Halp! New Frogfish mom

Aprettystrangegirl87 · May 9, 2022

On Saturday I got a painted frogfish. About 2 inches. He is coming out and swimming around quite a bit. No buoyancy issues, just jet setting around the tank, and swimming up and down on the glass. Should I be concerned or is it just getting used to the tank?

blaxsun · May 9, 2022

Is he eating yet?

CoralB · May 9, 2022

Give it a day or two more and see if it gets more acclimated .

lion king · May 9, 2022

It is out of character but he may be hungry; as asked earlier, it he eating. It is important to get them eating right away, many times they have been starved and you want to determine if there is some issue that would inhibit him from eating. A healthy angler will eat right away, offer him live ghost shrimp or guppies. My painted used to jet off every evening when the whites went off.

Aprettystrangegirl87 · May 10, 2022

lion king said:
It is out of character but he may be hungry; as asked earlier, it he eating. It is important to get them eating right away, many times they have been starved and you want to determine if there is some issue that would inhibit him from eating. A healthy angler will eat right away, offer him live ghost shrimp or guppies. My painted used to jet off every evening when the whites went off.

He ate when I brought him home Saturday, but when I went to feed him today he didn't seem too interested

CoralB · May 10, 2022

Count your other fish !!!

Did you feed him the same food as when you brought him home ? Was it live or frozen??

Aprettystrangegirl87 · May 10, 2022

CoralB said:
Count your other fish !!!
Did you feed him the same food as when you brought him home ? Was it live or frozen??

Immediately after I posted this he swam out and I noticed a tummy bulge. There were maybe 2 or 3 ghost shrimp left in the tank from the initial feeding that were noticeably absent when I put in the new ones. I think my little buddy ate on his own.

Should I be concerned with him gorging himself? I've read mixed things.

CoralB · May 10, 2022

No ! He’s not human . He will eat when he’s hungry , that being said don’t purposely over feed him

lion king · May 10, 2022

Aprettystrangegirl87 said:
Immediately after I posted this he swam out and I noticed a tummy bulge. There were maybe 2 or 3 ghost shrimp left in the tank from the initial feeding that were noticeably absent when I put in the new ones. I think my little buddy ate on his own.

Should I be concerned with him gorging himself? I've read mixed things.

You do want to manage his feedings, they need to eat on a gorge/fast routine. It is ok to feed them until you see a nice bulge in their belly, then give a few days between for digestion. Their metabolism requires this or undigested food will build up gases in their gut, buoyancy can be an indicator. Many people overfeed these guys and kill them, most of the time from feeding too frequently. As he matures you will want to feed them more like no more than once a week, even as long as 10 days. To get on a routine, they will get more active, by hunting, when they are hungry. But be careful they will fish you, beg, and act like they are starving. A small guy will be ok for twice a week, it's not best to leave food in the tank for him to eat on his own, they will eat themselves to death. Keep your mg level at least at reef levels, i boost mine to 1400ppm, this helps with digestion. They literally poop like dogs and this can also be an indicator to help you get on a routine. They may also get overly active to help with a bowel movement.

Aprettystrangegirl87 · May 10, 2022

lion king said:
You do want to manage his feedings, they need to eat on a gorge/fast routine. It is ok to feed them until you see a nice bulge in their belly, then give a few days between for digestion. Their metabolism requires this or undigested food will build up gases in their gut, buoyancy can be an indicator. Many people overfeed these guys and kill them, most of the time from feeding too frequently. As he matures you will want to feed them more like no more than once a week, even as long as 10 days. To get on a routine, they will get more active, by hunting, when they are hungry. But be careful they will fish you, beg, and act like they are starving. A small guy will be ok for twice a week, it's not best to leave food in the tank for him to eat on his own, they will eat themselves to death. Keep your mg level at least at reef levels, i boost mine to 1400ppm, this helps with digestion. They literally poop like dogs and this can also be an indicator to help you get on a routine. They may also get overly active to help with a bowel movement.

How would you recommend I feed him? He's in a 55 gallon tank and he's about 2.5 inches. So throwing 2 in, they immediately hide. I'm scared he won't find them.

lion king · May 10, 2022

Aprettystrangegirl87 said:
How would you recommend I feed him? He's in a 55 gallon tank and he's about 2.5 inches. So throwing 2 in, they immediately hide. I'm scared he won't find them.

Use a rigid airline from the lfs to herd the ghosties toward him. I bend the end slightly angled so to reach corners and herd the ghosties along until he catches enough for the nights feeding. He would do well to also get some fish. Likely starting out with guppies, then appropriately sized mollies if you have them available. Herding fish is litlle trickier, but the same idea. He will be very happy in a 55g but it does make it a bit more difficult feeding. They really are good hunters, I have found the painted to be pretty aggressive to go after their food, but I still wouldn't leave him on his own. I have seen more success when their feedings are more managed.

lion king · May 21, 2022

How's he doing?

Aprettystrangegirl87 · May 23, 2022

lion king said:
How's he doing?

