Pygmy red rooster waspfish questions

Seachelle · Oct 30, 2022

I just got a pygmy red rooster waspfish yesterday from my lfs for a nano tank I've started. So far, I've offered him frozen brine and he hasn't eaten, but I also have some ghost shrimp I'm going to try later today. I've read that other have had success feeding live blackworms. My lfs doesn't have these. Does anyone know of an online source for them, and how do you keep them?

I'm also wondering if I can put a pom pom crab in with him. That was my original plan for my nano, but now I'm thinking the rooster may eat the pom pom. The rooster is not very big - maybe 1.5" and the pom pom is maybe .5".

Thanks for any advice!

Slocke · Oct 30, 2022

@lion king

lion king · Oct 30, 2022

Yes they usually need live food initially but will usually come around quickly. I do still recommend including live foods like ghost shrimp in their diet, not only for their nutrition, but as enrichment for a captive predator. The problem as that size is finding ghosties small enough, if you have access to amphipods that would be great. Amphipods are harder to come by for some reason, other pods would be worth a try to get them settled. Although copepods are too small, it will keep them from starving and give them a chance to acclimate. Yes, live black worms are very welcomed but I don't of an online source. I just grab a scoop with hemo's and they come right up to take them, initially you can just drop a clump in front of them. Initially turn the pumps off to calm the flow, eventually they will get more confident and chase things down. I do turn the pumps off when I feed black worms and other foods from a pipette, they come right up and take the food right from the pipette. You can also try feeder guppies, although getting them to a point where they can catch them can be challenging. In a tank that small I would drop a couple of appropriate sized guppies and/or ghosties in, and let them hunt. If overnight the prey is still there, I would use my herding method to help them out. Using a feeding stick to herd the prey into a point where they catch them. They do their best hunting at night so it is very likely they will catch them during the overnight hours.

Their nature would be not to eat the pom pom crab, they don't usually eat hard bodied inverts. Make sure you have them eating well before you try it. I say it's in their nature, but in captivity unnatural things may happen.

Many have used this thread to help them acclimating their little red rooster.

Paracentropogon zonatus 1st impressions

aka pygmy red rooster waspfish, red bandtail waspfish. I know I said I was finished with new additions, these had been on my list for a couple of years and this trio was at a lfs, so i picked them up. I have seen questions regarding these guys from time to time, and frustratingly no one ever...

www.reef2reef.com

MoshJosh · Oct 30, 2022

lion king said:
Yes they usually need live food initially but will usually come around quickly. I do still recommend including live foods like ghost shrimp in their diet, not only for their nutrition, but as enrichment for a captive predator. The problem as that size is finding ghosties small enough, if you have access to amphipods that would be great. Amphipods are harder to come by for some reason, other pods would be worth a try to get them settled. Although copepods are too small, it will keep them from starving and give them a chance to acclimate. Yes, live black worms are very welcomed but I don't of an online source. I just grab a scoop with hemo's and they come right up to take them, initially you can just drop a clump in front of them. Initially turn the pumps off to calm the flow, eventually they will get more confident and chase things down. I do turn the pumps off when I feed black worms and other foods from a pipette, they come right up and take the food right from the pipette. You can also try feeder guppies, although getting them to a point where they can catch them can be challenging. In a tank that small I would drop a couple of appropriate sized guppies and/or ghosties in, and let them hunt. If overnight the prey is still there, I would use my herding method to help them out. Using a feeding stick to herd the prey into a point where they catch them. They do their best hunting at night so it is very likely they will catch them during the overnight hours.

Their nature would be not to eat the pom pom crab, they don't usually eat hard bodied inverts. Make sure you have them eating well before you try it. I say it's in their nature, but in captivity unnatural things may happen.

Many have used this thread to help them acclimating their little red rooster.

Paracentropogon zonatus 1st impressions

aka pygmy red rooster waspfish, red bandtail waspfish. I know I said I was finished with new additions, these had been on my list for a couple of years and this trio was at a lfs, so i picked them up. I have seen questions regarding these guys from time to time, and frustratingly no one ever...

www.reef2reef.com

I wonder would feeding guppy fry be an option?

lion king · Oct 30, 2022

MoshJosh said:
I wonder would feeding guppy fry be an option?

Yes

Seachelle · Oct 30, 2022

lion king said:
Yes they usually need live food initially but will usually come around quickly. I do still recommend including live foods like ghost shrimp in their diet, not only for their nutrition, but as enrichment for a captive predator. The problem as that size is finding ghosties small enough, if you have access to amphipods that would be great. Amphipods are harder to come by for some reason, other pods would be worth a try to get them settled. Although copepods are too small, it will keep them from starving and give them a chance to acclimate. Yes, live black worms are very welcomed but I don't of an online source. I just grab a scoop with hemo's and they come right up to take them, initially you can just drop a clump in front of them. Initially turn the pumps off to calm the flow, eventually they will get more confident and chase things down. I do turn the pumps off when I feed black worms and other foods from a pipette, they come right up and take the food right from the pipette. You can also try feeder guppies, although getting them to a point where they can catch them can be challenging. In a tank that small I would drop a couple of appropriate sized guppies and/or ghosties in, and let them hunt. If overnight the prey is still there, I would use my herding method to help them out. Using a feeding stick to herd the prey into a point where they catch them. They do their best hunting at night so it is very likely they will catch them during the overnight hours.

