut it. They were starting to loose weight until I made the change. It was probably around the six month mark when I made the change. Now I'm at almost three and a half years with a fat happy pair.

 

[Perpetual Novice]

I was using the enhanced brine too. It just didn't cut it. They were starting to loose weight until I made the change. It was probably around the six month mark when I made the change. Now I'm at almost three and a half years with a fat happy pair.

sounds like pretty definite that was the problem then. Just strange they both died so close together.

 

[jx fang]

1 year mark update.
This fatboy have finally made it through the first year.
Hope many years to come.
No acros, only regular twice feedings a day with prepared food, dry and frozen, nothing special.

 

[Chas J]

Here is my pair. I've had them four years this month.

 

[Saltyanimals]

Do these tend to do better purchased smaller? This is often the case with picky eaters that may have an established diet preference given ocean life vs smaller ones that are trained for aquarium life.

 

[jx fang]

Do these tend to do better purchased smaller? This is often the case with picky eaters that may have an established diet preference given ocean life vs smaller ones that are trained for aquarium life.

Absolutely, I got mine when he is less than a inch small.
Once they eat, they are very easy to keep and super hardy as well.

jx

Over two years in my tank.

 

[Saltyanimals]

Absolutely, I got mine when he is less than a inch small.
Once they eat, they are very easy to keep and super hardy as well.

jx

Over two years in my tank.

Does it still nip at corals or does it associate what you feed as food being that you got it so small. I'm hesitant putting something that small in my 180 because of the existing bigger eaters. Afraid it won't compete.

 

[iFunnny]

hello! thank you for all the illuminating information here! It definitely inspired me to try it for my own display. I have no intention of keeping high end SPS, but ive heard experiences from some reefers that they did munch on acans. Can anyone with LPS weigh in here? I noticed @jx fang has palys and the like. Were your filefish playing nice?

I have just picked up 4 (2 large, 2 small) from my LFS and are in a observation tank, with a chonk of live rock and 2 acropora skeletons. I have managed to lather on some copepod and marine plankton mix with tiny pellets and selcon. 2, notably the smaller ones, have begun picking at them.

I do not have access to masstick where I am, and i was wondering what the secret was to making a paste that will stick? Especially with pellets and flakes etc.

Sorry for necromancing an old thread!

 

[locito277]

hello! thank you for all the illuminating information here! It definitely inspired me to try it for my own display. I have no intention of keeping high end SPS, but ive heard experiences from some reefers that they did munch on acans. Can anyone with LPS weigh in here? I noticed @jx fang has palys and the like. Were your filefish playing nice?

I have just picked up 4 (2 large, 2 small) from my LFS and are in a observation tank, with a chonk of live rock and 2 acropora skeletons. I have managed to lather on some copepod and marine plankton mix with tiny pellets and selcon. 2, notably the smaller ones, have begun picking at them.

I do not have access to masstick where I am, and i was wondering what the secret was to making a paste that will stick? Especially with pellets and flakes etc.

Sorry for necromancing an old thread!

Buy easy reef Masstick. I feed them Roggers too.

 

[Rtaylor]

I currently have 4 for about 2 years. Mine have shown zero interest in lps or soft coral. I had great luck with Masstick. Since it’s not available to you, I’d try to make a thick paste with tiny pellets, flakes, even coral food in powder form.

 

[iFunnny]

thanks guys! ive been making mulch and slathering them on the sps skeletons. the small ones are picking non stop, but the big ones have zero interest. I also have a small colony of live acros in there for them. Let's see where it goes.

 

[Rtaylor]

thanks guys! ive been making mulch and slathering them on the sps skeletons. the small ones are picking non stop, but the big ones have zero interest. I also have a small colony of live acros in there for them. Let's see where it goes.

Honestly, I’d remove the acro for a few days (longer if they start eating prepared food). If it’s a small colony, it will just retract it’s polyps. No polyp extension = no food for orange spotted filefish. If the larger ones are distracted by the acro, they are less likely to try the prepared food. Hopefully they will see the little guys eating and get the idea. If they keep trying to eat the mucus from the polyps of an acro that isn’t extending it’s polyps, they will waste a lot of energy for no food.

 

[ReeferHD]

any updates? @jx fang

 

[Tchung23]

Just bought one. Was starting to pick at acros instantly so I knew it was hungry. Ran out to grab some masstick. Stuck it between acro corals and he was eating it within 5 mins. He’s so fat right now. Not sure if he was starving at the lfs. But d