Look at that face: new angler

[jasonrusso]

Here is my little guy who always started fishing when I walked into the room. I had him eating anything I put on a feeding line I made. He ate silverslides, krill, scallop, squid, etc. I really liked him because he was always right in front of the tank. He also liked to swim around which was weird! He died suddenly (as I hear all anglers do and I was heartbroken). I have another angler now (coinbearing angler) who I never see. He stays in a cave and I put food near him on a fishing line and he eats it, but I miss my warty.

 

[mOnsterzOas26]

He was good looking jasonrusso
I like the fact that mine it's always out and about swimming too he's the bOss around lol

 

[mOnsterzOas26]

Sorry Lion King I feel like Im stealing ur thread , how do I erase my posts ?

 

[lion king]

Doing yoga

 

[Maximizer]

Lol thats awesome!! Can't wait until i'm able to keep one

 

[lion king]

Can't believe it's only been 4 months, he's gotten really warty. I moved him into another tank and it has slightly less flow which has made him so happy, he now takes much more frequent swims.

 

[jasonrusso]

Awesome, I miss mine so much. When they swim they look out of control, but they are actually exactly where they want to be.

 

[Rick.45cal]

I really would like to have a species specific tank for one of these guys.

 

[lion king]

6 months later next to the same coral. I'm loving his personality, I need to figure out how to get my ancient phone to upload vids. I've got to show his recon missions, when he swims around the tank like a drone hunting.

 

[lion king]

One year update: he's doing well but at the end of the day I've decided this is not a species I would keep in captivity again. I've tracked a few warty's in the last year to conclude that it's pretty close to a death sentence; 0 of 10 living past 2 months; 6 dead at the lfs within a week or 2.

I don't like keeping fish in a glass cage as a trophy of just a moving piece of art, I'd put a digital display on my tv if I wanted that. This warty doesn't seem to have adjusted well to captivity; he doesn't interact with the outside world, which is my most enjoyable part of my other tanks. He doesn't seem to have much of a reaction within his tank either, except from eating. At one year I've seen his interest in hunting and stalking to have diminished, this seems to a prelude to him stopping eating all together; perhaps just suicide to being kept in a glass cage.

I can see how most hobbyist would lose interest in keeping these guys after the "wow factor" wears off, maybe that's part of the high mortality rate. At least in comparing the anglers I've kept, I do find the painted angler more interesting. If anyone would ask me I'd definitely recommend a painted over a warty. Although they do get larger which is a concern for many, both that I have kept bonded with me and was very interactive with the outside world. I had one that even made my girlfriend jealous by always fishing me but never fishing her. Even when see was holding food, so he obviously could recognize people. he would also follow me around the tank and come over to a perch over my shoulder when I was lounging in my favorite chair. The painted's swimming and hunting antics are also alot more entertaining.

My conclusion is that I am sad that I decided to keep this creature in captivity.

 

[jasonrusso]

One year update: he's doing well but at the end of the day I've decided this is not a species I would keep in captivity again. I've tracked a few warty's in the last year to conclude that it's pretty close to a death sentence; 0 of 10 living past 2 months; 6 dead at the lfs within a week or 2.

I don't like keeping fish in a glass cage as a trophy of just a moving piece of art, I'd put a digital display on my tv if I wanted that. This warty doesn't seem to have adjusted well to captivity; he doesn't interact with the outside world, which is my most enjoyable part of my other tanks. He doesn't seem to have much of a reaction within his tank either, except from eating. At one year I've seen his interest in hunting and stalking to have diminished, this seems to a prelude to him stopping eating all together; perhaps just suicide to being kept in a glass cage.

I can see how most hobbyist would lose interest in keeping these guys after the "wow factor" wears off, maybe that's part of the high mortality rate. At least in comparing the anglers I've kept, I do find the painted angler more interesting. If anyone would ask me I'd definitely recommend a painted over a warty. Although they do get larger which is a concern for many, both that I have kept bonded with me and was very interactive with the outside world. I had one that even made my girlfriend jealous by always fishing me but never fishing her. Even when see was holding food, so he obviously could recognize people. he would also follow me around the tank and come over to a perch over my shoulder when I was lounging in my favorite chair. The painted's swimming and hunting antics are also alot more entertaining.

My conclusion is that I am sad that I decided to keep this creature in captivity.

I had my warty for about 2 years until his sudden death. He was eating the day before he died. My lion died a week later so I was chalking it up to tainted food because they were eating the same.

My coinbearing angler lasted nearly 2 years until my velvet outbreak got him. He was the first one to go, but he had no signs of slowing down.