Their nature would be not to eat the pom pom crab, they don't usually eat hard bodied inverts. Make sure you have them eating well before you try it. I say it's in their nature, but in captivity unnatural things may happen.

Many have used this thread to help them acclimating their little red rooster.

Paracentropogon zonatus 1st impressions

aka pygmy red rooster waspfish, red bandtail waspfish. I know I said I was finished with new additions, these had been on my list for a couple of years and this trio was at a lfs, so i picked them up. I have seen questions regarding these guys from time to time, and frustratingly no one ever...

www.reef2reef.com

Thank you for your detailed response! My little guy has found a hidey hole back behind the rock and I can't see him in there. I'm going to try and drop a ghost shrimp in there this evening and see if he'll take it. I found some amphipods on Aquarium Depot and I'll get those if he doesn't eat the ghost. Did you get the black worms from your lfs?

lion king · Oct 30, 2022

Seachelle said:
Thank you for your detailed response! My little guy has found a hidey hole back behind the rock and I can't see him in there. I'm going to try and drop a ghost shrimp in there this evening and see if he'll take it. I found some amphipods on Aquarium Depot and I'll get those if he doesn't eat the ghost. Did you get the black worms from your lfs?

Yes my lfs has black worms. If you have ghosties small enough, don't worry about the amphipods. I think AD is where I got amphipods from when I hatched some cuttleffish. Ghosties and guppies can both live in salt water, so at sundown I would drop a couple of ghosties and a guppy in. Does your lfs carry live brine shrimp, you can squirt some of those in his direction. Initially you have to baby them a bit until they settle in, try to target everything into their direction. Once you get some in them, it will be likely likly they will take some other foods like mysis and Hikari mega marine mix from a pipette. Be careful not pollute your tank trying to feed them, pull out any dead ghosties as soon as you see them.

Seachelle · Nov 9, 2022

lion king said:
Yes my lfs has black worms. If you have ghosties small enough, don't worry about the amphipods. I think AD is where I got amphipods from when I hatched some cuttleffish. Ghosties and guppies can both live in salt water, so at sundown I would drop a couple of ghosties and a guppy in. Does your lfs carry live brine shrimp, you can squirt some of those in his direction. Initially you have to baby them a bit until they settle in, try to target everything into their direction. Once you get some in them, it will be likely likly they will take some other foods like mysis and Hikari mega marine mix from a pipette. Be careful not pollute your tank trying to feed them, pull out any dead ghosties as soon as you see them.

So I've had my little guy for about 2 weeks now. I was giving him ghost shrimp, but IDK if he ate them, because I never saw him do it. I'm guessing he must have, because in the morning, the shrimp were gone and recently I've seen 2 fishy poops, and he's the only one in the tank.

I just got some amphipods and copepods to put in the tank, but I don't know how long those will last. I did see him gobble down 4 or 5 of them within a minute, so I guess he was hungry.

I've been trying to feed him frozen, but so far, he hasn't taken anything. I'm a little afraid of polluting the tank, since it's only 6 gallons. Should I just keep trying with the frozen? Buying amphipods is not really sustainable long term - they are pretty expensive.

Thanks!

lion king · Nov 9, 2022

Seachelle said:
So I've had my little guy for about 2 weeks now. I was giving him ghost shrimp, but IDK if he ate them, because I never saw him do it. I'm guessing he must have, because in the morning, the shrimp were gone and recently I've seen 2 fishy poops, and he's the only one in the tank.

I just got some amphipods and copepods to put in the tank, but I don't know how long those will last. I did see him gobble down 4 or 5 of them within a minute, so I guess he was hungry.

I've been trying to feed him frozen, but so far, he hasn't taken anything. I'm a little afraid of polluting the tank, since it's only 6 gallons. Should I just keep trying with the frozen? Buying amphipods is not really sustainable long term - they are pretty expensive.

Thanks!

By the time he runs out of pods he should be taking other foods. Give it at least a few days before offering again, the pods would keep him for a while. Since he's had some pods and likely ghosties he's going to be fine, and in reality is probably fine for a couple of weeks. It really only takes an initial primer with the pods to get them settled. Try PE mysis and Hikari mega marine for frozen foods, you can also finely mince seafood ypu may be eating yourself like salmon, shrimp, scallops, mussels. Check the tank for dead ghosties as they can wedge into crevices, always remove anything dead. They don't have to eat every day and be careful of polluting, offer very minimal amounts until you get a real sign of what they are eating.