The Frogfish Files

[Reefcherie]

Thought you might enjoy meeting "Bumpkin," my Warty Frogfish (Antennarius maculatus):







Cheri

[Ilia]

Looks really cool. Its texture seems like a gummy bear. I'm guessing it's in your 20g.

[Reefcherie]

Originally posted by Ilia
Looks really cool. Its texture seems like a gummy bear. I'm guessing it's in your 20g.

In its natural environment, this frogfish would likely be hanging out with a sponge and rock of similar coloring to blend in. Yes, it is in the 20-gallon clam tank. Frogfish are not "reef safe" in the sense that any other fish or crustacean up to about twice its size, is a potential meal. It will not bother the clams or corals in the tank, however.

Cheri

[Algae Blenny]

Frogfish are so cool. I wish I could get one.

Bob

[smiller]

Great looking little guy! Can you tell us a little about his eating habits? With a name like Bumpkin maybe greens and grits?

[Reefcherie]

Originally posted by smiller
Great looking little guy! Can you tell us a little about his eating habits? With a name like Bumpkin maybe greens and grits?

LOL! This one's strictly a carnivore! I'm feeding it gut-loaded live saltwater minnows and Glass shrimp. In captivity, these guys will literally make themselves sick with over-eating or attempting to swallow something too large. I feed fish and shrimp no larger than 1/2 to 3/4 the size of the fish (it's ~2" in length at this time) and only feed 2 of this size every 2-3 days. It has also had a few Guppies and I'll pick up a Mollie now and again. I've only had it a few weeks and hope to eventually switch it over to thawed frozen food in the future, so that I can get more variety in there.

Practically the second food is present, it puts out its lure, which is normally kept closed against its head. The lure is flipped and spun quickly and as soon as the food is within striking distance, the frogfish's mouth extends outward and opens very wide. The strike happens in the blink of an eye!

Cheri

[maxxII]

Thy're pretty hip. I had a small one when I was a kid in Hawaii, its total body length was smaller than my pinky finger nail. I had to feed it brine shrimp when it was small. Seriously, five shrimp and his/her little belly would get all swollen and full. I had it for about a year and then we moved, so I had to get rid of it. They will eat anything easily they're own size. Mine ate a royal gramma that had been a tank mate for several months. The Gramma was at least 3/4 of an inch longer than the frog fish. I came home and saw half the gramma sticking out of the frog fishes mouth. Stayed that way for a day too....
They can also get pretty big. I've seen them the size of a football.
yours looks great Cherie, good luck w/ it!
Nick

[Reefcherie]

Originally posted by maxxII
They can also get pretty big. I've seen them the size of a football.

Thanks Nick! If what I've read is correct (crossing my fingers!), this variety of frogfish should max out at around 4".

Cheri

[Cakepro]

That is really cool! I see those fish from time to time in fish stores and their texture is fascinating. Makes me wanna squeeze 'em. LOL

Some live action shots of him luring his prey would be awesome, Cheri!

~ Sherri

[seamaiden]

Thank you for the link, Cherie. And thank you again for the pics, I believe you noticed that I used one for our daily FAQs. If you can get any good shots of that unidentified fellow you have (I believe you said he'd turned black now, right?) we would love to get them. I've been searching fishbase and fishindex, but it is a real pain to get IDs on animals when you have to get down to counting dorsals!

Again, thank you.

[ReefDream]

AWESOME! I love that fish. It looks like an evolutionary missing link or some such thing, about ready to walk out of the water at any minute!

[technoshaman]

I don't remember his web address but a member of RDO had a really cool video he made of his angler luring prey and then swallowing it.

Ok found it - click on the movies link:

http://stickycricket.com/150/aquarium/index.html

[Fishy1]

Love your little froggie I've got a red painted frog named Dudley. He's about 4 inches long now. I got him when he was the size of Bumpkin.......gotta lov'um!

