aptasia eating filefish in SPS tank: Will monitor progress

Well due to recent illnesses in the family, new job, and life in general our SPS tank and our NPS tank has had a recent MAJOR outbreak of aiptasia. I was treating it with some new stuff, but honestly I think it is just food for aiptasia and they continue to grow and multiply at an alarming rate.

So, decided to try our hand at an aiptasia eating filefish (acreichthys tomentosus). While these fish are known to devour aiptasia and considered "reef safe" they have been known to eat corals also. Plus at times, it has been noted that in a tank that is regularly fed, they will eat teh fish food and leave the aiptasia alone

We added the smallest one possible that has been eating aiptasia in the store. Decided might be less inviting for the fish to eat our SPS vs some of our larger, more polyped out NPS corals, so that is where he is as of last night.

We are monitoring him VERY closely as we do have some more rare corals as well as some LPS in this tank. We have another coral free tank to move him to in case his appetite changes suddenly. One nip at any of the corals, he will be moved faster than he can blink. If he does what he is supposed to do, then he will be moved to our NPS tank.

I plan on hopefully updating with pictures fo the progress on this post, starting with tonight I will try to snap a picture of the tank

 

Best of luck. I was sold a Pygmy filefish as one of the ones you bought. Turns out mine doesn't have an appetite for aptasia. But has one for bristle worms, flatworms, and all sorts of algaes. Going on four months now with him and no signs of nipping on Corals. I have tons of Lps and sps. Eats mysis and pellet food like a champ. Hope yours is as reef safe.
Nc

 

Good luck Mel

 

didnt get a chance to pop any pictures, but the fish is doing well and as far as i can tell only eating aiptasia. I noticed a few of the large ones that were on the glass are gone so we shall see!

 

Good start, hope it stays eating aiptasia.

 

Good news Mel

be interesting to see how bad the pest nem outbreak has got

and also to see how the fish behaves with the corals

 

I have had one for several months and it cleaned any and all aiptasia from the glass but doesn't seem to realize that there are more on my rocks. Im sure that part of the problem is that i feed well and it is not that driven to search for food. I haven't seen mine bother any sps but it does like kenya trees which is not a problem since they are a bigger nuisance than the aiptasia.

 

good to know........I plan on cutting back the amount of feeding in this tank to keep him driven to eat the aiptasia. Have some on the glass, but majority is in the rockwork. Honestly there are some aiptasia the size of a half dollar, esp in the NPS tank! The other outbreak we have is the feather dusters.

I will see if inwall can snap a few pics today and put them up if he gets a break!

 

week 1 and still no pictures???
Anyway corals are being left alone, and all the aiptasia are off the glass now. I have seen a few on the pumps that has been ate, so promising. However we are a long way to go especially on the rocks, and then off to the NPS tank!

 

Sounds good so far.