Several years ago, two Radial Filefish were collected from a coral reef around Cebu in the Philippines. Shortly after, they were flown 7,340 miles across the entire Pacific Ocean to a marine wholesale facility in Los Angeles, California. Following a brief stay, these small fish were bagged, boxed and flown another 1,727 miles to Rhinelander, Wisconsin where they finally settled into the established 28 gallon reef aquarium of LiveAquaria’s own Kevin Kohen. They thrived there, eating three to four times a day, surrounded by a variety of Goniopora, Clavularia, Zoanthids and Mushrooms.

“They always preferred to stay close to the Clove Polyps as they are frequently found around Xenia spp. in the wild and Clavularia looks similar to that.” – Kevin Kohen

After a few years under the expert care of Kohen, their unique pattern and behavior piqued the interest of us here at ORA as we were just coming into success raising the Whitespotted Pygmy Filefish. So back into an airplane they went travelling another 1,353 miles to their new home at the ORA facility in tropical Florida.

After introducing these new filefish into our breeding program, we soon noticed how protective the females become of their nests. As we raised and experimented with our new juveniles, we were delighted to find them as reef safe as our ORA Whitespotted Filefish. However, care should be taken to observe them as they may casually nip at corals.

Radial Filefish are absolutely adorable to observe. Freshly settled juveniles bite and hold on to algae on the sides of the tank when they sleep at night. In a reef tank they become nearly invisible within the pulsing branches of xenia. You don’t have to look too hard for them though, it is hard to miss their distinct striped pattern, constantly rotating eyes and curious nature. In the diving video below, you can see how their relationship with xenia is reminiscent to the symbiotic behavior of clownfish and anemones.

So as you bring home your brand new aquacultured ORA Radial Filefish, remember just how far its parents traveled to get here: some 10,420 miles!

Be sure to check out the ORA Radial Filefish product page to learn more about these amazing fish!