Matted (Aiptasia Eating) Filefish

He is more face down but he has his nose right up against the glass. I guess I may not have been clear about that. How long should he take to get use to the tank? Are they known jumpers? I'm very worried about that.

 

Ya, they were a nervous wreck for awhile. This is the colour they turned when I had them in QT with Ulva.

 

That's good to know. Does anyone know if filefish like to jump or if I'm just worrying for nothing?

 

Ours would have jumped out on several occasions if we never had a lid.

 

What kind of a lid do you have? Would something like screen work?

 

They are a skittish fish. I've never lost one to jumping though. Their response to fear seems to be to hug the corner of the tank and change into their stress color. At the store, they typically won't eat for a day or two (which is not uncommon for very stressed fish).

 

It was a JBJ nanocube with a stock hood. I bet a screen would work. Sometimes larger fish can still jump past a lighter screen. I had a dwarf lion jump past eggrate before.

Mine smacked their head like a dozen times between them both. If there was no hood, they would have been gone.

 

As I said, mine is eating very well. He seems to be a jumping kind of fish though, so I would like to do something. Could I put a screen cover on, or something? The canopy leaves a big hole where he likes to hang out in the back.

 

Yes, I have egg crate on mine.... yoiu could use mesh or something similar. The tank he is in now has an open canopy back probably similar to yours.

 

Is this a fish that does well with others of it's species? He seems to be staying right along the clearest parts of the glass where he can see himself.