Pygmy Anglers

kinetic

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Who here keeps pygmy anglers?

These two are on my wish list:
Antennatus Linearis
Antennatus Tuberosus

Show yours off!
 

lion king

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I have never seen them live more than several weeks at best. I'm sure some have had success, I've just never seen it.
 
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kinetic

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I know, I saw those which is why I started the thread.

I searched on R2R and didn't see anyone mention them. I checked on nano reef and a few people talk about them, but don't actually share anything about them.

The linearus looks really cool, but I'm still waiting on a red one like I've seen with the Tubers.
 

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What was the issue with them? Was it they weren't eating?

I think it must be a combination of issues that occur during collection and transport. Whether they pick up parasites or other diseases, even the ones that eat, stop eating in a short while and die. I'm not familiar with any making it through any type of meds, so you just have to roll the dice with them.

That linearis looks super cool.
 
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kinetic

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I think it must be a combination of issues that occur during collection and transport. Whether they pick up parasites or other diseases, even the ones that eat, stop eating in a short while and die. I'm not familiar with any making it through any type of meds, so you just have to roll the dice with them.

That linearis looks super cool.

That's very interesting. I know people who have had great success with maculatus and other anglers, but never the small ones. I'll try to get my tiny 2.6g tank setup and try it out.
 

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That's very interesting. I know people who have had great success with maculatus and other anglers, but never the small ones. I'll try to get my tiny 2.6g tank setup and try it out.

I've kept the 2 two you mentioned and have done extensive research following dozens over a few years that came into my several lfs. I have friends that have keep few as well. I would not call it great success. None of ever had one live longer than 3 years, and that was me, on 3 occasions. Most of these guys die rather quickly as well, usually from people not wanting to keep them on live diets, keeping them with improper tank mates, or lacking in their husbandry as they get bored. But the greatest majority die from the get go, usually not eating at all, a very high mortality rate.

And the misconception of because they tend to be sedentary you can keep them in tiny tanks. They are more active than you think, mine always took at least daily swims if not a few burst through the day. The confirmed environment with lack of room for activity may also lead to digestion issues, which may account for a leading cause in premature death.
 

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Horrible vids: one of my painted anglers(Antennarius pictus) taking his evening swim, he would do this most every evening after the white light went off. I kept him for over 2.5 years. no matter how you manage to not overfeed, it seems as if the gases in their gut will build up anyway. Giving them room to roam seems to help, another tip may be to keep the mg up around 1300 as well. Regardless I never managed to hit the 3 year mark, just under with all my attempts. Most others barely kept them a few months. Well over 90% never ate or just ate a few times then died.


A warty(Antennarius maculatus) would take a few cruises like this through the day, I kept him just shy of 3 years as well. Any example I've seen of people keeping them is very small tanks with no room to roam, and feeding them dead food from a stick, never lasted more than a few months at best.


I'm not an expert, just a hobbyist that took alot of time researching these guys, I'm sure you'll find some with opposing opinions and maybe even some who had "great" success. If so that will be, one out of thousands; for the most part these guys should be left in the ocean.
 
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kinetic

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Thank you so much for sharing this all! I’ve been learning about anglers for years now, though never kept one myself. I wonder if the 2.6g will be too small. I can definitely go bigger, just had this really beautiful tank sitting here and thought it might be good.

I’ll keep researching a bit before pulling the trigger.
 
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kinetic

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I contacted LA to see how long they've had the angler, and if it's eating anything. Sometimes they mention how well a fish is eating in diver's den, but they don't really for anglers. Maybe they don't even try?

14-day guarantee seems to be nice, especially since the shipping would be free on such a pricey fish. I would do everything I could to keep it alive, but knowing the track record, that guarantee does look nice.

Quick questions for the experts:

1. Is it true that anglers should never be exposed to air? So even transferring to a QT you'd have to still dump some of LA's water in? Just wary of introducing LiveAquaria's water, but I guess it can't be helped and that's what a QT is for.
2. Would they survive medication, like Metroplex and Prazipro?
 

lion king

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I contacted LA to see how long they've had the angler, and if it's eating anything. Sometimes they mention how well a fish is eating in diver's den, but they don't really for anglers. Maybe they don't even try?

14-day guarantee seems to be nice, especially since the shipping would be free on such a pricey fish. I would do everything I could to keep it alive, but knowing the track record, that guarantee does look nice.

Quick questions for the experts:

1. Is it true that anglers should never be exposed to air? So even transferring to a QT you'd have to still dump some of LA's water in? Just wary of introducing LiveAquaria's water, but I guess it can't be helped and that's what a QT is for.
2. Would they survive medication, like Metroplex and Prazipro?

Yes you never expose anglers to air, they can gulp air and it can be deadly to them. And I have never seen an angler survive any medication. I have never personally administered any meds so I can't verify the protocol followed that I've observed. They also have such a high mortality rate anyway, that I also couldn't be absolutely sure that the meds killed them.

That 14 day guarantee is like a loose leader, an angler could go 2 months without eating and just languishing on and then die. DD used to be a good place to get an angler, they would usually post on their profile that they were eating live ghost shrimp.
 
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kinetic

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LiveAquaria gave me a somewhat generic response. They say all specimens have been around for 2 weeks or more (up to a few months for more sensitive ones). He says the anglers are always feeding on live ghost shrimp and frozen silversides.

I was hoping they would be more specific with the actual fish, rather than cut and pasting from a knowledgebase. I responded asking if this angler was actually eating ghost shrimp and silversides (can one this small even eat a silverside? I mean I guess I've seen other frogfish eat something almost as big as their bodies). We'll see!
 

lion king

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LiveAquaria gave me a somewhat generic response. They say all specimens have been around for 2 weeks or more (up to a few months for more sensitive ones). He says the anglers are always feeding on live ghost shrimp and frozen silversides.

I was hoping they would be more specific with the actual fish, rather than cut and pasting from a knowledgebase. I responded asking if this angler was actually eating ghost shrimp and silversides (can one this small even eat a silverside? I mean I guess I've seen other frogfish eat something almost as big as their bodies). We'll see!

Anglers can and will eat something as large as themselves, and even try to eat something larger. This usually ends with a dead angler, that;s how I lost my 1st painted angler. It;s better to feed them a few smaller items than one large one.
 

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