The orange spotted filefish or harlequin filefish, Oxymonacanthus longirostris, is a filefish in the family Monacanthidae found on coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific Oceans. The orangespotted filefish is a different species and refers to Cantherhines pullus. [1] Keeping Orange Spotted Filefish (Oxymonacanthus longirostris) | Humble.Fish & Reef Community © 2010-2022 XenForo Ltd. © Jason Axelrod of I get a lot of questions on my fab five (orange spotted filefish), so I thought I would share my experience with them. Warning, This is going to be long ;).
Orange Spotted Filefish Facts and Photographs Seaunseen
The orange spotted filefish, also called the harlequin filefish, is a brightly colored marine species whose main feature is the shape of its mouth. In addition, it's quite small, as it barely reaches 9 centimeters (less than 4 inches) in length, and its fins are also quite small. Description: The orange-spotted filefish, scientifically known as Oxymonacanthus longirostris, is a species of filefish belonging to the family Monacanthidae. These fish are commonly found in the tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific region, including the Red Sea, the Maldives, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Australia. The Harlequin Filefish or Orange Spotted Filefish is pale blue with about eight longitudinal rows of orange-yellow patches. In the wild it feeds almost exclusively on Acropora polyps. They are often offered for sale in the aquarium trade, but few survive long in captivity. The orange-spot filefish is still a great challenge to house in captivity, and most successes with Oxymonacanthus have taken place in reef aquariums where the filefish had the option to munch on a little bit of SPS corals to supplement its diet.
An orangespotted filefish, Oxymonacanthus longirostris, is seen in front of its favorite food
The Orange Spotted Filefish or Longnose Filefish (Oxymonacanthus longirostris) can be usually found near its food source, acropora coral. More often than not they are in pairs. They are not common fish on the Tanzanian coast and it is relatively rare to sight them. The orange filefish is found in the western Atlantic Ocean from Nova Scotia (Canada) to Bermuda and the northern Gulf of Mexico and off of Brazil. In the eastern Atlantic its range is Cape Blanc and Mauritania to Angola. Habitat The orangespotted filefish (Cantherhines pullus). On the caudal peduncle there is a moderate-sized white spot, often with a smaller white spot below it. The body is speckled with small orange spots, some of which have brown centres, and similar sized white spots. The first spine of the dorsal fin is located above the eye. The orange spotted filefish or harlequin filefish, Oxymonacanthus longirostris, is a filefish in the family Monacanthidae found on coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific Oceans. The orangespotted filefish is a different species and refers to Cantherhines pullus.
Orange Spotted Filefish Facts and Photographs Seaunseen
Orangespotted Filefish are commonly found in pairs and small groups among lagoons and tropical coral reefs throughout the Indo-Pacific. Orangespotted Filefish have a blue-green base coloration with a multitude of yellow-orange spots and blotches over the entire body that solidly colors the forward dorsal "trigger" in a line to the upper snout. Orange-spotted filefish (Oxymonacanthus longirostris), which feed exclusively on Acropora corals in Australia, ingest chemicals in the corals that cause them to take on the scent of their food..
The orangespotted filefish is a species of filefish described by Ranzani in 1842. and it is native to shallow waters in the tropical and subtropical Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. The Harlequin or Orange-spotted filefish (Oxymonacanthus longirostris) from the Indo-Pacific is truly stunning, displaying a psychedelic livery of orange spots on a bright green background. It's also a specialist feeder, being an obligate corallivore feeding exclusively in the wild on SPS coral polyps — specifically Acropora.
Orange Spotted Filefish Facts and Photographs Seaunseen
Most members of the family fall in the 4- to 12-inch (10- to 30-cm) range, although there is one "giant" that attains more than 3 feet (90 cm) in length: the scrawled filefish (Aluterus scriptus) reaches a length of 43 inches (108 cm). It is found in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. A small slender greenish leatherjacket with rows of yellow spots and dashes along the sides and a small black blotch on the tail. Males have bristles on the tail base. Harlequin Filefish shelter amongst branches of Acropora corals at night. They not only resemble coral branches, but they also smell like them, enabling the filefish to remain.
