Anyone ever keep any of these? I think these are really cool fish and just wanted to hear some opinions on the matter,

Their general reputation is "hard to keep". They're really an oceanic species, and need that level of water quality. They do best in truly marine water rather than brackish, need a lot of space, and need high quality "meat" food. Large, healthy adults are gorgeous fish, but it ain't easy.

So are they carnivorous? is that what you mean by meaty foods? Do they eat smaller fish? or would frozen bloodworms be a good food for them?

I have kept them and agree with Bruce. They are marine species and should be kept in full salt for best effect. They will eat whatever you feed them but do best on a diet of marine shrimp and fish. They are aggressive and will eat or bully most anything else you put in the tank.

Thanks so much guys, as usual you are very helpful and much appreciated for it. I have a saltwater setup, but the reason I am so interested in them is I was recently with a friend in the Ochlocknee Bay and they were caught in very shallow brackish water. Do they develop teeth when they get older? I was immediately amazed at the beauty of them. Why do the hard fish have to be so beautiful lol

Edited by Stumpknocker, 12 June 2012 - 01:36 PM.

Hi! I'm in the process of figuring out how to keep F. majalis - the Longnose killys closest relative, so maybe this is of use. During my brief vacations to the delaware shore I watch majalis every chance I get. Nothing's cooler than seeing a group tearing past when at the ocean beach, but most of the majalis are in the brackish bays. I've come to think of them as brackish (1/4th C. synth. sea salt to the gal), but posessing the very cool ability to go out to the edge of the ocean. Treat with Clout for parasites first. Can't get majalis to eat any dry foods so far. They like chopped earthworms & mosquito larvae. Basically feeding them a frozen gelatin based homemade food with uncooked grocery store shrimp as the primary ingredient. Change 1/3 of the water weekly. Four foot 33 gallon aquarium for now - large sponge filter at each end with vigorous bubbling. No gravel, just some oyster shells for buffering - they don't mind a simple set up at all. Easy! I've never seen a majalis in breeding color tho. But have seen pictures of the Longnose colored up. Nice.

Breeding majalis males color up to intense purples and greens, and usually move in to back bays and salt ponds on the tide to spawn. They certainly are happy just to have open sand and gravel to move over. I would guess that you would need essentially full salt ocean water for them to spawn, since high tides bring salty water in to their preferred environments.