Opsanus Tau

[Oddball]

Ok ok so not the most attractive fish in the world i know! problem is, i placed an order for some fish from a germany supplier, and got these bloody things instead! i have 3 at about 8 inch a piece, and my local aquatics store is at a loss as to what i should do with them!

I need to know two things about them, what salinity to keep them in so that they are happy, and secondly are they venomous? I was advised that according to the Baensch atlas of aquarium fish that some of the toad fish are quite venomous!

 

[andywg]

Only the genera Dector and Thalassophryne (Subfamily Thalassophryninae) are noted as venomous, so I wouldn't overly worry about venom from this toadfish.

O. tau is noted as biting the toes off of unwary swimmers and has a range from Maine to the Caribbean. According to Fishbase they are reef associated marine fish so I would say high end brackish to full marine would suit the fish best.

They seem to get large reaching a recorded total length of 43.2cm and a weight in excess of 2 kg.

 

[nmonks]

Opsanus tau is basically a warm temperate/coldwater marine fish, and I'd not be keeping it in a tropical aquarium at all. Wild fish are found in estuarine habitats along the eastern Atlantic coastline of the US, but rarely as far south as Florida, so a water temperature around 15-20 degrees C would be ideal. In other words, an unheated or subtropical tank is what you're after. Salinity should be upwards of 50% seawater, and you can of course keep them in fully marine conditions.

They're widely kept as lab fish, and are known to be essentially hardy and easily maintained. There's much in the scientific literature on their basic needs, including diet, breeding, etc. Feeding isn't normally a problem as they'll eat most any kind of seafood. Do note that they're cannibalistic, and in the wild at least occur as solitary specimens.

Cheers, Neale

 

[Marine/Freshwater?]

These fish like to construct homes so shells or other debris is nice. I'd kill for one of these. I don't want my Takifugu occellatus getting eaten though.

 

[Oddball]

Ok once again excellent advice thanks for this, looks like im stuck with the three ugly sisters though! cheers guys