Info. about tilefish...???

[mrp2g]

Always wanted a tilefish, but was told their survival rate was not very good. I know they dont like bright lights and they are jumpers.

I love the purple tilefish and also the skunk tilefish. Questions..

How hardy of a fish is this?
Tankmates for them can be...??
Aquarium size and additional ideas for success??

[scuzy]

what's a tile fish i can't find a picture on one. I see file fish

[bzotter]

I've heard of them, but most get pretty huge and are, in fact, commercially fished for the seafood industry quite often. I do understand that the members of the genus Hoplolatilus stay pretty small and are colorful enough to make them a reasonable choice for an aquarium. I've never seen one first hand before, but I've heard of them being put in aquariums. Can't speak to their survivability or temperament, however. Sorry.

[Gary Majchrzak]

see:

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=49317&highlight=tilefish

Jason E knows about keeping Tilefish ;)

[mrp2g]

anyone else have any info. Thanks for the thread...

[philter4]

The problem is tilefish is a common name. In the atlantic there is a deep dwelling tilefish that is a big food fish. Also in shallower water is a blue tilefish that is in the family Malacanthidae, which also contains all of the aquarium representatives of the family. The tropical tilefish have a poor survival rate in fish tanks, probably because of several factors. They are very fast which means drugs are probably used in collection, they come from deep water which means they suffer from decrompression illness, or are needled which even when done correctly can't be that good for the fish. Their diet is poorly understood, they are probably invert feeders, but many refuse food in tanks. Some of the genera can be very beautiful, and as collection methods improve and understanding of their care becomes understood they will have a better survival rate.

[Monkeyfish]

They also tend to do better when in same species groups and in a large aquarium.

[Gary Majchrzak]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13062136#post13062136 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mrp2g
Always wanted a tilefish, but was told their survival rate was not very good. I know they dont like bright lights and they are jumpers.

I love the purple tilefish and also the skunk tilefish. Questions..

How hardy of a fish is this?
Tankmates for them can be...??
Aquarium size and additional ideas for success??
apparently there are several people in my area keeping Tilefish. (I'm in touch with somebody that knows of them.) These aren't "hardy" fish. A covered aquarium is a necessity and it's best if the aquarium is situated in a low traffic flow area because Tilefish are easily frightened by sudden movements or room lights being turned on. A mixed substrate of different sizes is best- if a Tile can't dig a burrow it will excavate a hole next to a rock or coral laying on the sandbed.
Feed lots of chunky meaty foods. (This means having a good skimmer if Tiles are kept in a reef aquarium.) I hope this helps. I've always wanted to try Tilefish in my reef aquarium but I haven't yet.

[gasman059]

I've kept two( purple) for over two years w/o issues.
Yes they do jump and hit the canopy every other day but mine eat absolutely everything that goes into my tank.

Not an easy fish to keep for sure and I agree with Majchrzak
wholeheartedly.

I came across them at my LFS and they where eating mysis so it was an easy transition to everything else. But that's certainly not the norm.
http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n320/gasman059/070.jpg[/IMG]

[mrp2g]

thanks for the info everyone...think I should pass on a pair for now, but def. an incedible looking fish!!

[Gary Majchrzak]

suno***un I saw a starckii at a LFS today and sure enuff (just like Jason mentioned in my link) it had some tail rot happening :(

OTOH they had been keeping a marcosi in a (covered rather smallish) reef aquarium.

[alex656]

I have a purle tile in my 220 reef I have had for 6 months and he has done great.I was worried about getting him at first becuase I know they have a reputaion but he has done great. He is the most bold fish in my tank, first one to the food. He usually comes up and nibbles my hand when I'm cleaning the tank. Actually the second week I had him he swam into my syphon hose and down into the bucket, lol. He is my favorite fish, keep a tight lid on my tank but he doesnt seem to be a very flighty fish, maybe I just got a good one.