🐠 Bristletail Filefish (Acreichthys tomentosus)
The Aiptasia-Eating Filefish • Mottled Camouflage and a Bristled Tail • Shy, Peaceful, and Easy to Feed
 
📋 The Bristletail Filefish, also known as the Aiptasia-Eating Filefish, Matted Filefish, or Matted Leatherjacket, has a mottled body in shades of green, brown, and tan, dotted with white and dark splotches. Its name comes from a distinctive patch of bristles on the tail base, more clearly visible in adult males, which makes it one of the easier filefish to sex. It's native to a wide range across the Indo-Pacific, including the Red Sea, Maldives, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Australia, and it's known for its ability to mimic the colouring and patterns of other fish and invertebrates for camouflage.
It's valued for eating Aiptasia and majano anemones, a welcome natural pest controller, and it's a shy, slow-moving, generally peaceful fish that readily accepts a wide variety of prepared foods. Once the pest anemones are gone, it may turn its attention to soft and stony corals unless it's kept well fed with a varied diet, so you may prefer to move it to a fish-only tank once its pest-control job is done. Not every fish is guaranteed to eat Aiptasia: individuals vary, and the very similar Radial Filefish (Acreichthys radiatus) is sometimes sold in its place.
It's a poor swimmer, so keep the water flow gentle and cover powerheads and overflows.
 
💡 Highlights
🎨 Mottled Green-Brown-Tan Body: A camouflaged, rock-like appearance
🌺 An Aiptasia and Majano Eater: A valued natural pest controller
🎭 Camouflage Mimicry: Can imitate other species
🌿 Reef Safe With Caution: May nip at corals once pest anemones are depleted
🐌 A Slow Swimmer: Needs gentle water flow