The Frogfish Files

[kpk]

Nice one Fishy he looks ****ed haha they all do i guess. Would you wanna trade some of those red zoos for blues?

Kyle

 

[Reefcherie]

Charlie looks a lot like some sponge I used to have under rocks in darker areas of the tank! Do you think you've identified which species he is?

 

[kpk]

Here's my striated angler. He is being held in a beta breeder until my other tank is cycled for the carpet and 2 saddlebacks in the fuge of my main tank.

He's even throughing his bait out.

 

[Fishy1]

Pretty sure Charlie is another painted frog.......like Dudley and Ollie before him He's growing and it's fun to watch......he's got reddish saddleing and red toenails too.....what a hoot!

The red zoos on the page are more of a red/orange with yellow skirt......may be in line for a trade when the weather gets warmer

Janey

 

[reefD]

sure he is striated? describe his lure? this is an easy way to be sure. im thinking it a shaggy angler (hispidus sp.)

 

[reefD]

if the lure looks like cotton white growth its a shaggy angler striated have a different lure.

 

[kpk]

His lure extends about 3/4" and looks like 2 curley hairs kinda with a brown ball in the middle.

U could be right.

 

[reefD]

single hairs? not grouped right? if so the it is a striated if it looks like a bunch of hairs almost like a pom pom then its a shaggy angler.

 

[reefD]

check this out
http://www.starfish.ch/frogfish/species-arten/Antennarius-hispidus.html

 

[kpk]

No it is two hairs and a ball in the middle. It is for sure a striated. Thanks for the id. I will get better pics when I get my good cam fixed...

 

[elvn]

I've had a few frogfish at different times that didn't survive for one reason or another. I think one was damaged when he climbed the feeding stick trying to gobble the whole stick apparently. Another was most likely due to something he caught from the live feeders I was feeding him (mollies).. his skin got fuzzy.. and he gasped for breath while being inflated.. poor thing. The first was a painted frogfish, the second was a striated angler. One of my frogfish also suffered during a move :-/

Regardless of past history, its been quite awhile and I decided to try again when I saw a tiny black warty frogfish at the LFS for $65. I have a 20g tall tank set up for him with a dusting of sand and some LR from my refugium. I put a 75g rated remora hang-on skimmer on the back with MJ1200 driving it. The tank is on top of a bookshelf next to my computer desk.

He's not taking to stick fed thawed food yet, so I have a few dozen guppies that I feed pellet or flake food before dropping one in the frogfish tank. I'm considering ordering some saltwater ghost shrimp, but the frogfish is so small that they may be too large for him. I may have to just acclimate a population of freshwater guppies to salt as feeders, and get a reproducing population going for now.

I made a rigid tube + flex tube + fishing line feeding sitck as someone suggested, instead of using the blunt end of a bamboo skewer stick split down the middle as I did with prior fish, (sortof like a tiny wooden clothes-pin end for the tail of the food item). I'll keep trying to get him to eat thawed. I have some haddock and uncooked shrimp that I cut very small strips from. I even tried alittle selcon on the haddock but he still didn't bite. He doesn't get exciterd or try to lure the food on the feeding stick. He does go into active hunting mode for live guppies. This is only day 2 though, so hopefully he'll try thawed sooner or later. I make try a piece of haddock with some of the skin on it tomorrow, and perhaps pick up some frozen krill and if I can find silversides small enough.

I'm still not certain how much to feed frogfish. I don't want him to stop eating and/or damage himself. I'm going to try to stick by the 1/2 length of his body every 3 days system for now since he is quite young.

I hope this works out. Fingers crossed and maintenance determined.

 

[kpk]

Good luck with your new son, lol. I have a striated angler and just got him on frozen about a week after I got him just by dangling some krill in front of him. He seems to love it.'

Once again, good luck. They sure are some neat fish...

 

[Mr. Ugly]

If you're using the tubing with fishing line method, you can skewer the live food on the line. That way you train your frog to associate the feeding stick with food.

Live fish and shrimp really get their interest. Pretty soon your frog will get all excited every time he sees you get the stick ready.

 

[reefD]

certainly! mine goes for the feeding stick like a " mad" killer! very trainable to make the connection that the stick means food.!

 

[elvn]

I don't know that a guppy would stay on a straight fishing line, but I will try it. I've skewered thawed food and even that sometimes works it way down the line while I'm wiggling it. I would be afraid to tie a knot at the end since I've had trouble with frogfish having only one gear -- forward gulping up the feeding stick if it doesnt get an untethered swallow so to speak.


Two days ago I had no success with the two guppies I dropped into his 20g tank. They eventually succumbed to salinity shock, but this took quite awhile especially considering that I have not acclimated them to salt water yet. They would swim fine for quite some time, then eventually start a cycle of being stunned briefly after which they'd start swimming again. The frogfish failed to nab them for several reasons:

- there is just too much room in the 20g high tank considering my frogfish is only about the size of a quarter.
- the guppies seem drawn to their reflection in the side glass and surface.
- the guppies also seem freaked out enough by the salinity and new environement that they don't seem to have time to casually take interest in my frogfish's lure.

Yesterday I nudged my frogfish into a small specimen tray and dropped a guppie into the tray with him. It didn't take long for him to nab it. It really wasn't a bother at all, and the frogfish didn't really seem to mind after he saw the guppie added.

I'll try skewering a live guppie in a few days when hes due to be fed again. This might be easier than using the tray even for live feedings.

I wouldn't mind buying him live saltwater ghost shrimp or damsels to feed him in the future but I think he is much too small at this stage.

 

[Mr. Ugly]

They do stay on the straight fishing line. You can put a kink or crease in the line to help, but I've not found that to be necessary.

 

[kpk]

Elvn you may need to get something more like 20-30lb test line. I have used that and it works. The lower test is too "flimsy" and won't hold the fist on...

 

[zemuron114]

Does anyone know if the Antennatus tuberosus frogs are rare? There is a mated pair available that i want to get that are bright red. Really cool...

 

[reefD]

when using a stick you have to have another so you can creat a cross with both so in case the fish gulps up the stick you can clear him away with the crossing stick by swiping it down. did that make sense?

 

[Mr. Ugly]

Zemuron,

The tuberosus isn't seen as often on the mainland as the other frogs. My LFS did have some in last year. For a really decent price too. But his fish prices are uncommonly low to begin with.