Angler Fish Opinion

[Dreichler]

So I went to my LFS and they got in two of these really really small anglers.  They're each maybe about the size of a quarter.  I've been looking into getting an angler for a long time and this is probably the time to do it.  I won't have any other fish in with him, just a full mixed reef and him.  My only concern is how often should I feed him at this stage?  I've been reading that you should feed them once a day (at least?) and other places say every 2-3 days is good.  Food will not be an issue as I will be feeding him very small live fish or shrimp, and working him into frozen food.  But overall, how often should he be fed?  Also, I see a ton of mixed ideas about them being venomous? 

[RayWhisperer]

Afaik, they aren't venomous. I don't see how they could be.

 

overfeeding can be a problem with all anglers. I would stick to once every 2/3 days. Unless you give it something larger to eat, then I'd leave it be for 4/5 days.

[Dreichler]

10 hours ago, RayWhisperer said:

Afaik, they aren't venomous. I don't see how they could be.

 

overfeeding can be a problem with all anglers. I would stick to once every 2/3 days. Unless you give it something larger to eat, then I'd leave it be for 4/5 days.

Thanks!  At this stage with him being so small, what do you think would be the best thing for him to eat?  I live in south Florida so I have just about everything aquatic readily available.

[samnaz]

Get him! He's adorable. They are my favorite fish and I've always wanted one. I currently have 3 sexy shrimp that'd get eaten if I added an angler so I gotta wait until they're gone to get one.

 

Sorry I don't have any advice regarding feeding. I've read once a day but that's about the extent of my knowledge at this point. 

 

Please let us know if/when you get em, and post pics ?

[RayWhisperer]

Shore shrimp, marsh mollies, female fiddlers, ghost crabs, pretty much whatever is small that you can find.

[Dreichler]

5 hours ago, RayWhisperer said:

Shore shrimp, marsh mollies, female fiddlers, ghost crabs, pretty much whatever is small that you can find.

If they're freshwater or brackish water feeders, can I just drop them in the main display with him and they'll be okay or do they need to be acclimated completely before I can even feed him?  Would this be a good option-  Get long tweezers and just hold each little fish or shrimp alive right in front of him? 

[RayWhisperer]

Fresh and brackish are fine, provided they aren't your long term solution to feeding. As far as tweezers go, just get it feeding first. Try that stuff out after it's been in the tank a while, and had a chance to gain a bit of weight.

Being in Florida, couldn't you just go to the beach and cast a net?

[Weetabix7]

At his size, I'd say feed every other day. 

You don't go to Fish's Paradise on Hallandale Bch. Blvd by any chance, do you?

I used to work there long ago and got my first Angler from there, looked similar to the pic you posted tho very slightly bigger. 

[Dreichler]

41 minutes ago, RayWhisperer said:

Fresh and brackish are fine, provided they aren't your long term solution to feeding. As far as tweezers go, just get it feeding first. Try that stuff out after it's been in the tank a while, and had a chance to gain a bit of weight.

Being in Florida, couldn't you just go to the beach and cast a net?

So I can honestly just collect some tiny fish from the beach and feed them to him?  That would be convenient.  Also, for live food, would it be possible to just get a small box with flow holes and keep it in my back chambers where there's plenty of flow and keep the live food in there?

38 minutes ago, Weetabix7 said:

At his size, I'd say feed every other day. 

You don't go to Fish's Paradise on Hallandale Bch. Blvd by any chance, do you?

I used to work there long ago and got my first Angler from there, looked similar to the pic you posted tho very slightly bigger. 

I don't go there.  I live more north up in the Boca area.  I usually go to Barrier Reef in Boca, PFK in Coral Springs, or Reef Addiction in Coral Springs.  How was caring for your angler?  How long did it live?

[Weetabix7]

13 minutes ago, Dreichler said:

So I can honestly just collect some tiny fish from the beach and feed them to him?  That would be convenient.  Also, for live food, would it be possible to just get a small box with flow holes and keep it in my back chambers where there's plenty of flow and keep the live food in there?

I don't go there.  I live more north up in the Boca area.  I usually go to Barrier Reef in Boca, PFK in Coral Springs, or Reef Addiction in Coral Springs.  How was caring for your angler?  How long did it live?

 

Ahhh, I see. 

This was a long time ago, like mebbe 1995 or '96 so my memory is a little fuzzy. 

I remember feeding live feeders of some sort and I'm not totally sure how long it lived, maybe a year or two. 

Loved that fish, one of my favorite I've ever had. 

You should definitely be able to feed it tiny fish from the beach, and your idea for keeping them in a box with holes in your sump should work as well. 

Good luck!!

[Dreichler]

1 hour ago, Weetabix7 said:

 

Ahhh, I see. 

This was a long time ago, like mebbe 1995 or '96 so my memory is a little fuzzy. 

I remember feeding live feeders of some sort and I'm not totally sure how long it lived, maybe a year or two. 

Loved that fish, one of my favorite I've ever had. 

You should definitely be able to feed it tiny fish from the beach, and your idea for keeping them in a box with holes in your sump should work as well. 

Good luck!!

Thanks!  Will look into it.  Thanks for info.

[jambon]

I have had more than one angler over the yrs and had not much luck with them. 

First thing to keep in mind is when they are caught from the tank.. they gulp air and have a hard time expelling it, hence there bouancy is messed up. My last one I fed peppermint shrimp and damsels. It was doing well for about 6 weeks and one day I found it wedged in the live rock lifeless. 

It is one of my favorite fish still. I think a tank that has natural colors to allow the fish to blend in and saltwater fish/ crustaceans as food. They can and will eat things close to there size but I think that would take a while to digest. The one in the photo is awesome. 

I couldn't resist that! 

Good luck

[Thunder Goose]

I don't know about Angler Fish but several of my invertebrates that I target feed have learned to ID the long tweezers and come running when they're in the tank. It's fun to watch once you get them trained.

 

Good luck with this guy. I don't know much about them except that they can be difficult to keep. It's great that you can just go down to the shore and get live food. I'm a big fan of diversity in food!