Frogfish Gibberish

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pica_nuttalli

don't be a twit
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I'm tired of searching for the word "frogfish" every time I get the saltwater bug, so I'm gonna start my own thread. Please post your own contributions too!

Right, so to start this off: Pictures of Baby Frogfish

Also, this is what Andywg has to say about starting a frogfish tank:
there isn't much to it. Get tank, put in sand and live rock, put in salt water, put in heater and powerhead(s) (10x turnover per hour max), turn everything on. Get frogfish, put it in.

Doesn't really seem worth doing an article for that :D
Ha! Frogfish are worth TEN articles!

Has anyone ever given any thought to how they might influence the appearance of a frogfish (or other color-changing fish) by selection of decor elements? For example: using bright pink sand, decorating with agate or slag, careful choice of corals, technicolor plastic ornaments, etc. Since the color-changing aspect is primarily a camouflage response, it seems like we should be able to influence what color scheme the animal chooses. That said, I've no personal experience with this and I'm probably sounding like a total n00b.

Do frogfish like algal forests? I actually prefer the look of a refugium over your standard FOWLR. :blush: What can I say? I do planted tanks.
 
I'm tired of searching for the word "frogfish" every time I get the saltwater bug,

Then just search on my username ;)

Ha! Frogfish are worth TEN articles!

to those interested, yes. Remember that most of this forum is nano reefs ;)

Has anyone ever given any thought to how they might influence the appearance of a frogfish (or other color-changing fish) by selection of decor elements? For example: using bright pink sand, decorating with agate or slag, careful choice of corals, technicolor plastic ornaments, etc. Since the color-changing aspect is primarily a camouflage response, it seems like we should be able to influence what color scheme the animal chooses. That said, I've no personal experience with this and I'm probably sounding like a total n00b.

It would be an interesting thing, though from teh reading and looking (and experience) I have had, it would appear that the fish has 2 colour extremes and moves between them (from being black with orange spots to orange with black spots as a simple example). I had a brown/green frogfish respond to my refugium by turning bright yellow. Hardly a camouflage response, one would think.

It would be interesting to see whether one can force a colour change, but I fear it will be somewhat limited.

Do frogfish like algal forests? I actually prefer the look of a refugium over your standard FOWLR. :blush: What can I say? I do planted tanks.

Then your best bet would be to try and get hold of some sargassum and keep the sargassum frogfish (H. histrio).

Many frogfish inhabit the sandy areas around reefs (such as A. hispidus and A. striatus) so they will enjoy a more sandy bottomed tank with some algae growing around. Beware though, trying to cultivate many macroalgae in an aesthetic manner is no easy chance. It almost always roots where you don't want it to!
 
Out of curiosity, what would be the minimum tank size for a frogfish?
It all depends on the species.

Scott Michael gives 10 gallons for the smaller species (such as Antennarius dorehensis or Antennatus spp) though I have seen video of someone getting A. dorehensis to spawn in a 7 gallon. The issue is more water quality than size as most frogfish are fairly immobile most of the time.

I tend to work on around 20 gallons for those that get up to about 4-5" and then 30 gallons for those that get up to about 8-9". I would want at least something like a 36x15 footprint for the giant frogfish (nearly bought a black one with white spots like stars a while ago, so tempting...).

And since we are considering frogfish, how about a photo of my first one: Frogman the Antennarius striatus

100_4290.jpg


Didn't have the fancy colours of the A. maculatus I later kept, but had a great appetite only matched by the H. histrio. And, he used to lure all the time, a great fish, and finding him dead was my lowest point in fishkeeping, far worse than finding my later reef tank nuked.

100_4307.jpg


Baby shot!

Froggie1.jpg


100_4001.jpg

:D
 
Very cool :nod: Blink and you miss it when it takes food. You're giving me ideas :lol: One issue. You keep giving me the impression that they don't like flow? Would you recon a smaller one would do OK in a sump area with macro algea, or would this not work?

All the best
Rabbut
 
They don't do well in stony reef tanks it seems, finding it hard to shelter out of the current and wait. 5x to 10x turnover should be ok.

Provided there is some "stomping room" in the sump area for the fish it should be fine. Generally they seem to like an outcrop of rocks to sit in from time to time and a sandy area to patrol. Obviously, getting a smaller one relies on you being able to source one, and the UK importers are not particularly good at ID. Everything that comes through TMC is either A. maculatus or A commerson (even if it might actually be a completely different Genus). Everything that Swallows at Rayleigh's importer sends them is pretty much listed as H. histrio or A. commerson.

If you want to tease them put them in a tank next to another one where they can see fish. I used to have one that spent all day eyeing up the clowns in my reef.

One thing I would say is that I have had more success getting the larger growing frogfish to feed than the smaller ones. Whilst A. maculatus is desirable due to its small size, I am yet to get one to consistently feed. Success thus far comes from A. striatus, H. histrio and Lophiocharon sp (eitherL. lithinostomus or L. trisignatus).

However, if you fancy breeding then the Genus Lophicharon holds the best bet as the eggs are stuck to the male and the young hatch as miniature versions of the adults, thus avoiding the troublesome planktonic stage of most other species.
 
also: if a frogfish and a mantis shrimp got in a fight, who would win?

would a small frogfish eat whatever little critters it found on some live rock? things like bristleworms and nudibranches? how about hermit crabs?

(is there anything that eats nudibranches? those things sound scary.)
 
Woukd have thought a Frogfish Vs Mantis would end favorably for the mantis TBH, they can be nasty when they get going. For food, being a reasonably sized predator they will presumably take anything that's large and meaty one would have thought... No doubt that andy will be back soon to confirm/correct that assumption. Correcting my assumptions seems to be what he spends half his time doing :lol:
 
also: if a frogfish and a mantis shrimp got in a fight, who would win?


Woukd have thought a Frogfish Vs Mantis would end favorably for the mantis TBH, they can be nasty when they get going.

It all depends on relative size. If the mantis is quite a bit larger than the frog then it can well eat the frog. Once they are of similar size or the frog is larger I would expect the frog to eat the mantis. Mantis shrimp are part of many a frogfish's natural diet in the wild. While a mantis has a fairly fast strike, they tend to stalk visible prey. The frogfish would hide sit still and wait for the mantis, or tempt it with the lure, so while the mantis is striking the lure, the frogfish is eating the whole mantis.


would a small frogfish eat whatever little critters it found on some live rock? things like bristleworms and nudibranches? how about hermit crabs?

(is there anything that eats nudibranches? those things sound scary.)

For food, being a reasonably sized predator they will presumably take anything that's large and meaty one would have thought... No doubt that andy will be back soon to confirm/correct that assumption. Correcting my assumptions seems to be what he spends half his time doing :lol:

I have never seen mine be that interested in the smaller things found in live rock. Live shrimp is a favourite and the staple food for my frogfish is prawn (saoked in vitamins) or small frozen fish (spratts or lancefish). Only one of my frogfish has ever shown interest in mussels. Rabbutt is correct that meaty is good, though it is generally considered best to feed little and often rather than testing the digestive capabilities of the fish once a week.
 

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