filefish

[maxxy]

Does anyone know anything about filefish? I was thinking about getting one but I'm not sure what type of fish they get along with. I also need to know if they woukld eat cleaner shrimp and sea urchins. The one I was looking at is I beleieve a black tail and about 2-3inches.

 

[fish911]

do a search
there have been a lot of threads about them on here
they are hard to keep in capivity apparently

 

[maxxy]

thanks I checked the search I'm still not sure if my shrimp will be dinner.

 

[ophiura]

Filefish are close relatives of triggerfish and pufferfish....often not as physically aggressive as these two groups, but in terms of diet there are certainly similarities.
Definitely not the easiest types of fish to keep either. Some get large, some are highly specialized in diet, some are quite delicate and short lived in captivity...

 

[maxxy]

I was going to get one to go with my trigger(pink tail), and my little toby puffer but I was afraid it would be to small. I thought you had to keep them with very mild fish. My trigger and puffer are not aggressive. There is also a tomato clown and midads blenny in a 140. I also have a 150 reef but that one has the cleaner shrimp and stuff in.

 

[dogstar]

Some filefish are quite hardy and can be easily kept in aquariums and some not. Without knowing the exact species cant really say if its safe with the shrimp, best to err on the side of caution.

 

[maxxy]

It is a red tail filefish I was wondering about.

 

[richie1742]

correct me if im wrong, but i reameber reading about why its hard to keep them it said its becasue they only thrive off eating sps polyps.