My Orange Spotted AKA Harlequin Filefish :-)

btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
This is an addition to this thread: https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/vb/s...d.php?t=373118
If you want to learn about these fish, PLEASE read the info in the thread linked above!
I will be posting weekly pics and updates of my progress with this fish in this thread.
Pictures aren't great, but everyone keeps asking for them. I'll be posting a video of it eating as soon as it finishes uploading.
Camera sucks, you should all know the routine by now. The blue is more vibrant, but my actinic ballast is broken in this tank right now so the colors don't pop as much, especially when you're taking a picture. This fish was so hard to capture on film, but here ya go:


The Yasha Goby felt up to taking pictures tonight:




Friends:


And the Yasha (so glad she's popping up again):

Dear Santa: I want a new camera for Christmas. Feel free to deliver it early
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
I love it! I've wanted one for so long. Did all this planning for one and how I'd have to convert it from SPS to meaty foods and then by dumb luck found this one that is already converted. I'm going to try to get her a male :)
She won't be in the 14G forever, I'm planning a 35G hex, fish only with her, a male and well... I haven't gotten that far yet.
Any suggestions?
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
So some people think that I'm lying about her eating meaty foods just so that I don't get reprimanded for buying this fish (not on this forum). So here's some proof, VIDEO TIME!
Pardon my husband and I talking, we forgot to turn off the microphone

 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
LOL...I had to turn up the volume so I could hear the L.I. accents.....
Remember I told you I am from NY Rockland County (New City)...then moved to Orange County (newburgh)
You need to talk louder....I could hear him good :)
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
Originally Posted by meowzer
http:///forum/post/3223019
LOL...I had to turn up the volume so I could hear the L.I. accents.....
Remember I told you I am from NY Rockland County (New City)...then moved to Orange County (newburgh)
You need to talk louder....I could hear him good :)
LOL ... His accent is worse than mine. He's a Nassau boy. He was holding the camera right in front of his face to video that tank while I was across the room feeding the 155G.
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
Originally Posted by Kraylen
http:///forum/post/3223010
Beautiful fish.. good luck with that :)

Thanks ... Luckily the hardest part (converting it to prepared foods) was already done before I bought it. I've been watching this little guy for quite some time at the LFS as well as another local hobbyist. Finally took the leap and purchased it.
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
Feeding Log
(All food is San Francisco Bay Brand unless otherwise noted. All food is soaked in Kent's Garlic Extreme and Boyd's VitaChem)
Tuesday PM: Brine Shrimp and PE Mysis
Wednesday AM: Brine Shrimp, Emerald Entree, Reef Nutrition ArctiPods
Wednesday PM: Cyclops Shrimp (inhaled them!), ArctiPods and Emerald Entree
Thursday AM: Brine Shrimp, Emerald Entree, ArctiPods (ate quite a lot of arcti's this time around)
Thursday PM: Brine Shrimp, Cyclops (didn't touch them this time), Emerald Entree, PE Mysis - seemed to only eat Brine tonight
Brine Shrimp seems to be the favorite so far. Doesn't seem to eat as much if the brine is not mixed in with the other food. I'm going to try cutting the amount of brine I add in half for the next few morning feedings to see if he'll start eating more Mysis. I'm also going to pick up some Hikari Mysis or SFBB Mysis in addition to the PE Mysis. I hate having to chop up the PE Mysis and that stuff is so expensive and most goes to waste in this tank.
Since I was asked on another forum:
This tank get's fed the leftovers from the 155G. I do not mix two separate batches of food. The reasoning for this is that I want all the fish to be eating the same things. It's just my thing. I see no reason for two separate batches of food to be defrosted at each feeding. Also, the Emerald Entree is used so often due to the Tangs and Dwarf Angels and the blennies that are in the 155G and the Tail Spot Blenny that is in this tank. I ALWAYS add vitamins to the food at least one feeding per day. Since this is a new fish, vitamins will be added at each feeding until further notice. I'm using garlic for the Yasha goby and Tail Spot Blenny right now, NOT to entice the Filefish to eat. My Tail Spot just got over a flare up of lympho and my Yasha is a very finicky eater. I almost lost her not too long ago, and the garlic seems to get her to be more willing to eat.
Since everyone asks, Emerald Entree contains:
Ingredients: Artemia Franciscana, mysis, krill, plankton, spinach, romaine lettuce, red leaf lettuce, spirulina algae, menhaden oil, sodium alginate, Vitamin premix: wheat flour, Vitamin A acetate, cholecalciferol (source of vitamin D3), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, niacin, calcium pantothenate, folic acid, menadione sodium bisulfate complex, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamine mononitrate, biotin, inositol, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate, betaine, d-alpha mixed tocopherols (source of vitamin E)
Emerald Entrée is fortified with omega-3 fatty acids such as EPA and DHA, which are proven to be important for optimal growth and disease prevention in marine fish.
Guaranteed Analysis: Crude Protein Min 6.20%
Crude Fat Min 1.20%
Crude Fiber Max 0.50%
Moisture Max 90.00%
Dry Protein 62.00%
 
