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The glass anemone destroyer - the bristle-tail filefish (Acreichthys tomentosus)
A number of years ago, I shared information about the bristle-tail filefish (Acreichthys tomentosus) in a magazine article. I found that in Europe, that many aquarists included this species in their reef aquarium fish community to take care of both glass anemones (Aiptasia spp.) and the dreaded Majano anemones (Anemonia cf. majano). The European reef-keepers swore up and down that they did not harm other cnidarians in the tank. When originally introducing A. tomentosus as a potential reef aquarium inhabitant I did suggest that there was some data that they may pick at xeniid corals, leather corals and large-polyped stony corals. Since that time, I have kept a dozen of these fish in my own and customer aquariums and have found that they are not as trust-worthy as I had hoped. Yes, they love to munch on those annoying little anemones (at least some individuals anyway), but they also might nip at the tentacles of more desirable sea anemones (e.g., Entacmaea quadricolor), the tips of gorgonian branches and the fleshy polyps of a variety of large-polyped stony corals (e.g., Acanthastrea, Turbinaria, Lobophyllia, Trachyphyllia).