Hes a happy little camper. I have kind of a stupid question. He's in my grow out system (I'm a coral reseller). Is there any reason he couldn't eat a 6 line wrasse? There are some flatworms I need to get rid of, and obviously he's gonna eat it. I can get them cheap enough from the wholesaler I'm not sweating the cost.

lion king · May 23, 2022

Oh no, he can definitely eat a sixline. Here's the thing, they are pure ambush predators, meaning they are not going to attack and devour, instead they set up shop and wait. The sixline is an evasive fish and may actually survive for a while, maybe a very long while or indefinitely. I had one big and fat and fast, and I thought he was going to be fine with my small painted at the time, and figure I had time to rehome the sixline. Well it went well for a while and I was very happy, then one day he was gone and Jabba had a big fat belly. You see, the painted are my favorites, they are smart and aggressive. While it's out of character, I've seen them chase down their prey. What they do is stalk and plan and eventually maneuver themselves into a route where they can catch a more elusive fish. They will even find out where they sleep and camp outside their their hidey hole to catch them when they come out in the morning. The only concern is size, while they can eat really large fish compared to their size, it can be dangerous. Many times when an angler eats a fish close to their own size, they die. I'm not sure if this phenomenon is just in captivity and if the conditions of their glass cage could have some blame. Perhaps in a larger tank, like you have, they have more room to roam, which stimulates their digestion. And because it's a coral tank, I'm sure your mg is reef level, mg has showed to be good for digestion.

I'm glad he's doing well, but I can't get the vid to load on my computer. I just wrote this up if you are interested, some good info if I do say so myself..

So you want a frog fish; I call them anglers

I've kept a few, my first going back 25 years. These are very difficult fish to keep and I am still very frustrated as to the success in keeping these guys long term. I do have some information I would like to share for those interested. Be forewarned, they are not for everyone and do take...

www.reef2reef.com

Aprettystrangegirl87 · May 23, 2022

lion king said:
Oh no, he can definitely eat a sixline. Here's the thing, they are pure ambush predators, meaning they are not going to attack and devour, instead they set up shop and wait. The sixline is an evasive fish and may actually survive for a while, maybe a very long while or indefinitely. I had one big and fat and fast, and I thought he was going to be fine with my small painted at the time, and figure I had time to rehome the sixline. Well it went well for a while and I was very happy, then one day he was gone and Jabba had a big fat belly. You see, the painted are my favorites, they are smart and aggressive. While it's out of character, I've seen them chase down their prey. What they do is stalk and plan and eventually maneuver themselves into a route where they can catch a more elusive fish. They will even find out where they sleep and camp outside their their hidey hole to catch them when they come out in the morning. The only concern is size, while they can eat really large fish compared to their size, it can be dangerous. Many times when an angler eats a fish close to their own size, they die. I'm not sure if this phenomenon is just in captivity and if the conditions of their glass cage could have some blame. Perhaps in a larger tank, like you have, they have more room to roam, which stimulates their digestion. And because it's a coral tank, I'm sure your mg is reef level, mg has showed to be good for digestion.

I'm glad he's doing well, but I can't get the vid to load on my computer. I just wrote this up if you are interested, some good info if I do say so myself..

So you want a frog fish; I call them anglers

I've kept a few, my first going back 25 years. These are very difficult fish to keep and I am still very frustrated as to the success in keeping these guys long term. I do have some information I would like to share for those interested. Be forewarned, they are not for everyone and do take...

www.reef2reef.com

Great write up! Very helpful. I don't understand why anyone would want to feed them dead food. Where is the fun in that? I'm pretty sure Boo is a painted. He posts up in different spots through the day. I'm going to rearrange the rocks to a more cove like shape, so I can encourage him to stay visible. The resident peppermint shrimp has survived thus far, but I had to scurry it away today.

Would damsels or chromis be good to feed him? I tried Molly's and they died after like an hour. I know fish can not on ghost shrimp alone.

Maybe the picture will work better. I love his little feet. (The white spots are salt on the glass)

I have some videos of him on my Instagram pretty_strange_reef.

lion king · May 23, 2022

Don't use salt water fish because eventually you will spread disease. Mollies coming from a fresh water source can not transfer any diseases. Thet are brackish fish and can live in full salt, you can do an extended acclimation if you want, but is not necessary. They usually love long enough to get eaten, if not indefinitely just from a basic acclimation. I keep a molly tank at 1.013 and just drop them into a fowlr at 1.020. thet are usually eaten within minutes, but I do herd them if necessary. Ghost shrimp are more nutritious than most think, but you do want to feed them a quality micro pellet before offering. If you click my name and "find all threads" you'll find much info concerning this subject,

Looks like a painted, a good indicator is 3 eyespots on their tail.

Aprettystrangegirl87 · Jul 7, 2022

lion king said:
Don't use salt water fish because eventually you will spread disease. Mollies coming from a fresh water source can not transfer any diseases. Thet are brackish fish and can live in full salt, you can do an extended acclimation if you want, but is not necessary. They usually love long enough to get eaten, if not indefinitely just from a basic acclimation. I keep a molly tank at 1.013 and just drop them into a fowlr at 1.020. thet are usually eaten within minutes, but I do herd them if necessary. Ghost shrimp are more nutritious than most think, but you do want to feed them a quality micro pellet before offering. If you click my name and "find all threads" you'll find much info concerning this subject,

Looks like a painted, a good indicator is 3 eyespots on their tail.

Hello again my friend. Do you think a frogfish can cohabitat with a pair of full grown engineer gobies?

brahm · Jul 7, 2022

frogfish will eat anything that moves and can fit in its mouth, I wouldn't trust it with anything that it thinks it can fit not just what it thinks it can swallow in totality. That even includes fingers, ask me how I know

lion king · Jul 7, 2022

Aprettystrangegirl87 said:
Hello again my friend. Do you think a frogfish can cohabitat with a pair of full grown engineer gobies?

The problem is I don't think the angler can get a full grown engineer goby down but I think they will try. Only safe bet to house with an angler is a fish with a broad body too large for him to get his lips around. What happens if he trys, you'll lose both fish.