| Orange spotted filefish | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Tetraodontiformes |
| Family: | Monacanthidae |
| Genus: | Oxymonacanthus |
| Species: | O. longirostris |
| Binomial name | |
| Oxymonacanthus longirostris (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) |
|
The orange spotted filefish or harlequin filefish, Oxymonacanthus longirostris, is a filefish in the family Monacanthidae found on coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific Oceans. The orangespotted filefish is a different species and refers to Cantherhines pullus.[1]
The orange spotted filefish is pale blue with about eight longitudinal rows of orange-yellow patches. In the wild it feeds almost exclusively on Acropora polyps.[2]
It is often offered for sale in the aquarium trade, but few specimens survive long in captivity.[3] It is difficult to maintain in an aquarium unless it is provided with live corals. The fish must be kept in a species-specific tank, or a tank with very passive tankmates such as seahorses or pipefish.