i got my very first angler about 4 or 5 days ago. and it hasnt eaten anything at all yet. ive tried silver sides and peices of squid and shrimp but no luck yet. anyways any tips would be greatly appreciated. the lfs said that it was eating ghost shrimps so i guess i should get him some. but how long should i expect to wait it out until it gives in? how long can an angler go with out a meal? thanks
New Angler wont eat. Please Help!
- Thread starter Jiggz
- Start date
uberfugu
New member
Ideally, you want to use marine feeder shrimp (see www.LiveAquaria.com) but you could use f/w ghost shrimp or guppies just to get him feeding.
I wouldn't go too long without actually feeding him once or twice. Anglers have the capacity of going without food for a while but with acclimation and the stress of transit you want to make sure that it has the reserve energy to adjust. Weakened animals become susceptable to disease.
Angler feeding habits (with both live and dead/inanimate) makes community tank life difficult. Often, live foods won't get to your frogfish and they'll die in odd corners polluting your tank. With defrosted foods you'll have the distraction of other reef fishes or the possibility of your clownfish becoming meals themselves when they investigate the food-on-a-stick.
Your angler (and your other reef fishes) would be better off in a species tank or, you should put him in a critter keeper and keep your other fishes safe.
I wouldn't go too long without actually feeding him once or twice. Anglers have the capacity of going without food for a while but with acclimation and the stress of transit you want to make sure that it has the reserve energy to adjust. Weakened animals become susceptable to disease.
Angler feeding habits (with both live and dead/inanimate) makes community tank life difficult. Often, live foods won't get to your frogfish and they'll die in odd corners polluting your tank. With defrosted foods you'll have the distraction of other reef fishes or the possibility of your clownfish becoming meals themselves when they investigate the food-on-a-stick.
Your angler (and your other reef fishes) would be better off in a species tank or, you should put him in a critter keeper and keep your other fishes safe.
im so sad rite now the little guy died today. i dont know wut happen, i took him out of the tank in a container making sure he didnt touch air and i dropped some ghost shrimp in the container and he ate two. so i put him back in the tank and then went out like for an hour, when i came back he was almost dead. he was at the surface gaping in air. 20minutes later he was gone. i have no clue what happen everything is ok with the tank including corals. was he just too stressed or something from shipping? maybe corals stinging him? well whatever maybe i dont think imma get an angler for this tank, i would rather have it in a smaller setup so i could feed it without taking it out of the tank. well RIP little guy, u were a great fish for the past five days.
Reefcherie
Premium Member
Sorry to hear that Jiggz! 
I think anglers are one of the least "bulletproof" marine fish around. I've had mine since it was a 1.5" juvenile - for 28 months and I'm afraid to change anything about the setup, food, etc. I don't think they do stress well.
I think anglers are one of the least "bulletproof" marine fish around. I've had mine since it was a 1.5" juvenile - for 28 months and I'm afraid to change anything about the setup, food, etc. I don't think they do stress well.
Mr. Ugly
New member
Really sorry that your angler didn't make it
Cherie is right, they can be touchy to keep. In the collective experience of the angler forums, the systems with the best chances of success are low in nitrates, slightly low in temp, stable without spikes in either nitrates or temp. Best to keep them in a species tank, even as a single specimen. Target feed too.
I lost one angler a few days after I re-aquascaped his tank. I bought some extra live rock to make the tank nicer for him. As near as I can tell, the disturbance from introducing the rock and kicking up stuff overstressed him. He died a few days afterwards.
Uberfugu posted some good info on bacterial infections in anglers too.
Cherie is right, they can be touchy to keep. In the collective experience of the angler forums, the systems with the best chances of success are low in nitrates, slightly low in temp, stable without spikes in either nitrates or temp. Best to keep them in a species tank, even as a single specimen. Target feed too.
I lost one angler a few days after I re-aquascaped his tank. I bought some extra live rock to make the tank nicer for him. As near as I can tell, the disturbance from introducing the rock and kicking up stuff overstressed him. He died a few days afterwards.
Uberfugu posted some good info on bacterial infections in anglers too.
