Frogfish spawn

[uberfugu]

Hi all

I've had some frogfishes spawn but the results have been rather discouraging. Genus Antennarius has very small eggs/fry so I've been working with Genera Lophiocharon and Histiophryne as their eggs are much larger and the male provides a certain amount of care.

My Lophiocharons spawned first but I did not remove the male from his community tank, I didn't have the time to care for the young. After three weeks of carrying eggs on his body, they disapated. I wasn't sure whether they were ever viable. If they were, being in a communal angler tank didn't bode well for their survival.

My Histiophrynes' also spawned twice but the egg masses were aborted, apparently not fertile.

Well, today I found a juvenile Lophiocharon. I can't say that I raised him; he didn't get any care that you dottyback or clownfish raisers provide.

Pics on the frogfish files thread

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=8113841#post8113841

 

[Luis A M]

Congrats on your baby frog,Uberfugu!:bounce1:
I knew that some frogs lay big eggs and skip the larval stage,but I didn´t know they were available in the trade.These species could join the limited group of species that can be raised by hobbyists wishing to raise the fry of their fish without sailing the rough seas of larviculture.
Other examples are seahorse and kin,wolf eels,banggai cardinals and I don´t figure any other right now.
Frog fish are "specialist" fish.They are difficult to ID for the average hobbyist,much more to pair them or have them breed.I understand you froggers gather in another forum,you should actually have your own one! .
However they are fascinating creatures.Please keep posting your breeding experiences here.You will get some new froggers recruited!

 

[spk]

Hey there,

Congratulations. Excellent news. Another fish to add to the captive bred list.

Steve

 

[uberfugu]

Well, I feel that if I was able to isolate the egg-carrying male, I might have been able to raise more fry (not that I did anything for the current little guy).

I'm pretty sure that the well developed young would take harpacticoids as a first food.

It is not easy finding Lophiocharon or Histiophryne anglers, they probably make up about 5% of the frogfish imports (Antennarius making up the rest).

The main problem is cannibalism, even with previously mated pairs. I'm pretty sure that cannibalism among the fry is common too. Of course you have to keep the parents alive