Angler nano?

[chrisv]

Hey agressive/fish only crew,

I have wandered over to your domain from the SPS/Clam section to ask about the possibility of putting a small angler in a nano.

I have always been fascinated by anglers and would love to keep one. I have a nano that is 12" cube. I realize that anglers produce a lot of waste, so if i kept one I would keep up with water changes and use activated carbon heavily.

Are there any species of angler that would be able to thrive in a 10ish gallon cube tank?

It would be the only inhabitant.

If not, say the word and I will forget the idea.

Thanks!

 

[G4546]

What about a wartskin angler? They come in super tiny I'm sure one of those would be just fine for quite some time before reaching their max size (which isnt much more than 4"). Get one that's about the size of a dime or so and document him for us!

 

[chrisv]

Do you think it could live its entire life in the cube? I am 110% opposed to the idea of buying a fish that i will need to make a planned upgrade for when it reaches maturity. I've also got an AquaC remora skimmer ("rated" for a tank 7.5X the size, whatever that means) that I can use on the tank.

I could be completely wrong on this one this one, but my impression is that these guys dont move around a lot.

Have any of you ever tried this? The painted angler also seems like it could be small enough.

 

[namxas]

Nope...I'd consider a 25-30 gal for the life of the fish. And a painted (A. pictus) is even a larger fish (6" or so), so it definitely won't fit. A. pictus should be in a 40B minimum.

Additionally, since A. maculatus, A. pictus, and A. commersoni are all members of the "pictus complex", and can appear very similar as juveniles (in the black phase, especially), you need to be sure of your ID, as you might end up with a 10" angler on your hands.

Finally, those tiny anglers G4546 mentioned can be a REAL challenge to feed properly, and often don't thrive (I've kept them). I'd be looking to obtain a 2.5" - 3" specimen, especially if you're new to anglers, and/or feeding preds in general.

JMHO/JME

 

[jarrod13]

^ agreed. There's a dwarf species that comes from Hawaii but near impossible to find one and I'm not sure of its husbandry requirements

 

[gobymasters]

my wartskin got huge! 3 and a half"

 

[nirvanaandtool]

I have my Wartskin (A. Maculatus) in a 16 inch cube currently w/ a 12" cube sump. Eventually I plan to move him to something larger - maybe a 20L or 29 - but for now he is less than 2" long and is ok in his current digs.

The small ones are pretty hard to feed. Mine came in just around 1" long and has grown maybe 1/2-3/4 of an inch in a few months. It took a while to wean my guy onto frozen and for a while I had to feed him the smallest ghost shrimp and guppy fry. Even now that he is on frozen, he's very particular about his food and isn't fond of trying just any frozen food.

I would say a 12" cube is too small for anything in the Pictus family but if you could find the Dwarf Anglers from Hawaii that Jarrod was talking about, they would be ok there.

 

[namxas]

The dwarf angler mentioned is Antennatus tuberosa. They do come from HI, and reach about 3.5" max in the wild, so plan on a 3" fish. They're pretty cool little critters, but can be fairly cryptic so you may not see it much.

HTH

 

[Wolverine]

They're pretty cool little critters, but can be fairly cryptic so you may not see it much.

It's amazing how well some of these fish can disappear in a tank so small.

 

[Jacob042426]

I came very close to getting a antennatus tuberosus, but decided not to get it. It IS nearly IMPOSSIBLE to get one because of hawaii's cut off of their tropical fish. A. Maculatus would not be a good option, as the bioload and size are factors. If you can get into contact with a Hawaiian diver, you may be able to get a.tuberosus.

 

[stlreefer85]

Hey i have the perfect video for you i have a angler in my 10 gallon nanocube and she is just fine check her out here...

http://www.youtube.com/user/stlreefer85?feature=mhee

 

[namxas]

Your A. hispidus already doesn't have much room in that 10 gal, and your aquascaping has left little open substrate for the fish, which is a bottom dweller. A full-grown hispid angler will be in the 6" - 8" range, and that is WAY too much fish for a 10 gal nano.

Also, you're feeding your fish too large of a food item, which may be partially why it's a little hesitant to rise to the bait. Smaller pieces digest much more easily, especially for fish with super slow metabolisms.

Lastly, don't give your fish too much krill...it's not good for it, and has been linked to lockjaw in many predatory species (especially lionfish).

I'm not trying to be "that person", but when someone is asking for info, I'd hate to see them start off on the wrong foot.