My new pair of orange spotted filefish

Thats awesome. Are they only eating the food you give them now or are they still picking on SPS?

I so enjoyed that! They are eating like little piggies! Congrats!

Originally Posted by chris&barb

Thats awesome. Are they only eating the food you give them now or are they still picking on SPS?

Thanks all. They still pick at the sps, but they haven't killed any of the frags yet. I think they are eating more of the prepared foods now.

skinz78 Great video, but how do you tell the male from the female.

If you scroll back threw the pics and look at the one with both of them, the males vent has white spots all around it and the females doesn't.

Right on, I see it now.

Just thought I would post a few pics that I took last night. These two continue to eat well and I am now easing up a little on the live food and am giving them mainly frozen, flake, and working on pellets. I want to fatten these guys up and hopefully I will get some spawning behavior.

I've never even seen these fish before you owned them. I'm willing to bet you could make a fortune on the babies!

Looking good! Im glad to see that they have worked out for you.

Wow! I...am...so...in....awe...of these fish Ellen! They're amazingly beautiful! I did a bit of research because you've sparked my curiosity and know from what I've read just how difficult they are to keep...you really need to be dedicated and obviously you are since you've been successful with them...you should write up a little guide on these babies and detail some of your experience!

Ellen how are the fishies doing???

they sure are cute, e.

Originally Posted by billrob71

Ellen how are the fishies doing???

Look above at the pics I just posted. They are doing great. Thanks for asking Bill.

Originally Posted by RCA

I've never even seen these fish before you owned them. I'm willing to bet you could make a fortune on the babies!

Maybe, then again maybe not. These are very hard fish to raise. The wild caught adults often starve before they decide to eat prepared foods, and the babies are not easy to raise either. First you have to succeed in raising the babies, and then you have to make enough money to recoupe your invested time, labor, and money spent. I know that you already know this Jason, but I don't want anyone new to the hobby thinking that these are easy fish, because they most definitely are not.

I would like to give it a try, but I don't think I am the best person to do this as I have little (none),experience raising marine fish fry, and my job keeps me too busy. If I get lucky enough to notice spawning behavior I have already spoken to Barb about attempting to raise the babies.

I do think if these fish can be captive bred and reared they could become much easier to maintain. The two I have seem very healthy and haven't shown any signs of disease.

Originally Posted by D3monic

Looking good! Im glad to see that they have worked out for you.

Thanks D. It is very exciting.

Originally Posted by Barbara

Wow! I...am...so...in....awe...of these fish Ellen! They're amazingly beautiful! I did a bit of research because you've sparked my curiosity and know from what I've read just how difficult they are to keep...you really need to be dedicated and obviously you are since you've been successful with them...you should write up a little guide on these babies and detail some of your experience!

Thanks Barb. These two are very interesting to watch. Now that I am a little more relaxed on the feeding I have been observing their behavior a little more closely and it is fun watching them interact. I can write up something describing what has worked for me thus far, but I don't want to jinx myself by getting too cocky

They look pretty good Ellen!!!! Hows the other wrasse doing? The one like mine.

I hear 'ya Ellen...maybe you could write up a "general" fish guide - more like an "ID" - we have a form that we can send you and then you could attach photos and stress the dedication necessary to raise them etc...we'll add it to our "wikipedia"! I'll have chris send it to you...

Wow, these are gorgeous fish. Only seen them in magazines myself. How much do they go for?

Originally Posted by billrob71

They look pretty good Ellen!!!! Hows the other wrasse doing? The one like mine.

She is doing great. She is a fatty.

Originally Posted by luke33

Wow, these are gorgeous fish. Only seen them in magazines myself. How much do they go for?

They really aren't that expensive I think I paid $25-30 a piece for them. They are very difficult fish to get started eating on prepared foods. I spent a lot of time trying different foods and different ways of presenting the food before I got them eating well. Lots of water changes to keep the water quality from taking a dive with all the food I was putting in.

They are definitely worth all the work. Here is a recent picture.

Spawning yet?

Heres Matt P's youtube link. Lots of videos of them spawnind and of the fry.


http://www.youtube.com/user/mwpfishbreeder

They are looking great Ellen!

Originally Posted by D3monic

Spawning yet?

Heres Matt P's youtube link. Lots of videos of them spawnind and of the fry.


http://www.youtube.com/user/mwpfishbreeder

Not yet. I have watched all of his videos, but thanks for posting the link. I am seeing some chasing from the male so I think there is interest. Time will tell.

I am not in a hurry.