Fishy1

[otolith]

What a cool fish. Man, those damsels in the video didn't have a chance. Hope it works out for you.

[Reefcherie]

Originally posted by Fishy1
Love your little froggie I've got a red painted frog named Dudley. He's about 4 inches long now. I got him when he was the size of Bumpkin.......gotta lov'um!

Fishy1

Do you have any pictures of Dudley? How long did it take for him to go from 2" to 4"? What do you feed yours?

I have a second frogfish (unidentified species, 1.5") that was all red, w/ no bumps, but it turned all black (except for white "fingernails"). I don't have any pictures of him yet though. He has a little house inside by clam tank, but will move into a 39-gallon tank (actually a countertop refugium) as soon as it is set up. My husband nicknamed him "Fuggly!" I have to keep the two separated because they are likely to try to eat each other!

Technoshaman - thanks for the link, though I wasn't able to view any movie. I sent a note to the website owner hoping to find out what the problem might be.

seamaiden - I will undoubtedly be able to get some good shots when Fuggly moves into his larger home. I'll let you know when I do.

Cheri

[Fishy1]

Here's a recent pic of Dudley.......I bought him last February and he ate thawed frozen a half hour after acclimation He's a little pig and will eat anything I put on a feeding stick.....krill, squid, and silversides soaked in vita-chem or selcon seem to keep him happy......He's in a 10 gallon right now but I will be moving him into a 20L soon. I had a white warty frog named Lumpy that died after about 3 months. He was full grown when I got him and refused to eat anything but live food. I think he got some kind of parasite from the feeder chromis I was giving him. Hope you get yours switched to frozen soon

Fishy1

[Thales]

Hi,
I sent you an email. You may just need to let the page sit for a minute or two while the movie loads. Weird, but it works.

I have a new angler now (lost the one in the movie to a heat spike, sad day for me). The new on is a white wartskin, he started eating frozen krill the frist day I brought him home, and I recently got some video of him eating a live fish. When I edit it, I will let you know.

:mrgreen:

[Fishy1]

Here's one more......

[Fishy1]

I just finished watching that movie......incredible! Thanks for sharing that link

Fishy1

[Reefcherie]

Fishy1,

Dudley is gorgeous!! Is that sponge and red macro algae that you have in with him?

Rich - I got the movie to run on my laptop (newer system) - holy smokes is that way cool!! I hope I can get a video of mine one day.

Cheri

[Fishy1]

It's live red macro algae and a fake piece of red coral. I have LR in with him too, but placed some artificial red decor in with him to encourage him to keep his red color. So far, it's working

Fishy1

[Thales]

Glad you liked the video. The second strike is the first strike slowed down to 1/10th speed. Still too fast to really see what happens. Anglers is neat!

[Holokai]

So, if the don't have red (or whatever color they happen to be) surroundings they will lose their color? that's interesting. do they fade/change to the dominant color in the tank then?

I had the opportunity to die on the "toilet Bowl" in Maui, where there was supposed to be a large frog fish, but instead decided to dive on Molokini again... Makes me wish I had gone to see the Frog fish! (but the sharks at Molokini were pretty cool )

[Fishy1]

Yes, Frogfish have the ability to change color.....it's a slow process but they are great camophlage artists......Whatever the dominant color, they will try to blend. A friend of mine has a yellow painted frog and by scattering yellow marbles around on the substrate and putting a few little yellow fake corals in with the LR, he's staying yellow. I've heard that it takes about 6 months to completely change color.....sometimes it happens a little quicker......Dudley is past the 6 month mark so I'm not too worried about him anymore. Fascinating little guys aren't they?

Fishy1

[Holokai]

Uh, yeah, yeah they are... suddenly the 30 gal I was pricing for my sister appears to have a much better use in my hands...

although I'm guessing that as with most awesome fish, the care for these guys is pretty extensive. *fires up the RC search engine*

Here goes!

- chris