My new pair of orange spotted filefish

I am going to document my experience with these fish here. I ordered the pair from Blue Zoo Aquatics. I have gotten several fish from them in the past and they have always been great. These two came in looking very good. The female is already taking live brine shrimp with gusto, the male is nibbling on the sps that I placed in the tank for them.The biggest hurdle with these fish is getting them to take prepared foods. My plan is to keep offering the LBS mixed with frozen brine and mysis. I will also be smashing some Formula 2 gel food into old acopora skeleton's to entice them. I will be doing 20% water changes every 2-3 days to keep up with the increased pollution from feeding so much.

Here are the first pics:

Acclimating



Just in the tank:





Female in front, male in back

Very cool, are File fish clam safe?

Originally Posted by skinz78

Very cool, are File fish clam safe?

Everything I have read says that once they are eating prepared foods they tend to leave everything else alone. I have never heard of them munching on clams. I can't have that because I have many clams planned for this tank!

Ellen

Good luck with those there was a big article in Reeflife I think that talked about how a guy in Chicago is breeding them. It also talks about how he got them to eat prepared foods.

Sensational fish , very nice indeed

Those are pretty cool lookin', I hope they adjust well for you.

Very nice, good luck with them.

Mines don't bother clams but I haven't gotten thenm to take prepared foods yet.. I've had them for 4 month's now.. I got them to simulate polyp extension as it is in the wild mostly at night.. This way I could see more of my coral colors in the day cycle.. I have over 50 acros in my tank and they only seem to go for My Greg Hiller Aquadelight acro and my supergirl monti.. If you don't offer them a variety they will die in a month..

Originally Posted by 1000

Mines don't bother clams but I haven't gotten thenm to take prepared foods yet.. I've had them for 4 month's now.. I got them to simulate polyp extension as it is in the wild mostly at night.. This way I could see more of my coral colors in the day cycle.. I have over 50 acros in my tank and they only seem to go for My Greg Hiller Aquadelight acro and my supergirl monti.. If you don't offer them a variety they will die in a month..

Hi 1000,

By variety do you mean prepared foods or acropora corals? I have three different acros in the tank with them at the moment. I have access to many more from my larger tank, but my plan is to train them onto prepared foods asap. I have read everything Matt Pedersen has posted on the net about his experiences with the group he has raised. I am trying some of the methods he used to transition his files to frozen, then to just about anything he put in the tank.

Do you have a lot of experience with these fish? I would love to hear more about them if you have. How large is your tank and what other fish are you keeping with them? My thoughts are that a smaller tank with slow feeders, and less acropora might have an easier time getting them to try other foods. Do you have any photos of yours?

Thanks,

Ellen

Originally Posted by Azurel

Good luck with those there was a big article in Reeflife I think that talked about how a guy in Chicago is breeding them. It also talks about how he got them to eat prepared foods.

I have read everything I could find on the net by this guy. His name is Matt Pedersen and he has a full account of everything he did with his inital group over on MOFB forums. I hope I have as good of luck as he had. My pair look better than the first four fish he started with.

Wow Ellen, those fish are gorgeous. I wish you the best of luck with them.

Originally Posted by Azurel

Good luck with those there was a big article in Reeflife I think that talked about how a guy in Chicago is breeding them. It also talks about how he got them to eat prepared foods.

Matt pederson breed them. He was here in chicago but just recently moved out of state. Im sure I could drum up lots of threads and video's of his. ....Heres his youtube account

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

Great looking fish Ellen. Looking forward to updates on them

Today I put one of the dead acro skeletons in with the frozen gel food Formula 2. The nass snails got to it and I haven't seen the files touch it. The female ate some frozen brine enriched with selcon and both of them continue to nip at all of the sps in the tank. Since the female is eating the frozen brine I think I will offer a little of it at each feeding mixed with the other foods. I am going to try rods food on the skeleton next.

Ellen, don't you worry that offering food on/with the sps will encourage them to pick more at the sps? Or is it that they are already picking at the SPS and that is a route to lead them to the other foods?

Originally Posted by IanH

Ellen, don't you worry that offering food on/with the sps will encourage them to pick more at the sps? Or is it that they are already picking at the SPS and that is a route to lead them to the other foods?

Yes, they are already eating the sps and I am trying to convert them to prepared foods. I placed the sps in the tank as a food source for them until they are eating other foods. The female is definitely open to trying new foods and is now eating frozen brine really well. The male is being a bit more stubborn.

Acro polyps are thier natural food source. The placing food on a acro skelton is a way of tricking them into injesting an alternative food source in hopes they will develop a taste for it.

I hope it works out for you. How do you plan on getting rods food to stick to the skelton?

I thought the females were more stubborn!

I think you'll do fine as long as you stay up on you water quality while offering them prepared foods on the acro skeleton at least 3 times a day in a smaller system... I have never got the chance to get them in a smaller system, and when I got them they were in pretty bad condition.. I have also never even seen them even go after a prepared food in thhe water column.. I have 2 males and one is getting skinnier.. I think the other is bullying him for the most prized acros.. So I fragged it into 2 pieces.. Best of luck with this venture and don't forget to keep up on the water changes..

Great-looking fish Ellen...very unique! I hope your plan works out for you

Originally Posted by IanH

I thought the females were more stubborn!

everyone know that males are more stubborn!