Pervagor melanocephalus
| Latin name | Pervagor melanocephalus - (Bleeker, 1853) |
|---|---|
| Local name | Redtail filefish |
| Family | Monacanthidae - Pervagor |
| Origin | East Indian Ocean, West Indian Ocean, Australia, Japan, Indonesia, East Pacific, Central/West Pacific |
| Max length | 16 cm (6.3") |
| Minimum volume |
600 l (158 gal) 
|
|---|---|
| Hardiness |
Average
|
| Suitable for aquarium |
Suitable with care
|
| Reef safe |
Reef safe with luck
|
| Aggressiveness | Mostly peaceful but might be aggressive towards similar species |
| Recommended |
Larger crustaceans (Shrimp, crabs...) Macroalgea (Eg. seaweed / nori) Microalgea (Eg. spirulina) Small crustaceans (Krill, mysis, artemia...) |
|---|---|
| Maybee |
Large polyp stone coral (LPS) Other invertebrates Soft coral |
This species likes to eat tubeworms.
This species can be a threat towards small crustaceans, e.g. small shrimp.
This fish requires feeding several times a day, especially when newly added.
When the fish can find its natural food in the aquarium it requires less frequent feeding.
This species needs good hiding places, for example, between live rocks.
This species is very shy and docile, so one should be careful when keeping it with more aggressive fish.
This species eats glass anemones (Aiptasia).
But occasionally one finds an individual fish which refuses to eat them.
Over time this species can lose some of its colour when the food does not contain sufficient vitamins.
It pays therefore, to use a some type of enriched food, or one, specific to this species.
In the beginning, feeding these fish can be problematic.
Attaching a shrimp to a coral, which can lure the fish into eating is one way to achieve this.
Filefish (Monacanthidae) have a very characteristic appearance, but whether one likes them or not is a matter of taste.
Some species are suitable for aquaria, although they will occasionally eat a coral or invertebrate. They are therefore not so well suited to coral tanks.
They are often used to fight glass anemones (Aiptasia) and Majano anemones. Pervagor nigrolineatus is especially good at this.
They need peace and quiet from both the aquarist and other fish, when adjusting to the tank life.
Be careful when catching them, as they easily becomes caught in the net.
| Aquarium trade | Yes |
|---|---|
| Distribution | Indo-West Pacific. |
| Danish common names |
Rødhalet filfisk |
| English common names |
Lace-finned leatherjacket Blackheaded filefish Black-headed leatherjacket Black-head filefish Redtail filefish |
Henry C. Schultz. 2004. Files Not Meant For Your Toolbox (or Reef Aquarium!) - Reefkeeping Magazine - (English)
Dave Wolfenden. 2013. Filefish: A bit of rough! - Practical Fishkeeping - (English)
Scott W. Michael. Can You Add Filefish to a Reef Tank? - Fish Channel - (English)
Bob Fenner. Filefishes, Family Monacanthidae, Part I, Part II, Part III - Wet Web Media - (English)
Scott W. Michael. Those Fabulous Filefish - Tropical Fish Hobbyist Magazine - (English)