Frogfish concerns?

[Bensadork]

So as with any addicted reef tank owner, my next tank build is always on the back of my mind even though I am barely past the infancy of my current tank. With that being said, I have a 36g bowfront tank that is just sitting in a closet begging to be brought back to life. It was a species only freshwater tank in a previous life for about a year. I was thinking of making it a species only tank again, with the only exception is this will be saltwater instead of freshwater. I was doing a little poking around the web and started looking up frogfish. God they are hideously ugly and I love them! My gf does not seem to share my enthusiasm about these little monsters. I know i am a long time away from even getting this tank going so I have plenty of time to weigh out the pros and cons of owning a frogfish. Has anyone ever had one and what would one expect from owning one? I know feeding can get expensive if you go the live route which is what they seem to prefer. Do they have any special tank requirements that might make it more difficult than say a community reef tank? I know there are certain tankmates that can be put in there with it but anything has a potential to be dinner it seems. I guess I am just looking for someone with a little experience with these? I am not completely dead set on this being the only option for my next tank, just my favorite option for now. i would love to have a puffer fish but 36 gallons isn't nearly big enough for any puffers that I would want in the tank. unless there's something super cool out there that i have not come across on the internet yet. Does anyone have any good suggestions as to what to put in this 36g bowfront? I definitely want to do species only because of the limited size of the tank. My current tank is 46g and I suppose i could make the 36g my community tank and turn the 46g into a species only tank but for a gain of only 10 gallons, it doesnt seem worth messing up the setup of my tank I already have. Any and all suggestions are welcomed and feel free to be negative or try and talk me out of this. My gf would appreciate all the negativity this post can generate lol.

 

[danangelo]

Nps tanks is always cool to have needs a bit of more care but rewardimg

 

[becca10]

This is the same lil warty. She went from deep red to vibrate yellow with red circles. She's almost doubled in size. She's about an inch and a half now. I hope to get her on frozen once she's bigger. We have a routine down. She hops off her perch in my RS 34 gal and goes to the glass when she's hungry Then into a breeder container where I put a fortified ghost shrimp in about every other day. My first time with a warty and I have to say I love her!

 

[Bensadork]

becca10 that is an amazing looking fish! do you have any full tank shots? and what kind of filtration are you running?

 

[becca10]

I am using a Tunze protein skimmer, and rocks in the back chamber. I do weekly water changes. Will get a full tank shot up soon!

 

[Bensadork]

Is that a crushed coral substrate I see in the background?

 

[becca10]

Sure is

 

[Reefergirl18]

We have a clown frogfish. Amazing and fascinating little guy. He's only in a 25litre tank at the min as when we first got him he was the size of your thumb nail. Hungry little things too!! Live food is a must unfortunately, they like to stalk their food. Definitely recommend a frogfish tank though!!

 

[becca10]

Tank shots

 

[Keith_0011]

Frogfish are wonderful. I have kept them many times at work. Anything that fits in its mouth is food. I had one the size of a softball eat two that were tennis ball sized the same night! If they eat too much they will regurgitate it later after some digestion. I had one come into quarantine and not eat for two weeks and spit out a 6" baby bamboo shark it had clearly eaten while still in the wild.
Ghost shrimp (paleos) are a great fist food option, they do love to chase them down. If you pinch the head slightly it will make them woozy and a little easier to catch, with the goal of having the frogfish come directly to you for food. Then you can start skewer them on a tiny zip tie taped to a long stick (very thin, like acrylic or pvc welding rod) and start offering paleos directly. With that accomplished you can start to hide other food items behind the ghost shrimp. I have accomplished this several times over and easily transitioned wild caught animals to frozen foods.

If you were looking for someone to dissuade you from your passion to keep frogfish you came to the wrong place. We do love to enable and offer the experiences that we have collectively accumulated.

 

[becca10]

Well. Update. She's a teenager now. She managed to sneak up to a chromi that wasn't doing well and are it. I've never seen a belly that big before!!!

 

[mcpeachy]

hello!!! (Realize old thread...but...)I'm looking to get my son a frogfish and need advice. Would you ever combine frogfish or is it a one frogfish per tank rule? One would be a painted and the other clown frogfish. almost the same size, half an inch off, but one would be bigger than the other later. 4" and maybe 6".

