angler fish

[Newjack]

I just saw a short vid of someone having an angler fish in there reef tank... Has anyone every had one? they were feeding it goldfish....

 

[blackbeltmom]

I have seen them in a reef, but if you plan on keeping any other fish, I would not recommend it. They will eat fish, even those that you would think were too large for them......

 

[Newjack]

im not planning on getting one im just curiouse

 

[BigAl07]

I had one about 6 months ago in my reef tank. Unfortunately it didn't live more than a week for some reason and I didn't get another one.

 

[ReefApprentice]

Never have owned one but I would like to in the future. Any fish that's smaller than it is food ,along with fish up to 2x its size. They are recommended for tanks around 30 gallons. Their is a list of tankmates that can live with them but its extremely short. Anything like a trigger, puffer, or a fish that picks at rocks might pick at, harass, or tear off the esca of the angler. They also usually only consume live feeders like ghost shrimp and chromis but should be weaned onto frozen ASAP. They also can literally be fed too much that the food sits in its stomach and rots. Most of the time they are put in a species dedicated tank with corals and sessile inverts. But overall I think anglers are one of my favorite fish, one that I hope to own someday.

 

[SantaMonicaHelp]

Well, if you go beyond "just curious" and get yourself one, let us know how it goes!

 

[Paul B]

I had dozens of them, very cool animal but they hardly move, reminds me of a girl I used to date in Colorado. I usually fed them live grass shrimp that I can collect here in NY by the thousands. If I didn't have any shrimp I would inject some guppies with cod liver oil and feed them. They didn't seem to care that they were not their normal food. Some of them also eat earthworms.

 

[Newjack]

lol maybe one day when I get a bigger tank ill try it out lol

 

[Paul B]

You can put one in a tiny tank as they just sit there and get fat.

 

[SantaMonicaHelp]

I had dozens of them, very cool animal but they hardly move, reminds me of a girl I used to date in Colorado.

Can't stop laughing.

 

[Eck36]

So what could you have for a cuc, do they bother snails or just shrimp?

 

[Paul B]

I have never seen them eat snails, but anything that does not have a hard shell, they will eat. They will also eat small crabs but I think snails would be to hard for them

 

[Eck36]

Thanks Paul, just wanted to know how to keep my tank somewhat tidy if I do an angler tank. Although I do care less about the small stuff now, thanks to you.