Cantra

I'm trying to learn as much about the care of this fish as possible before i even think of buying one. I was wondering for those who have kept/keep this fish is it easy to keep? Does it have any special needs that need to be met? Should it be fed anything specail?What kind of fish should it be kept with?How big of a tank does it need?

That's all the questions i have for now though i'm sure i'll have more soon.
Thanks in advance

Peterpiper

Hi Cantra, This link will cover some of your Qs
Ease fish to care for, and such a lovely looker too.
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...168&pcatid=168

sgould

Yup...very easy to care for. Feed mysis or formula one or the like...something meaty. Be sure it has a hidey hole in the rocks to retreat to. They don't need much space at all and can be kept in relatively small tanks (10 gallons on up). They will get along with most other fish with the exception of other firefish. Great beginner choice!

fishrule101

I've read they don't like to be very active. They also need lots of hiding spaces to feel safe.

kloseo

be careful if you have bristleworms in the tank, as i had 2 firefish and within days one was killed by a large bristleworm, if bristle worms are present in your tank, i would add a coral banded shrimp to protect your fish, this has worked out really well for me, within 1 week, i am not seeing any more worms

kloseo

i love my firefish, just beautiful, i did notice it took some time before it felt comfortable to swim in open water, chromis fish helped with this, also as noted above watch during feeding to make sure it gets its share of the food , feeding in multiple places does help

au01st

I have an orange firefish and he's very active. He hid for the first 2 days in the tank, now he's out all the time. I feed "Marine Cuisine" for carnivores and hang a piece of nori seaweed on my veggie clip.

Easiest way I've found to feed is using my Hydor Koralia powerhead. I cut 1/2 a frozen cube (cuts easy even when frozen) and stick it on the powerhead (the suction where it pulls the water in holds the cube from floating up) and as the ice melts, the food shoots out the front of the powerhead. I will also grab a pinch of floating food and stick it in the suction side of the powerhead (once it's wet, the food doesn't usually float, as the only ones who eat the food from the surface are my chromis) and it shoots around the tank as well.

Rbacchiega

Actually, they'll do better in small groups. Feel safer in numbers.

sgould

I have only ever kept one of them at a time, as everything I have read on them indicates they will fight with each other unless they are a mated pair. I would suspect that in a larger aquarium with lots of live rock that would be less of an issue, but in a 10 gallon, I personally would not try it.

Rbacchiega

oops, guess I should have read the tank size...you're right, in a 10, one or a mated pair...I've succesfully kept a group of 8 in a 50...they were the only fish in the tank and kept easy corals (mainly mushrooms and other softies)

Matt

Firefish are awesome. My little guy took about 4 days to feel comfortable in open water but now he is always out and swimming around happily with my other fishes

They are very entertaining fish and as previously mentioned i would only keep 1 or a mated pair in a 10 gallon tank.

-Matt

Matt

Also I Almost Forgot To Mention.

Welcome To FishLore Cantra

FishLore Is A Great Site And Full Of Very Useful Information

-Matt

Angela_96

The Marine Cuisine is a great food for SW fish! I use it for my Clownie, it gets that every other day, live copods that are already in the tank, flake formula one, and spirulla flakes (can you tell I use a variety of foods? I do this for my cichlids as well in my FW)

That diet is great for firefish as well.