 

[lion king]

hello!!! (Realize old thread...but...)I'm looking to get my son a frogfish and need advice. Would you ever combine frogfish or is it a one frogfish per tank rule? One would be a painted and the other clown frogfish. almost the same size, half an inch off, but one would be bigger than the other later. 4" and maybe 6".

Eventually the painted would eat the clown. I advise against trying to keep more than one, they can eat something as large as tbemselves and will attempt to eat something even larger. This is nature, and in a captive enclosed environment, it will not work for long.

 

[mcpeachy]

Eventually the painted would eat the clown. I advise against trying to keep more than one, they can eat something as large as tbemselves and will attempt to eat something even larger. This is nature, and in a captive enclosed environment, it will not work for long.

Thank you for your reply! This is what I suspected! I really don't want the clown getting eaten!! LOL.

 

[MSB123]

Thank you for your reply! This is what I suspected! I really don't want the clown getting eaten!! LOL.

Yeah. Make sure you have an appropriate tank set up!

 

[mcpeachy]

Yeah. Make sure you have an appropriate tank set up!

Any tips?? 20 gallons for the clown...I was thinking pulsing xenias since they'd be a nice pretty coral that i could just let take over the tank. Do they like lots of hiding spots? I would think...He is going to be TINY! 3/4" when i get him so i'm thinking to do water changes and have lots and lots of live rocks and thick sand bed for bacteria (from established tank). Otherwise...i was considering different tanks with backflows but afraid of the upkeep of the small backflows and no sump

 

[MSB123]

Any tips?? 20 gallons for the clown...I was thinking pulsing xenias since they'd be a nice pretty coral that i could just let take over the tank. Do they like lots of hiding spots? I would think...He is going to be TINY! 3/4" when i get him so i'm thinking to do water changes and have lots and lots of live rocks and thick sand bed for bacteria (from established tank). Otherwise...i was considering different tanks with backflows but afraid of the upkeep of the small backflows and no sump

I would get a 40 gallon tank. A 20 isnt big enough for a permanent home. Lots of hiding spots are good. Make sure the tank is cycled for at least 2 weeks before adding him in. Also remember to quarantine.

 

[Geebs19]

Any tips?? 20 gallons for the clown...I was thinking pulsing xenias since they'd be a nice pretty coral that i could just let take over the tank. Do they like lots of hiding spots? I would think...He is going to be TINY! 3/4" when i get him so i'm thinking to do water changes and have lots and lots of live rocks and thick sand bed for bacteria (from established tank). Otherwise...i was considering different tanks with backflows but afraid of the upkeep of the small backflows and no sump

I had one years ago in a 20 long with a couple big tall pieces of live rock. the like to hug into the rock, not necessarily a cave.

 

[lion king]

Any tips?? 20 gallons for the clown...I was thinking pulsing xenias since they'd be a nice pretty coral that i could just let take over the tank. Do they like lots of hiding spots? I would think...He is going to be TINY! 3/4" when i get him so i'm thinking to do water changes and have lots and lots of live rocks and thick sand bed for bacteria (from established tank). Otherwise...i was considering different tanks with backflows but afraid of the upkeep of the small backflows and no sump

Yeah a 20 is fine for a clown, they are generally very sedentary so they dont really need a huge tank. Mine would take frequent recon missions to hunt for ghosties or guppies, a floaty droid like swimming that he would do. Varied elevations of rock structure for him to perch, a cave although my 2 were not cave dwellers. The flow should be minimal, not need for a circulation pump, something about 180-220gph on the return would be fine. No need for the thick sand bed, but the xenia would be a nice touch, they are not fans of overly bright light.

Plan to feed him once a week to every 10 days, live foods. Those trained to a stick with dead food usually get bored or frustrated pretty quickly and just stop eating. Ghost shrimp and small mollies I have found to be an excellent diet, you can keep a small container to gut load before feeding.

 

[mcpeachy]

Thanks for the excellent advice. someone suggested an acclimation box but i'd like to quarentine him initially. i'm also wondering if the lot of ghost shrimp i bought off live aquaria shoudl go into their own tank or just go into my children's planted tank. i feel like the spanish ribbed newt in there might have some snacks if i do that. i have heard not to try to feed them for a few days until they are adjusted, is that correct? what is the frozen food you would attempt to feed? do you get your feeder fish from petco or other stores like that? i'm tempted but worried about parasites!