Filefish Sucking On Polyps? wtf

[Cade]

I just witnessed my 2" filefish sucking on one of my sps corals polyps for about 30 seconds...? He just sat there with the polyp in his mouth...

I will check in a while and see if there is any damage, he is well fed.

Anyone see this behavior before? Should I sell the poor little guy?

Here is a picture of the type of coral he was sucking on..(thanks for the pic Wayne)

http://i626.photobucket.com/albums/tt349/SON_JEEVES/polyp-1.jpg

[Aquattro]

I've heard about it. I just added one last week, took one nip at the closest SPS and never went back.

[Cade]

Ive had him for 2 months and haven't seen him do this, but I haven't really been watching him either.

[Borderjumper]

File fish are evil. It was sucking the soul out of your coral.

[Aquattro]

This is my 5th one, and no coral eating from any of them so far.

[FWC]

What species is it ??

[Aquattro]

What species is it ??

Brownish greeny spikey guys..:)

[Aquattro]

Acreichthys tomentosus

[Cade]

What species is it ??

Matted Filefish (Acreichthys tomentosus)

[FWC]

Odd....

Perhaps he was reverting to child like ways :razz:

But in reality ,its a filefish. They just do odd things sometimes.

[Cade]

Odd....

Perhaps he was reverting to child like ways :razz:

But in reality ,its a filefish. They just do odd things sometimes.

Its was weird.. he was just sitting there with the polyp in his mouth.. no chewing or movement of any kind.. just breathing. lol

and there is aiptasia in my tank he hasn't touched yet lol

Ill check tomorrow and see if the polyp looks damaged, I know which one it was.

[Cade]

Well the next day the polyp was half retracted but no damage as far as I could see. I guess Ill just keep an eye on him.

[dreef]

In the wild they bite onto acorporas at nite to hold themselves in the flow,while they sleep.Frank my file fish has NEVER ever touched any sps in my tank...duncans is a different story,they must look like giant apatisia to him. Lol

http://marine-engineers.org/tag/acropora/page/2/

[reefwars]

In the wild they bite onto acorporas at nite to hold themselves in the flow,while they sleep.Frank my file fish has NEVER ever touched any sps in my tank...duncans is a different story,they must look like giant apatisia to him. Lol



yup and this is the reason they dont mix with carpet anemones:( also juvies are more nippy in my experience with them:P but polyps are polyps to a file:)

[ScubaSteve]

In the wild they bite onto acorporas at nite to hold themselves in the flow,while they sleep.Frank my file fish has NEVER ever touched any sps in my tank...duncans is a different story,they must look like giant apatisia to him. Lol

http://marine-engineers.org/tag/acropora/page/2/

+1 I've seen this do this on a number night dives. It was just resting. Neat to see that behavior in a tank!

[Cade]

Well now I almost feel privlaged. :)

[Northvan]

Our filefish cleaned out all the aptaisia in our tank-thats why we bought him- (we called him 'tool'), and then he ate 90% of one of our fiji gold leathers in about 4 days, took us that long to see who was doing the eating....we traded him in, the eating stopped.

[Baldy]

Mine was in my tank for 2 months before he touched any aiptasia, then absolutely decimated my infestation (to use the word lightly). i noticed him bite a couple zoa polyps on a receding colony, and bug some kenya trees a bit. I am tossing the idea around about trading him in, just scared of the aiptasia returning

[Earthgirl]

Loved loved my file fish
Till one day, zoas gone. The next day he decided that the torch had to go
While picking on the hammer
He went to my mother in law tank
Ate all her apistasia
Came back to mine
Killed the other half of the torch (you'd think I'd learn)
He went to red coral
Yeah.... Lovely but evil once there is no anemones

[Cal_stir]

mine eats zoas

[paddyob]

Last I heard, a good chunk of aptasia eating fish have been known to eat coral. You are Not the first one to say this.

Good luck.

[dreef]

I have one patch of zoos,he's been in with them for a year.Have a torch as well and two different hammers,doesn't touch anything. BUT..mine eats small pellets,nori (yeah thinks he's a tang) frozen and freeze dried foods.