has anyone here kept a brotula?

[ReeferHD]

hey guys!

my LFS has 2 brotulas at the moment. an orange one and a black one, I've been doing research on them but care for them seems to be contradicting depending on the source. but first-hand experiences I've read from old forums say they aren't difficult to care for. it seems like the black one hides under ledges and overhangs while the orange one prefers to occupy caves, and they're also both nocturnal, I'm going back tomorrow to see if they are eating. they also seem to have different facial structures which leads me to believe they live in different environments.
have any of you guys kept them? they're so cool!

 

[VintageReefer]

I have never heard of this. Let’s bring in an expert @ISpeakForTheSeas

 

[Sigmund]

I kept a yellow one years ago. I did not find it hard to care for, was no issues feeding it, bothered nothing, nothing bothered it. At the time had a 125 Reef with lots of ledges and caves. Would occasionally see it swimming from one hiding place to another. I always liked species that are reclusive, these definitely are. I wouldn’t get it unless your tank has lots of hiding spits and then don't be disappointed if you hardly ever see it.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

hey guys!

my LFS has 2 brotulas at the moment. an orange one and a black one, I've been doing research on them but care for them seems to be contradicting depending on the source. but first-hand experiences I've read from old forums say they aren't difficult to care for. it seems like the black one hides under ledges and overhangs while the orange one prefers to occupy caves, and they're also both nocturnal, I'm going back tomorrow to see if they are eating. they also seem to have different facial structures which leads me to believe they live in different environments.
have any of you guys kept them? they're so cool!

I’ve kept both. Golds are hardier than blacks. You may need fortified live baby brine to get a black brotula feeding. Blacks are a lot cooler though!

 

[Sigmund]

Probably had it gor a few years. Not sure when i lost it, as sometimes wouldn't see it for weeks. At some point i just assumed it was still there, stopped looking for it. When i broke the tank down, couldnt find it, so assumed i lost it.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I kept a yellow one years ago. I did not find it hard to care for, was no issues feeding it, bothered nothing, nothing bothered it. At the time had a 125 Reef with lots of ledges and caves. Would occasionally see it swimming from one hiding place to another. I always liked species that are reclusive, these definitely are. I wouldn’t get it unless your tank has lots of hiding spits and then don't be disappointed if you hardly ever see it.

I found an excerpt from I book I wrote that has a section on black brotula. Look at the ninth post at this old link:

Black Brotula; Stygnobrotula latebricola - Reef Central Online Community

Black Brotula; Stygnobrotula latebricola Advanced Topics

www.reefcentral.com

 

[ReeferHD]

I kept a yellow one years ago. I did not find it hard to care for, was no issues feeding it, bothered nothing, nothing bothered it. At the time had a 125 Reef with lots of ledges and caves. Would occasionally see it swimming from one hiding place to another. I always liked species that are reclusive, these definitely are. I wouldn’t get it unless your tank has lots of hiding spits and then don't be disappointed if you hardly ever see it.

awesome, my tank is a 40 breeder with lots of peaceful fish, I recently rehomed my marine betta that outgrew it and it seems like their behavior is quite similar minus the aggressiveness, I'll keep you updated on them!

I found an excerpt from I book I wrote that has a section on black brotula. Look at the ninth post at this old link:

Black Brotula; Stygnobrotula latebricola - Reef Central Online Community

Black Brotula; Stygnobrotula latebricola Advanced Topics

www.reefcentral.com

yeah I saw that forum! the black one at my LFS looks pretty healthy I'd say, fins all intact and actively swimming around, wasn't very timid at all. I'm going to ask them to feed it baby brine and hopefully it takes it, I'm pretty confident the yellow one will do well after seeing other people's experiences online, I'll keep you updated!

 

[Fishfreak2009]

I kept a male/female pair of yellows for over a year. Only saw them moving around (slinking between caves) if I looked at the tank with a flashlight in the dark between 1-3 AM. SUPER reclusive, but always full bellied. Watched them eat bristleworms more than once.

Both went MIA when the holding tank they were in while I remodeled my dining room crashed from an anemone nuking itself.

 

[Paul B]

I had a yellow "Cusk Eel" for 18 years and killed it by accident. I almost never saw that fish as it hid constantly. I also never saw it eat. I would only occasionally see it if I looked at the tank with a flashlight in the dark.

If you have a tank full of rocks and hiding places, you will never see this fish.

I removed a large rock and didn't know the 6" fish was in it until the next day when I found him dead.

 

[ReeferHD]

I had a yellow "Cusk Eel" for 18 years and killed it by accident. I almost never saw that fish as it hid constantly. I also never saw it eat. I would only occasionally see it if I looked at the tank with a flashlight in the dark.

If you have a tank full of rocks and hiding places, you will never see this fish.

I removed a large rock and didn't know the 6" fish was in it until the next day when I found him dead.

18 years! I didn't think they could live that long, I also don't really mind if I don't see it often, I love odd fish and I think this would be a pretty interesting addition to my tank, thanks paul

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I have never heard of this. Let’s bring in an expert @ISpeakForTheSeas

I haven't heard much on the black ones (Jay has good info there), but the experiences people have shared with the yellow one sounds consistent with everything I've heard on those - they're reportedly extremely reclusive (a lot of people report regretting getting these or not having any idea when they died in their tanks because of how reclusive they can be).

I don't have much info to share beyond that other than to say that there's a good deal of confusion as to which species it actually is: it's commonly known in the hobby as the Gold/Yellow/Dusky Brotulid or Cusk Eel (as a note, the name "Dusky Brotulid" is not to be confused with the Dusky Brotula, which is a different fish altogether), but the scientific name is under debate. Some people believe it to be Diancistrus fuscus, while others believe it to be an unidentified Dinematichthys species.

Either way, they're from similar habitats, and there's very, very little info available on these species from the scientific community. So, if you get one (or more), the more info you can gather on it, the better.

 

[ReeferHD]

update: I put them on hold this morning and when I went they only had the black one, told me the orange one (which I was mainly interested in) had passed this morning. I ended up not getting the black one because It wasn't eating and I don't currently have the time to wean it onto brine or live mysis, though they are going to try and get me another orange one next time they order from that wholesaler. it's frustrating but it was out of my control. when they have another one I'll definitely let you guys know.