Colored Angler - Antennarius species
The Colored Anglers can range in color from a vivid red to a deep orange coloration. Their body can also change color to blend with the surrounding environment over time. They require large amounts of live rock in a 30 gallon or larger aquarium with plenty of places to hide and swim. These fishes do not cause any harm to corals and are moderate to care.
Colored Anglerfish has a head of enormous size, broad, flat and depressed, with the remainder of the body appearing merely like an appendage.. They can be distinguished from other anglerfishes by the three extended dorsal fin spines on their heads. They are mostly bottom-dwelling fishes that are well camouflaged; they employ the first dorsal spine as a fishing lure to attract prey.
Maximum Size:
Colored Angler can grow up to maximum of five inches.
Water Conditions:
Considerably high quality water with minimum temperature ranging between 72°F and 78°F, minimum pH of 8.1 and specific gravity carrying between 1.020 and 1.025 is required for Colored anglerfish species.. The maximum pH that can be tolerated is 8.4.
Habitat:
The Colored Anglerfish species are found in Indo-Pacific region
Feeding and Diet:
Colored Anglerfish are gluttons and will eat any tankmate that will fit in their mouths, including those equal or even slightly greater in length. The Colored Anglerfish will even eat venomous fishes. Some specimens can be trained to take pieces of seafood off of a feeding stick, but live food is often necessary to induce a feeding response. They will also eat ornamental shrimp. Do not keep any angler with curious fishes such as triggerfish or large type wrasses, as this fish will pick at the angler as if it were food.
When first introduced into the aquarium, live saltwater feeder shrimp should be used to entice an Colored Anglerfish to eat. An Colored Angler may eat any small inhabitant of the tank (crustacean or fish) that is lured into its mouth with the use of an esca (modified first dorsal spine) that looks like a small, tasty fish. It will accept most meaty meals including feeder fish and shrimp.
Breeding:
Colored Anglerfish have a unique mating method. Since individuals are rare and encounters doubly so, finding a mate is a problem, especially at a time when both individuals are ready to spawn. The mating process for the Colored Anglerfish is very difficult.When a male hatches, it is equipped with extremely well developed olfactory organs that detect scents in the water. They have no digestive system, and thus are unable to feed independently. They must find a female and quickly, or else they will die. When the male Colored Anglerfish finds a female, he bites into her flank, and releases an enzyme which digests the skin of his mouth and her body, fusing the pair down to the blood vessel level. The male then atrophies into nothing more than a pair of gonads that release sperm in response to hormones in the female's bloodstream indicating egg release.
General Notes: The Frogfishes or Anglers, Family Antennariidae.Species identifications can be trying, with much confusing overlapping of physical traits, color, and patterns; luckily all these globose animals’ care is similar. Providing cover for perching and cryptic matching is desirable and one constant in their husbandry: they will gladly inhale any/all other tankmates small enough to get into their capacious maws. Yes, they can ingest fishes actually longer than themselves. Typically a peaceful, non-aggressive fish. The colored angler has ranges of coloration from white, yellow, black or the rarer red. The Angler fish should not be housed in a community type aquarium or an aquarium that houses aggressive fish, as either it may eat fish up to its own size or more aggressive species of fish will pose harm to it. It is highly recommended then to place this fish in a tank with other peaceful predators or in its own tank.
