Oxymonacanthus halli (Red Sea)

Oxymonacanthus halli, commonly known as the Red Sea longnose filefish, is a small filefish. Their small size combined with their beautiful pattern of orange-yellow spots on a greenish-grey body would make you think this is an ideal fish for most tanks.

This fish is unfortunately only for experienced aquarists. The main reason is that in nature they mainly feed on Acropora polyps. Besides the fact that they are very hard (but but not impossible) to convert to other food, the question remains whether they do need Acropora polyps to stay healthy on the long run. This is why we advise to only add these fish to a tank with a lot of fast growing Acropora.