The Frogfish Files

[frogman182]

ok, i found a cute little sarsassgum (not sure of spelling) angler. in my 20H i have some button polyps and live rock for him to play around. i also have an upside down jellyfish, will he have to go before i get the angler?

[Reefcherie]

That would be the Sargassum angler (Histrio histrio). They grow to about 16cm in length. These guys are cute; just be aware that because they naturally inhabit the fronds of the huge Sargassum algae, they have developed an unusual frogfish ability to evade predators - they can jump out of the water! You'll want to be sure you have a cover over open areas of your tank.

As to compatibility with an upside down jellyfish... I don't know if the frogfish might view it as potential food (probably bad news for both critters) or if the jellyfish could potentially sting the frogfish (pretty sensitive skin on these guys). Perhaps someone else here will have heard of such a thing...else personally, I wouldn't try it.

Cheri

[Jordan55]

So how old is the oldest angler here? 3 years? 5 years? I have only had mine for about 4 months...so I would say mine is a little less then a year old.

[Reefcherie]

Fuggly was just a 1.5" juvenile when I got him last October, so he's a little over a year old. I've heard at least one theory that this is not a long lived fish, hence why it grows relatively fast... I've never seen any statistics, nor any reference to anyone having one for more than a couple of years, so it is a great question to ask.

Cheri

[Wee Man]

frogfish dont have scales, the have a type of skin, kinda like a catfish and a lack of body slime leaves them real vulnerable. their main defense is camoflauge. so a jelly of anytype would be BAD NEWS.

[surferdude141]

hey all im new to the world of frogfish but im very interested and researching like crazy. i just bought a 30 gallon tank. i have an aqua clear mini filter that im going to use for filtration and circulation. i plan to but a bag of sand and 10-15 pounds of live rock. i am also going to get a small heater but am clueless about the lighting i should have. this tank is planned for a painted frogfish and am also looking for ideas on where to get one on souther california. any ideas? thanks
kevin

[frogman182]

ok, jusdt got a cute, (though everyone else thinksit is ugly) frogfish. i know he didnt gulp any air cuz i bagged him myself to make sure of it. he refused to eat any feeders i gave him last night, but i really didnt expect him to eat them anyway. when they swim, do they always gape their mouths and push water through their gills to help them along? i have never heard anyone talk about this and i just wanted to make sure it was normal behavior.

[Wee Man]

yes this is normal behavior. they gulp large amounts of air and blow it through their gills under their arms, it gives them a little extra push. BTW what type of feeders are you feeding him?

[frogman182]

i gave him some guppies cuz thats what the store gave him, hes getting a damsel as a snack/tankmate either today or tomorrow

[Wee Man]

try to give him something like ghost shrimp instead of guppies.

the damsel should be a good snack though.

[Jordan55]

Hey, I have a about a 4 inch angler and was wondering if I could feed him a small damsel. I feed him like 4 little 1/2 inch guppies every week. Should I increase it?

[Reefcherie]

Originally posted by Jordan55
Hey, I have a about a 4 inch angler and was wondering if I could feed him a small damsel. I feed him like 4 little 1/2 inch guppies every week. Should I increase it?

Your angler can't stay healthy eating freshwater fish! Ideally you would switch him over to frozen food like silversides and shrimp, but if your frogfish won't take dead food, you need to get marine shrimp and marine feeder fish to keep him healthy. Seawater Express is a good source of marine shrimp (www.seawaterexpress.com). I buy saltwater feeder fish from Northeast Brine Shrimp (http://www.mariculturetechnology.com/NEBS.htm). Marine feeders should always be properly quarantined before feeding them to your angler as well.

A 4" angler could safely eat marine shrimp and marine feeder fish up to 2" in length 2-3 times a week. A small damsel would be great. It will attempt to eat larger items (up to twice its own size), but it isn't a good idea due to how slowly they digest their food.

