The Frogfish Files

Wild coloration! I wonder what that guy was trying to blend in with?!

You put the two tuberosa's together? How do you do that and know you won't get one attempting to eat the other one? Do you just wait and watch closely or do you have some kind of a divided tank at first and look for signs that they will get along?
 
They are in separate systems and solitary. The orange fellow is about an inch and a half long, the brown guy is about two inches. I actually bought two orange Antennatus; they were caught together, supposedly a pair. One didn't make the shipping process.

Froggies from Genus Antennatus don't really make nice show animals. They are very cryptic and reclusive.

I have had good results keeping other frogfishes together but they need to be the same size and species group, closely observed ... and regularly fed. Don't recommend it for most people.

I tracked down a copy of Frogfishes of the World , by Pietsch and Grobecker ... bought it as a birthday present for myself ... yay! Unfortunately had to spend a bundle on it :( ... but worth it.
 
uberfugu said:
I tracked down a copy of Frogfishes of the World , by Pietsch and Grobecker ... bought it as a birthday present for myself ... yay! Unfortunately had to spend a bundle on it :( ... but worth it.
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Uber, man... you have the ultimate of everything frogfish!

Ok, so did you ever get one of those frogfish pillows? :)
 
I just got my hands on that same book. Although mine is just from the school library. Though its just like owning it, I get 21 days before I renew it and I can renew it 10 times. Thats the better part of a year for free. I checked and the book hasnt been checked out since 1992! Anyway, good luck with your frogs.
 
uberfugu said:
Don't know yet. BTW - Norman, you missed the brown one at New Alameda. I had to pick him up to keep the orange fellow happy
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Hehehe... finally caught up with Steve. He kept saying, "Don't worry! Don't worry! I'll get you one too!" Next one is mine :)

Steve said he doesn't believe in charging outrageous angler prices. He'll be open to trades for cool stuff too.

He's turning the front display tank into an angler tank. Right now he has a striatus, a yellow and purple maculatus, and a gray green commerson's(or possibly pictus)... couldn't get a ray count. Told him he'd better be careful of which anglers he keeps together.

Uber, Cherie, you guys gotta go talk anglers with Steve. He's all into it. He'll like hearing about your experiences.
 
Looks like about an hour drive for me. Thanks! When I'm headed up that direction anyway, I'll plan a trip there.
 
Cherie, I think Steve will be hosting a frag swap at his store late November. That would be a great time for you to come up and hang out if you're not up sooner. If Uber shows up that would be cool. Would be fun to turn it into a frogfish fan club gathering :)
 
Fall is when the Antennatus are imported. This little white one kind of looks like the creature from the movie Alien

antennatus_4b.jpg

antennatus_4c.jpg
 
Reefcherie said:
OMG what a cutie! Did you get another one?
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Yes, they've been popping up in the local stores. Funny thing is, as I've been working a lot and not doing my usual LFS rounds, many people have been passing them up. They're usually small, brown, and reclusive ... not the showstopper that a bright maculatus is.

But they're kind of delicate. I just lost the orange one. He had polybag burn on his jaw from transit and the infection kept growing.

I had been prophylactically treating with the old standards: formalin dips, metronidazole, nitrofurazone; these seem to knock out incoming crypto, amyloodinium, and any bad bacteria. But some recent research has indicated that frogfishes may harbor dormant strains of Mycobacterium marinum and Vibrio sp. A lot of frogfish losses within the first few days point to massive bacterial infection.

I have recently acquired some rifampin and levofloxacin but I think that I wont use these until an infection is actually diagnosed.
 
uberfugu said:
I had been prophylactically treating with the old standards: formalin dips, metronidazole, nitrofurazone; these seem to knock out incoming crypto, amyloodinium, and any bad bacteria. But some recent research has indicated that frogfishes may harbor dormant strains of Mycobacterium marinum and Vibrio sp. A lot of frogfish losses within the first few days point to massive bacterial infection.

I have recently acquired some rifampin and levofloxacin but I think that I wont use these until an infection is actually diagnosed.
Click to expand...

That is interesting info! Is the research you refer to available online somewhere?
 
The more and more I read about these fish the more I want one! But with my current setup I don't think it's make the best tank mate. I have 2 clowns, 2 large domino damsels and a Blue Tang. From what I read sounds like the Sargassum Fish I've been seeing all over the LFS in town lately would likely try and eat the fish I currently have... what kind of fish make good tank mates for them?
 
IME, the best scenario for frogfishes are a species set-up and solitary suits them even better. They will often try and eat fishes and inverts even considerably larger than themselves. Tougher fishes may harass, eat or frighten your frogfish. And, with their somewhat unique food/feeding requirements, a communal tank is not the best.

Keeping frogfishes together can also lead to cannibalism and intra-specific aggression. There are a variety of behavioural characteristics that one recognizes in anglers that become apparent after keeping a few.

So I suggest one by himself. But they do well in reefs; an angler in a tank of corals is a beautiful thing.
 
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