Frogfish Colour Change

[andywg]

Well well well.

It seems the little Antennarius maculatus wants to be a different colour. He is almost text book copying the A. maculatus from Reef Fishes Volume 1 as can be seen by the pics below. For those that don't recall, when I bought him and got him home he was mostly a dark green with some orange on him:

Now though (one month later):

And I even got some of him with his lure out (first time I've had a camera when he has it out). He is currently sulking as he went to strike a shrimp and missed it. The shrimp jumped straight up into the flow of a powerhead and was blown across the tank meaning the frog will have to work for his dinner.

In other news, I still have the ribbon moray in the reef

I have a sea pen which seems to have rooted and begun feeding well (excuse the horrendous black sand in the tube of sand to keep him rooted)

As well as Aiptasia I also have a small number of Mojano

But I do have some pretty cool free algae from my recent live rock purchases (currently in the fuge)

 

[mattster]

very nice looking frogfish you have there

 

[clinton ><>]

realy nice fish

 

[kewskills]

Fantastic photos Andy, the frogfish is dramatically different in colour, i would not have recognised it as the same one if you would not have told us.

 

[andywg]

Fantastic photos Andy, the frogfish is dramatically different in colour, i would not have recognised it as the same one if you would not have told us.

Their chromatic changes are quite remarkable. This one appears to be the same colour variant as that in Reef Fishes Volume 1 meaning his colour can range from black with orange spots, to orange with black spots and the green morph in between.

 

[paul_219]

Very nice fish.

 

[RadaR]

Ahh, so it was maculatus. How extraordinary, very cool.
The Eel looks great as ever.

 

[Yetti]

Very well kept fish. One question, does the color change depend on its mood or blending in with the environment or the mix of these two?

 

[Leahzebelle]

Im absolutely floored....that frogfish is so....i cant find the right word! thanks for posting these pics, the frogfish is now my favorite saltwater fish...EVER! love your tank by the way, it looks very natural.

 

[andywg]

Very well kept fish. One question, does the color change depend on its mood or blending in with the environment or the mix of these two?

From what I understand, it is mostly due to the environment it is in. Our walls are quite light in the bedroom, so he has probably changed to suit that. I wonder whether painting the backgrounds will change him to black. Could be cool, maybe put changeable backgrounds there and change him every few months

Im absolutely floored....that frogfish is so....i cant find the right word! thanks for posting these pics, the frogfish is now my favorite saltwater fish...EVER! love your tank by the way, it looks very natural.

Natural? At the moment is is in a battle between cyanobacteria and hair algae. Still, that's what the fuge is really for, to grow algae in so it doesn't grow in the main tank.

 

[Yetti]

It won't hurt to do a little color-changing experiment, maybe you can make it change into a color that you like best.

 

[blue acara]

More great pics Andy. You are now famous here for your frogfish, what a great little fish.

 

[demonmagus]

you should try changing his colours that would be awesome

 

[-germ-]

Have you tried seeing if a colour change/different morph is shown overnight?

Nice fish anyhow, if i ever try a saltwater i'd certainly research frogfish after seeing your various pics....

 

[GobyMaster]

Hey, just a quick question:

How big is that tank?

I want to set one up, too, but I'm not sure about the size.

Awesome fish, by the way!

GobyMaster