Cheri

[Fishy1]

My frogfish "Ollie" is still alive and doing well. I have been feeding him thawed frozen silversides and krill. Lately I am happy to say that he is eating frozen formula 1 and 2. I just thaw out a cube cut it in half and drop it in front of him. It has a gell binder that keeps it intact in the water. It makes me happy as it gives him (along with meaty foods) a more diversified diet I am going to try some "prime reef" at the next feeding. I tried squid and he spit it out.......looked real indignant about it too!LOL!! They are such comical little things........my friend that has her own LFS has had her "Larry" for two years now......she also wrote to Scott Michael to see what his experience has been as far as longevity goes with this species.......can't wait to hear what he has to say. On a side note "Ollie" was sold to me as a giant frogfish but he has not grown at all the last 3 to 4 months. He's topped out at about 6 inches so I think he is probably a painted. This is fine with me because even though he's in a 55 gallon tank he would soon out grow it if he was a giant. I've had him since last January and hope to have him a long long time.

fishy1

[frogman182]

ok, my new little angler isn't angling. he's just kinda slowly stalking the damsel. is this normal? he is such an adorable little thing. since "fugly" was taken, my little brother named him "UB" for ugly b**tard. hopefully i will have pics of little ub sometime this week.

[Reefcherie]

Originally posted by frogman182
ok, my new little angler isn't angling. he's just kinda slowly stalking the damsel. is this normal?

No problem - the amount of "angling" done by these fish varies quite a bit from fish to fish. The slow stalk (kind of like watching a chameleon move) is pretty much universal though.

Cheri

[Jordan55]

I think my angler has his lure. I havn't got any more fish yet to feed him. He really is about 3.5 inches...do you think he could eat a whole damsel? How often? I don't think I can get those little shrimp because I have no place to keep them... I would like to just continue to feed him feeder fish and ghost shrimp with maybe 1 small damsel a week....would that work?

[frogman182]

ok, UB didnt take the damsel overnight and he still isnt angling. should i try to chase the damsel to him to make it easier for him?

[Reefcherie]

With marine feeder fish, I occasionally help Fuggly out in that way - encourage the fish towards him. I'm not sure what kind of fish (if any) he'd be eating in his natural environment, but it seems he's far better at catching the marine shrimp I give him than the feeder fish. Perhaps as an ambush predator, there are enough of the proper type of food that just happen to position themselves appropriately to keep these frogfish fed. The marine feeder fish I use don't seem to be attracted by Fuggly's lure at all.

Cheri

[frogman182]

tried to corral the damsel to him, but he just swims away from the stick im using. should i give up and get some ghost shrimp, keep trying, or both?

[Jordan55]

SWEET!!! I woke up this moring to find my prize angler dead. Worst day ever. The past week he has been splashing in the tank and he may have hit the fans. I dought I will ever find one again.

[Fishy1]

Sorry to hear of your loss I lost a red painted once due to eating his tankmate......know how you are feeling......hope you CAN find another one

fishy1

[RamPuppy]

Hey all, I know gorgeous anglers are always hard to find, and I ran across two beauties at the following site:

http://www.aquadesignz.com/fish.htm
last two fish on the page are spectacular.

[Reefcherie]

Jordan55 - very sorry to hear about your loss. It sounded like you may not have had the angler long. It isn't characteristic for most anglers to do a lot of swimming around. They are ambush predators and their only defense is their cryptic nature and ability to blend w/ their environment. From what I've seen so far, lots of swimming seems to be related to stress over internal ailments or the situation and it has been a sign of impending doom.

Rampuppy - those are some gorgeous frogfish! I hope whomever is willing to spend the $125 realizes that these fish will change their coloring to blend with their environment. Unless the person that purchases them finds a way to provide an environment with the same bright colors, it isn't likely they will keep exactly those colors. Fuggly started out red, went black, red/orange, bright yellow and is currently attempting green (to match Chaetomorpha) in response to the various tanks he's been in and/or items in those tanks. They are also capable of developing spots that look like sponge pores, patches that resemble coralline and a variety of protuberances and bumps.

Cheri

[RamPuppy]

true, color change is a fact of life with frogfish, but I think the big question is how mutable many frog fish are in their colors? I am not sure every type can be so varied in their abilities, those two have proven they can take on brilliant colors... if I had a tank setup for them, I would buy one in a heartbeat... but, I am getting ready to shell out almost 2 grand for a 115 gallon cube and all the needed accessories, the reef comes first.

[frogman182]

ok, UB still wont eat anything. i really hate to try the goldfish they were feeding at the store (not the store i work at, we know better) i am going to try to get him to take ghost shrimp before i resort to that though