Painted Angler pair + eggs!!!

smartwater101

smartwater101

New member
So I've had a black angler (2inches) for a little over two months. Two weeks ago I added another (4inch) white/brown angler. Luckily they have been getting along but I have a few questions regarding recent behavior.

During the evenings they tend to stay close and if I put my hand in the tank (to rearrange plants/corals) they generally seek each other out. Lately I've noticed the black angler starts to twitch when near the larger. At first I assumed this was similar to clownfish displaying submissive behavior. Is this assumption correct or is this actual mating behavior?

Then today the white/brown angler LAID EGGS!!! I was pretty surprised and unsure what I was seeing but after a quick Google search for "frogfish eggs" I see that it is called an "egg raft."

So many questions.... Not sure where to start... If anyone has any suggestions or links to articles that may help me that would be great!

Also, I keep 4 small damsels (extra food source) in the tank. Should I remove them so the eggs will not be damaged? Getting these little sh**s out would be a pain, but if necessary I will of course do so.

Sorry for the crappy phone photo, I'll add more in a little while.

From Left to Right: Eggs, black angler (near the bottom), White/Brown angler

frogfisheggs.jpg
 
Last edited:
121 said:
Nice! Are you going to try and raise the fry?
Click to expand...
Yeah, I made a small container with extra acrylic and screen mesh. Surprised how little info there is about raising these... So I hope I don't need to leave the eggs out with the parents. I figured they would be eaten if I did.
 
Do you have live phyto plankton on hand? I know how exiting it is when fish spawn, but raising the fry is next to impossible.
 
WOW! That is amazing! You should definitely move the eggs into their own rearing tank like how they do with clownfish. The only bad thing is that, if you are successfull with hatching and raising them, I would assume that you would have to separate each one of them since they are cannibalistic by nature. Either way, good luck man and keep us updated on this!
 
Mrscribbled said:
Do you have live phyto plankton on hand? I know how exiting it is when fish spawn, but raising the fry is next to impossible.
Click to expand...

Yes I have REEF NUTRITION phyto-feast for my corals. I have some frozen baby brine also.

I assume raising them will be difficult. But I'm certainly going to try.
 
Amazing! I would suggest contacting any local breeder with experience in your area and get professional help. Angler eggs are extremely rare and there are only a few instances of spawning in captivity. It would be a serious advancement for the hobby to see them raised. Frozen baby brine will not cut it. They have a longer larval period than clownfish and will most likely be dependent on copepod naupli in their first days of feeding.
 
Hate to be a downer, but there's no guarantee that the eggs are fertilized. Hope it works out, as this would be quite a coup if you could raise the fry. Never heard of captive bred anglers before!
 
Monkeyfish said:
Hate to be a downer, but there's no guarantee that the eggs are fertilized. Hope it works out, as this would be quite a coup if you could raise the fry. Never heard of captive bred anglers before!
Click to expand...

True. I'm finding bits and pieces of info online. I'm convinced that the "twitching" I observed was mating. I can't find any info on whether or not the male needs to fertilize the eggs after the release of the egg raft, but I placed him in in the container just in case. I don't think its necessary but what do I know lol. I'll keep a close eye on him and release him back into the tank after a few days.

I've found out that the egg raft can carry upwards of 150,000 eggs! Id be happy if I can get even a couple of these to hatch/survive.
 
That's awesome! There was a thread on here where someone actually hatched some anglers, but I don't think they lived long, have you seen that thread yet? I do know it was a different species of angler though.
 
So here is a video of the the two Anglers. Unfortunately my camera battery died so I didn't get much footage. The second shot was just after she released the egg raft (a few hours following the first shot)

Apologies for the crappy footage. I shot it really quickly and youtubes compression doesn't help.
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/iHCx3C2kwdM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

frogfisheggs05.jpg
 
herrGreen said:
Amazing! I would suggest contacting any local breeder with experience in your area and get professional help. Angler eggs are extremely rare and there are only a few instances of spawning in captivity. It would be a serious advancement for the hobby to see them raised. Frozen baby brine will not cut it. They have a longer larval period than clownfish and will most likely be dependent on copepod naupli in their first days of feeding.
Click to expand...
Yeah I'm really excited. Even though there is a chance they are not fertilized. I'd really like the chalange of raising these.

I set up a small copepod culture just in case. I've always wanted to set one up anyway so if the eggs do not hatch I'm sure my bluestar leopard wrasse & scooter dragnet (in the 90g) will appreciate even more tasty bugs to hunt.
 
After watching the video and being able to look at both anglers better it seems the white one is an Antennarius maculatus and the little black one is an Antennarius pictus. I could be wrong of course but I'm pretty sure. By the way don't expect he black one to stay black, that is the juvenile color and they will usually change to match their surroundings.
 
That's cool about the egg mass...unfortunately, as mentioned, there's no guarantee that the eggs are fertilized. If I recall correctly, the fry go thru a planktonic stage that can last for a month or two, and THIS is where the difficulty lies. Lionfishes are this way as well...it's all about someone getting them past the planktonic stage.

The best chance for success would be to try Lophiocaron species amglers, as they lay fewer and larger eggs, so the fry are larger and, thus easier to feed (even tiny "planktonic" anglers have lures, BTW).
 
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