cranberry

cranberry

Active Member
Ohhhh... they're actually close to being starvation thin, I'm afraid. You're going to really have to work hard to bring them back around. Just keep pounding the food in him and keep an eye on water quality and she should come back around.
That's a big appetite. I'm confidant she'll fatten up in your care. I'm a little suspicious of her friend dying. Was she as thin or thinner than yours?
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
Originally Posted by Cranberry
http:///forum/post/3223110
Ohhhh... they're actually close to being starvation thin, I'm afraid. You're going to really have to work hard to bring them back around. Just keep pounding the food in him and keep an eye on water quality and she should come back around.
That's a big appetite. I'm confidant she'll fatten up in your care. I'm a little suspicious of her friend dying. Was she as thin or thinner than yours?
He's not placing the order until I give the go ahead, but sooner or later I will. I was getting ready to start one from scratch and convert it myself, so if this one makes it, I may still try (even if it doesn't I might, but I'll probably be discouraged for awhile).
She is thin, the other was smaller in length but fatter. She eats like an absolute pig in the morning, is very picky at night. My Naso tang was very emaciated when I bought him from this LFS. He tends to under feed, but the fish always turn around and remain healthy. I'll just have to see. I know I'm taking a risk, but, it's eating meaty foods, so that's a plus.
I'm going to up the feedings to 3-4 smaller feedings throughout the day this weekend. Also asking the sister-in-law to feed some brine that I'm going to leave defrosted in the fridge when she gets home from school in the afternoon for next week. This way I can get in a 7am, 10am, 3pm feeding and 7/8pm feeding in each day. But I'll have to be more careful with water quality.
Water quality is so good so far and I'm due for a water change this weekend. It's a 14G, so it gets at least one water change each week anyways. I'm paranoid about water quality in this tank, even without the Filefish.
On the plus side, she does look healthier today and has brightened up in color and is eating more. Hopefully she'll come around, right now I'm still confident that I can do it.
I'm wondering if part of the starvation is the other fish that she was kept with and they got the food quicker.
She seems to really like brine, should I just keep using this to fatter her up? I was going to cut back on it, but I'm having some doubts, don't want her to stop eating either. I'm also going to go pick up some mysis tomorrow so I don't have to chop up the PE all the time.
On a local forum, someone suggested that I put SPS in the tank for her, since she's so thin. I think this might be a bad idea since it's eating frozen, what do you think?
 
cranberry

cranberry

Active Member
I would feed feed feed for a couple of days and change out some water daily whether it looks like it needs it or not. If you don't see a slight improvement at all, I would back up and offer some SPS until she recovers some.
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
Originally Posted by Cranberry
http:///forum/post/3223137
I would feed feed feed for a couple of days and change out some water daily whether it looks like it needs it or not. If you don't see a slight improvement at all, I would back up and offer some SPS until she recovers some.
Okay, I have plenty of SPS that I can frag from the 155 if need be. My husband won't be happy, but he'll get over it when he sees the large colonies on their way for Hallmark, I mean Valentine's Day.
Tomorrow morning I'm going to do a 1/2-1 Gallon water change, made the water a little while ago and I think I might continue that 'til I'm not packing food into the tank like crazy. I'm determined to make this work. This little fish is very lucky that I only work 6 hours a day.
 
cranberry

cranberry

Active Member
I actually got extra sleep when I first got mine. She's in my bedroom so I would lay very still on my bed trying to catch her eating. What I usually caught was some ZZZzzzs.
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
Originally Posted by Cranberry
http:///forum/post/3223143
I actually got extra sleep when I first got mine. She's in my bedroom so I would lay very still on my bed trying to catch her eating. What I usually caught was some ZZZzzzs.

