Same deal occurs with large freshwater catfish(and the gulper cat) and gars yet they are commonly kept. I can see them being risky to your fingers though. Maybe a small species would work in a species only tank. They may also only accept live fish as food, although I don't see a reason why they can't be weaned onto frozen.Yes, they eat The Dory, The Nemo, and probably even Sponge Bob! They have significant dentition that could rip a hole outta a thick glove.
I don't think I have ever seen one offered for sale but I have caught them in off shore trawls now and again.
needly teeth they've got. It'd trigger my trypanophobia if they weren't curved and translucent. There are also other groups under aulopiforms that I don't know why no one keep though, such as the lizardfish sanddivers(Pseudotrichonotus).
They are certainly an interesting predator but they have not caught on like Lionfish, triggers, groupers. I think they would eat a ton of fresh live food and be messy which may explain why they have not been caught up in the trade?
Sad. They're such awesome looking fish. Even getting some bombay ducks in from the food trade would be great, although they seem more pelagic than the rest.
I wonder how much food (feeding one large frozen fish a week or small items nX's/day) would be required to keep one long term? Questions like this make me sad I don't live in the tropics near a coral reef where I could catch one and get some answers to their care requirements in captivity.
I'd think similar to a frogfish or lionfish, especially for benthic species. The ones I like are ambush predators that don't seem to eat often. Bombay ducks seem to be filter feeders or small prey specialists? and a lancetfish would probably be much the same, but much larger.
Predators are usually my favorite things to keep, especially if they fertilized things or did pest control. Back in my fresh days I kept a stingray that ate pellet and shrimp, and he acted like a pancake roomba. Might be the reason I want a horseshoe crab now.