My new one is TBD if he is going to make it or not. I think he is actually a painted angler (I've never seen wartys with the fuzz). I'm on vacation this week so I am going to hunt down some mollies (or small green chromis) like you suggested.

 

[lion king]

I had my warty for about 2 years until his sudden death. He was eating the day before he died. My lion died a week later so I was chalking it up to tainted food because they were eating the same.

My coinbearing angler lasted nearly 2 years until my velvet outbreak got him. He was the first one to go, but he had no signs of slowing down.

My new one is TBD if he is going to make it or not. I think he is actually a painted angler (I've never seen wartys with the fuzz). I'm on vacation this week so I am going to hunt down some mollies (or small green chromis) like you suggested.

It is confusing at that size, check out this website for id: http://www.frogfish.ch/photo.html#pictus

If you do go with a saltwater fish for feeding, at least do a fw dip before adding to the tank; qt would be better that's why fw fish are really a safer choice. Keep us updated I would be interested in his progress. Do not try a damsel unless you want a room mate, they are very elusive. Although they can eat a fish equal to their own size, it's best to feed them something substantially smaller; I killed my 1st painted by letting him eat a large fish.

 

[jasonrusso]

It is confusing at that size, check out this website for id: http://www.frogfish.ch/photo.html#pictus

If you do go with a saltwater fish for feeding, at least do a fw dip before adding to the tank; qt would be better that's why fw fish are really a safer choice. Keep us updated I would be interested in his progress. Do not try a damsel unless you want a room mate, they are very elusive. Although they can eat a fish equal to their own size, it's best to feed them something substantially smaller; I killed my 1st painted by letting him eat a large fish.

I would agree that parasite wise the FW fish would be safer.

I've also read that that FW fish throw off the equilibrium after a while.

 

[lion king]

This is my issue with the live vs dead feeding for predatory, specifically ambush type predator fish. Common feeder fish like rubies and goldies are obviously a bad choice. And perhaps we have read of success stories "online" of people keeping these fish healthy and long term by feeding them dead food. But in real life what I have observed: I have never witnessed anglers, scorpionfish, dwarf lions kept long term exclusively feeding them a dead diet. I also have seen dramatic differences in activity and vibrancy between those being fed dead vs live. While feeding saltwater fish live fresh water feeders like ghosties and mollies may not seem ideal; I've kept my lions thriving for years, while I've seen countless perish. As far as the equilibrium goes it's hard to judge when you have angler lose equilibrium in 3 years, while you've never seen one live more than a few months on dead food.

 

[want2bsleepy]

how often do y'all feed your frogfish? and how much?

 

[jasonrusso]

how often do y'all feed your frogfish? and how much?

Adults 2-3 times a week, juveniles maybe every other day.

How much depends on what you are feeding.

 

[want2bsleepy]

Adults 2-3 times a week, juveniles maybe every other day.

How much depends on what you are feeding.

our little painted frogfish is between 2-3 inches, and we were told to feed him 1-2 ghost shrimp a week. I am thinking that is not enough, especially when he seams to be on the hunt everyday.

 

[jasonrusso]

our little painted frogfish is between 2-3 inches, and we were told to feed him 1-2 ghost shrimp a week. I am thinking that is not enough, especially when he seams to be on the hunt everyday.

Are you gut loading the ghost shrimp with pellets? I always feed my ghost shrimp New Life Spectrum pellets (very small size) about an hour before feeding. This way they are still inside them (you can see them) and the fish gets the nutrients from the pellets. Ghost shrimp by themselves are not too nutritious. There is nothing to them. Don't give in to him, overfeeding them is lethal. The food will rot in their stomach.

I'm feeding my painted black every other day right now. He is about 2 inches and he is always on the move. It took me 4 days to stick train him with a piece of krill. I already have many ghost shrimp I am going to continue to mix in (I also have a puffer and lionfish) with his diet. I think after I am going to continue to keep them as a treat and to keep him interested by hunting.

 

[jasonrusso]

Keep us updated I would be interested in his progress

I guess I forgot to update, unfortunately he didn't make it. He had a shrimp walking on him at one point so I knew there was something wrong.

I did order another Painted black angler from That Fish Place that is doing very well. He was eating the next day as expected. At least I know I didn't do anything wrong with the last one. He came in sick which was very unfortunate

 

[Adamantium]

@lion king I can’t seem to start a conversation with you for some reason, so I’ll just ask here: do you still have the warty? If not, how long was he alive for?

I’m so saddened to hear all the stories of people having them die in less than a year.