Red Angler fish (Frogfish) - Antennarius striatus

[TheGulfBandit]

I have recently purchased an Antennarius striatus, Red angler fish, for my 55 gallon office tank. I have always wanted an angler to hang out on my reef .

Anyways I have a few questions that I hope some of you have experienced, or possibly just have the information on hand.

I have had the frogfish in the tank now for about 14 days so he is acclimated and has eaten 2 damsel fish already, however with very slow progress, lmao. The fish came from a LFS that has had him for about a year now. They fed him live feeder shrimp. I dont believe they fed him very many fish due to the fact that his "lie and wait" method needs some work. I have watched him miss his prey many times. Its almost like hes still learning. However only owning him for 2 weeks I still have a lot to learn.
When I purchased the fish I put in 4 dozen feeder, ghost, shrimp. They were gone in 2 days. I have been adding blue green chromis as I see them go missing, but it is not as often I feel is needed for the frogfish. 3 chromis little over an inch in the last 7 days. I wanted to get him on some food that was a bit larger because the fish is a little over 3 inches in length.
I want to feed him shrimp or small bait fish from a tackle store.

I live in Florida on the coast so there are 15 bait and tackle shops within 10 miles of me. But I have a major concern. I am worried that the shrimp from the bait store are going to pollute my water quality. I believe that the shrimp and fish are caught within 10 miles of shore, which is usually the most polluted part of saltwater. The frog fish does live in a reef tank. I am worried that if the shrimp are polluted then when the frog fish poops it will destroy my water quality. Adding many unwanted elements. Metals and such.

Has anyone kept predatory fish in a reef tank for a long period of time, 1+ years and have been feeding bait fish and shrimp, or coastal caught fish? If so what problems have you run in to? If any. Possibly I am just thinking to deep in to the matter. Who knows Thoughts please.

Peppermint shrimp are a great step up in size, however they are not very cost friendly 5 for $25 at LFS. When I can get a dozen small bait shrimp, 1-2 inches for a dollar.

If all else fails I will setup and breed mollys because they can be saltwater stable, but im trying not to have to go through another tank let alone raising fry, lol.
Thanks for any info

 

[Spslvr]

I have recently purchased an Antennarius striatus, Red angler fish, for my 55 gallon office tank. I have always wanted an angler to hang out on my reef .

Anyways I have a few questions that I hope some of you have experienced, or possibly just have the information on hand.

I have had the frogfish in the tank now for about 14 days so he is acclimated and has eaten 2 damsel fish already, however with very slow progress, lmao. The fish came from a LFS that has had him for about a year now. They fed him live feeder shrimp. I dont believe they fed him very many fish due to the fact that his "lie and wait" method needs some work. I have watched him miss his prey many times. Its almost like hes still learning. However only owning him for 2 weeks I still have a lot to learn.
When I purchased the fish I put in 4 dozen feeder, ghost, shrimp. They were gone in 2 days. I have been adding blue green chromis as I see them go missing, but it is not as often I feel is needed for the frogfish. 3 chromis little over an inch in the last 7 days. I wanted to get him on some food that was a bit larger because the fish is a little over 3 inches in length.
I want to feed him shrimp or small bait fish from a tackle store.

I live in Florida on the coast so there are 15 bait and tackle shops within 10 miles of me. But I have a major concern. I am worried that the shrimp from the bait store are going to pollute my water quality. I believe that the shrimp and fish are caught within 10 miles of shore, which is usually the most polluted part of saltwater. The frog fish does live in a reef tank. I am worried that if the shrimp are polluted then when the frog fish poops it will destroy my water quality. Adding many unwanted elements. Metals and such.

Has anyone kept predatory fish in a reef tank for a long period of time, 1+ years and have been feeding bait fish and shrimp, or coastal caught fish? If so what problems have you run in to? If any. Possibly I am just thinking to deep in to the matter. Who knows Thoughts please.

Peppermint shrimp are a great step up in size, however they are not very cost friendly 5 for $25 at LFS. When I can get a dozen small bait shrimp, 1-2 inches for a dollar.

If all else fails I will setup and breed mollys because they can be saltwater stable, but im trying not to have to go through another tank let alone raising fry, lol.
Thanks for any info

how big is he, they are usually pretty easy to ween onto frozen foods, I fed mine on silversides from the bait shop before and havnt had issues, just if they go mushy when you thaw them theyre probably not the best thing to put in your tank but if they are reasonably fresh you shouldn't have an issue.

 

[TheGulfBandit]

how big is he, they are usually pretty easy to ween onto frozen foods, I fed mine on silversides from the bait shop before and havnt had issues, just if they go mushy when you thaw them theyre probably not the best thing to put in your tank but if they are reasonably fresh you shouldn't have an issue.

He is about 3-3.25 inches in lengh.
Silversides are a great idea. I was hoping to feed him live bait so I can view thier hunting process as one would in the wild. However I will grab some sliversides to have on hand also

 

[TheGulfBandit]

I was able to get the frogfish up against the glass and SHE is 4 inches in length. Also while researching the species I found out she was a female. I was able to view her eat a few blennys, a couple 2-3 inch shrimp, and a countless number of ghost shrimp.
I am going to be setting up another tank to house saltwater shrimp from a local bait store. I am going to try to keep them in the tank for about a month before I feed them to the reef. (in the mean time I will continue to purchase damsels and ghost shrimp from my LFS)
By doing this I hope to accomplish 2 tasks. First, it will allow me to have the shrimp be gut loaded and have been on a high nutrient diet for a few weeks before I feed them. Second, I am hoping to be able to test the shrimp tank's water quality before I put any shrimp in to the reef tank. If anyone has any ideas or wants to follow this thread I will continue to post my results if people begin to show interest.