WHO HAS SEEN the Purple Tilefish?

[salt-rookie]

I got this guy in the same day I got my Powder Blue Tang. He's very shy, about 6" long and the most strikingly colorful fish I have ever seen! He's doing very well, and is very secure in his lair under the rocks! His eyes are such irredescent blue that it takes your breath away! I'll get better pictures as he becomes less shy! I'd HIGHLY recommend these fish!

[dobejazz]

Aren't they notorius jumpers?

[Geoff]

they are insanely good jumpers!! they are also very difficult to get eating when kept singly. they are best kept in a group. the hardest thing about keeping them, besides their ability to find any opening in a tank, is that they are very difficult to get to eat. they do better when they are in pairs.

G~

[salt-rookie]

He's eating and doing very well. I have a canopy that is jumper proof, or I would not have bought him. I did my research and he is so incredibly beautiful!

[Geoff]

i have kept several over the years. have no idea how one fit through an eggcrate top, but it did.

what are you feeding yours? i have been able to get several to eat brine shrimp, but getting them to eat anything else was difficult. brine shrimp is not nutritios enough for them.

another big problem, is that i am pretty sure most are caught using cyanide. the harder the fish is to catch the more likely it was caught with cyanide.

i wish you all of the luck in the world with that fish. i also think that they are beautiful, hence the reason why i have tried so many over the years. i just want you to know all of the problems associated with them. not a fish for the inexperienced.

G~

[ReefNeck]

Not a fish I would try because I don't feel qualified enough to keep them but I agree.....Absolutely beautiful fish!

[kalel1976]

You basically have to build a canopy that is completely enclosed and easily allows the fish to get back into the tank if it jumps out. Since they are a larger fish eggcrate is practically useless unless you weight it down but since they are also a narrow fish they can sometimes fit through the holes and get trapped above the egg crate. I have a friend who loves tilefish and has pairs of Purples, Blue Jaws, Flashing, and skunks and has kept them all for a couple of years and he basically built pyramid shapped compartments above each one of the tank openings so the fish has nowhere else to go but back into the tank if they were to jump.
They are also very timid and do poorly in tanks with active fish like tangs and will stay in their burrows if they feel threatened. Like Goeff said, keeping them in groups help their acclimation and they are generally pretty good with their own kind so you can keep a few in a small group if tank size permits.

Good luck.