I tried the fish tank in the bedroom and it just made me have to go potty too much

My dog went bananas when it was in the bedroom in my old apartment (he's a Hurricane Katrina Rescue dog and has some major issues with water, should have seen him when we filled the 155G) and I'm sure my husband would have no part of it in the bedroom.
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
Feeding Log
(All food is San Francisco Bay Brand unless otherwise noted. All food is soaked in Kent's Garlic Extreme and Boyd's VitaChem)
Tuesday PM: Brine Shrimp and PE Mysis
Wednesday AM: Brine Shrimp, Emerald Entree, Reef Nutrition ArctiPods
Wednesday PM: Cyclops Shrimp (inhaled them!), ArctiPods and Emerald Entree
Thursday AM: Brine Shrimp, Emerald Entree, ArctiPods (ate quite a lot of arcti's this time around)
Thursday PM: Brine Shrimp, Cyclops (didn't touch them this time), Emerald Entree, PE Mysis - seemed to only eat Brine tonight
Fed the same mix as Thursday PM for the rest of the week. The LFS only had PE Mysis in stock this weekend, but I got a call tonight that the regular mysis was back in, so I'll be picking that up on my way home tomorrow. Still tries to eat a whole PE Mysis, but gives up after a while.
I've also been feeding a small amount of Brine w/ vitamins (since that seems to be the favorite) every 3-4 hours. It has been eating a little bit each time.
I think the "she" might actually be a "he" now that it's coloration is coming back. Batteries are dead in the camera, have to pick them up as well and have a look again. Right now the anal fin is solid black in the middle with a whitish rim that looks as if it's starting to get the orange spots on it. I hope so, because I just like the male's anal fin so much more.
I've been doing 2 cup water changes daily and changing the filter pad every other day. So far so good. It doesn't get too stressed about my hands being in the tank.
So week one is almost done
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator

Originally Posted by BTLDreef
http:///forum/post/3223072
Feeding Log
(All food is San Francisco Bay Brand unless otherwise noted. All food is soaked in Kent's Garlic Extreme and Boyd's VitaChem)
Tuesday PM: Brine Shrimp and PE Mysis
Wednesday AM: Brine Shrimp, Emerald Entree, Reef Nutrition ArctiPods
Wednesday PM: Cyclops Shrimp (inhaled them!), ArctiPods and Emerald Entree
Thursday AM: Brine Shrimp, Emerald Entree, ArctiPods (ate quite a lot of arcti's this time around)
Thursday PM: Brine Shrimp, Cyclops (didn't touch them this time), Emerald Entree, PE Mysis - seemed to only eat Brine tonight
Brine Shrimp seems to be the favorite so far. Doesn't seem to eat as much if the brine is not mixed in with the other food. I'm going to try cutting the amount of brine I add in half for the next few morning feedings to see if he'll start eating more Mysis. I'm also going to pick up some Hikari Mysis or SFBB Mysis in addition to the PE Mysis. I hate having to chop up the PE Mysis and that stuff is so expensive and most goes to waste in this tank.

Fed the same mix as Thursday PM for the rest of the week. The LFS only had PE Mysis in stock this weekend, but I got a call tonight that the regular mysis was back in, so I'll be picking that up on my way home tomorrow. Still tries to eat a whole PE Mysis, but gives up after a while.
I've also been feeding a small amount of Brine w/ vitamins (since that seems to be the favorite) every 3-4 hours. It has been eating a little bit each time.
I think the "she" might actually be a "he" now that it's coloration is coming back. Batteries are dead in the camera, have to pick them up as well and have a look again. Right now the anal fin is solid black in the middle with a whitish rim that looks as if it's starting to get the orange spots on it. I hope so, because I just like the male's anal fin so much more.
I've been doing 2 cup water changes daily and changing the filter pad every other day. So far so good. It doesn't get too stressed about my hands being in the tank.
So week one is almost done
 
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