Angler questions

Does anybody know much about Angler fish? I saw a bunch of them in my lfs last shipment. They're so ugly I want one, they also look all goofy with their little arm and feet-like fins. How large do they get, the lfs guy dais only 6 or 8 inches but they'll eat anything up to 4". Just curious if anybody had any info. Also, I have a 55g, would he be okay in there or does he need a bigger tank?
 
with 25 people reading thins thing, I hope somebody knows something about Anglers.... and if you have a friend who knows anything about them, please post any information possible - Thanks
 
If you can get me the latin name for the individuals you have at your lfs, i can probably be of more help. Right now i can get you some general info about anglerfish (also called frogfish)
of the family Antennariidae. As you know these fish will take up their niche on the aquarium floor and not move much. Depending on the species, they can be from 2 to 15 inches in length. As far as the appropriate tank set up goes, this will be varied by species. Some live in shallow reefs while others can be found to depths of up to 45m. i would strongly advise against any of the deep water species. My reasons for this is while being collected they are pulled up through a great difference in water pressure quite rapidly which will have negative (possibly life threatening) results which may not be apparent during purchase time.
You will need to provide cover (LR...ect...)
and if at all possible something that matches the angler's cryptic coloration. this will greatly help with acclimation and feeding. As far as feeding goes anglers have the fastest feeding response of all vertebrates. one source notes up to 1/4000 of a second. They can eat fish longer than their own bodies so be careful with tankmates. When feeding it helps to move the food around the fish as it is alive. Anglers may be territorial depending on species, tank size..ect... feed small fish, shrimp, shellfish meat, and squid. pieces of beef heart can also be offered but i wouldn't feed too much of this.
anyway, this is about all the info (without getting overly scientific) i can give you without knowing the exact species. hopefully this helped a little...
 
I've become very interested in the Wartskin Frogfish, but haven't found a ton of information, so again, any mopre information would be great, Thanks
 
Try doing a search on a service such as yahoo under Antennarius maculatus. You should find plenty of info on them that way. The only thing i can tell you is real basic. They grow up to 6 inches. so any other fish must be big enough not to be swallowed. Any thin bodied fish 8 inches or less may likely become a meal if you have a fully grown individual. You should have live rock or something to provide cover and a place they can perch themselves on. Water quality for these guys should be relatively high. (don't put in with real messy feeders unles you have more than adequate filtration, and be sure that your tank is well established before adding)
 
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