Oyster Toadfish

[CBBP]

I can;t find mcuh about them on the internet. anyone know a good site to look oyster toadfish up?

 

[nmonks]

Oyster toadfish, Opsanus tau, are famous among marine biologists for their noisiness. They are quite well studied animals, being among the first fishes for which sound was established to serve as an important means of communication. It's now known, in part thanks to aquarists, that sound is widely used by all sorts of fishes, from gouramis to catfish. Wikipedia has a nice page, including something I didn't know, that these fish have been sent into space as lab animals!

http/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oyster_toadfish

Care is essentially identical to things like bullrouts and butterfly-goby waspfish: peaceful, predatory, prefers live foods, particularly small invertebrates such as shrimps. Will eat small fish, though these are not its main dietary item in the wild. According to Fishbase it is subtropical (not tropical) and very tolerant of pollution (which sounds ideal for aquarium life).

http/filaman.ifm-geomar.de/Summary/Speci...ary.php?id=3069

I'm not aware of this fish being strongly associated with brackish water though it may occur in brackish waters periodically. I'd aim for SG 1.015 upwards, and only less if I was comfortable that the fish was happy and feeding properly.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[CBBP]

it is a SW fish? mm odd.. we used to caught tons of them in the severn river.. which is brakish to fresh...
I read they are hardy but I wonder how much the tank needs.. mm.. lots of research required.. at least I know how to catch them haha.. nuclear worm on a hook near bridge pylons.

 

[nmonks]

The River Severn in England? Then whatever you were catching weren't oyster toadfish. We don't have them here. Can't be sure what you would have instead of toadfish. Possibly some type of cottid, such as a bullhead.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[CBBP]

no! not england! America.. The severn runs into the Chesapeake bay anyway.. any clue what tank dimensions would have to be?

 

[AMS]

Cardboard, the fish you catch in the Severn is not Opsanus tau. According to fishbase their distribution is as follows:

Western Atlantic: Cape Cod, Massachusetts to Florida in USA, straggling south to Miami in cold years.

These guys are fully marine from what I have read, but since they do belong to the family Batrachoididae and are extremely hardy I wouldn't be surprised if they do inhabit brackish waters from time to time. Though they do not inhabit freshwater rivers such as the Severn. I don't know what type of fish you are catching but it is not Opsanus tau.

 

[CBBP]

it is at the mouth of the severn.. not up river at all.. I have caught ones that are about 9" long... and they are definatly Opsanus tau. they make there little noises, put up a huge fight, and try and stick you with their spines.. oh.. and they lok exactly like that.. what else would it be?

Opsanus tau

oh! It seems there is a "freshwater" variant. "Freshwater Stonefish" that looks very much like the ones I caught..

http/www.aqualandpetsplus.com/Oddball,%20Stonefish.htm

however it doe snot live in the same place.

 

[CBBP]

odd huh?

 

[nmonks]

Okay, the plot thinnens.

Yes, there are some "freshwater" stonefish/toadfish of various kinds. A few are genuinely freshwater fish (like the Amazonian prehistoric monsterfish, Thalassophryne amazonica. Most, like the Batrachomoeus trispinosus on that web page you found are marine fish that happen to go into estuaries and even freshwater from time to time. Identifying them is a pain, and the only good book for this sort of fish is the Aqualog "Brackish Water Fishes" book. You see them in the shops from time to time, and they're all fairly hardy provided they are not abused and provided the right kind of diet.

Anyway, Opsanus tau is easy enough to keep in aquaria from what I've read, but I have no personal experience. It is a warm-temperate fish, so while it will do well in an unchilled coldwater tank, it certainly cannot be kept in a tropical tank or even in a room that gets above ~18C.

From personal experience with coldwater marines, your best bet is to collect specimens in spring/summer when they are adapted to warmer water. If you must collect them now, then acclimate them carefully, ideally by placing the tank somewhere at "outdoors" temperatures, e.g., a cold basement or garage. Collect small specimens if possible: these always adapt best.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[CBBP]

ugh I have no clue about brackish and salt water haha.. i suppose I shall give up keeping one now haha

if I got these Thalassophryne amazonica how hard would they be to keep? they are'freshwater" but like salt yes? so how much salt would i have to add? it says they get 6" long. so a 30 gallon would be good right?

Thalassophryne amazonica is cute

 

[nmonks]

Keeping brackish or hardy marines is no different to freshwater fishkeeping. You need to add salt to the water, but beyond that, it's the same. Many hardy marines are tougher than freshwater fish, even common species like neons and dwarf gouramis.

Anyway, Thalassophryne amazonica is fresh as in no salt. It lives in the Amazon river and never goes to the sea. Probably wants soft and acidic water, at that. A 30 gallon tank would likely be fine; they move hardly at all.

Neale

ugh I have no clue about brackish and salt water haha.. i suppose I shall give up keeping one now haha

if I got these Thalassophryne amazonica how hard would they be to keep? they are'freshwater" but like salt yes? so how much salt would i have to add? it says they get 6" long. so a 30 gallon would be good right?

Thalassophryne amazonica is cute

 

[CBBP]

oh that one is a freshwater? i wonder is a banjo cat fish would go good with it...

if i wanted a brackish version of the rock fish.. how much salt would you add? how would you know the ammount of salt? how much salt would i wanna add for one of those fish? i wondr if a dragon goby would do.. i think the freshwater version with some cat fish would be cool don;t you think?

what do you think the Thalassophryne amazonica woudl eat ghost shrimp? goldfish feeders?

 

[nmonks]

oh that one is a freshwater? i wonder is a banjo cat fish would go good with it...

Possibly; ask in the Oddballs section. A small banjo would probably be eaten, but the larger species (which are around 30 cm long) should be fine.

if i wanted a brackish version of the rock fish.. how much salt would you add? how would you know the ammount of salt? how much salt would i wanna add for one of those fish? i wondr if a dragon goby would do.. i think the freshwater version with some cat fish would be cool don;t you think?

You measure saltiness of the water using a hydrometer or refractometer. See the pinned topics in the brackish section for details, or see my FAQ (link below). I have no idea what a rock fish is. The oyster toadfish needs marine conditions, and that's around SG 1.025-1.030 in a coldwater tank. There are no commonly traded catfish that could live with the oyster toadfish in an aquarium (that I know of, anyway).

what do you think the Thalassophryne amazonica woudl eat ghost shrimp? goldfish feeders?

No personal experience on these. Goldfish feeders certainly not: they are among the worst live foods available and should never, ever be used. If you must feed a fish live fish, the guppies and other livebearers you have bred yourself are the only safe and responsible species to use. Not goldfish, and not rosy-red minnows. I suggest you ask about the fish on the Thalassophryne amazonica on the Oddballs section; it isn't a brackish water fish so discussion doesn't belong here and won't help anyone else wanting to find out about that species.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[CBBP]

Okay.. I shall make a new thrwead now that I have the name of the one I can/want to keep.

thank you for all your feed back.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

actually, going back to the oyster toadfish, would one of those be compatible with a sleeper/jade goby (dormitar maculatus)? they seem to reach about the same size and i know both are (to a degree) brackish fish...