angler question

[lanacane214]

got this bad boy from fellow M.R member frankie bones(very nice fellow).he didnt eat the first couple of days,finally he started eating ghost shrimp and guppies.is it true that fresh water fish could make him sick?what else could i feed him besides 5 dollar damsels.he loves the guppies the first one that i put in there he swims up to him and eats him almost chasing him very funny i would appreciate any advice thanks

 

[reefrookie]

Nice fish. Good luck

 

[George]

Wish mine was as pretty as yours! Mine is just a nondescript tan -- blends right in with his favorite rock perch.

Anyway... you need to do some fish training! I feed mine very inexpensively.

I was told by the person I bought him from that he was trained to eat shrimp off a stick -- well, he wouldn't eat for a whole week! Could have been my technique, I don't know -- but when I learned to cut the shrimp in the rough shape of a fish, and wiggle it like it was swimming, he started taking it. From that we graduated to raw clam strips... and then... are you ready for this?... strips of raw chicken, pork and beef!!! LOL

I'm sure the seafood is better for him than that other stuff, but it's good to know he'll eat it in a pinch if I'm out of shrimp and clam.

Simply buy a few clams and shrimp at your seafood market and freeze them -- the clams open right up when thawed. Remember to cut strips rather than hunks, stick the point of a skewer in them and wiggle in a swimming motion -- it also helps if you touch it to his "bait." If he grabs the end of the skewer, don't yank it -- just gently work it out of his mouth.

Hope this helps!

George
--

 

[tomtoothdoc]

buy some frozen silversides from the lfs. thaw one out and use a tong or a skewer stick and wiggle the fish in front of him. make the movement toward his lure and draw it away and he should snap at it. may take a few times to get him to learn. if he doesn't eat it then throw it away and thaw a new one and try the next day. don't over feed it. once or twice a week is plenty. better to a little underfeed so he'll want to eat every single time.
mine would swim right up and perch near the top whenever he sees the feeding tong. gl.

 

[Exotic Reef]

"but when I learned to cut the shrimp in the rough shape of a fish, and wiggle it like it was swimming, "

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

George
--[/QUOTE]

 

[tangy84]

Feed a guppy and cut half a silverside. put the half on a skewer or a feeding stick (I had a clear feeding stick) and wiggle it so he realise it's food and feed him in the same feeding, and after that just ween him to eating just frozen food.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Fresh water fish have no nutritional value for saltwater fish, that is unless you gut load it with mysis or cyclopeeze. All the suggestions above are fine. I just used to get damsels and let the angler pick them off as he needed them.

 

[lfsmarineguy]

He looks pretty small from the picture. Guppies and other small feeder fish are ok to use to initiate feeding in the tank but I wouldn't offer them continuously. Training frogs isn't easy and you have to have patience with them. Some will eat frozen on day one and others will seem to take forever.

If it is a small one I would use some mysis shrimp and a turkey baster. Put the mysis in the tank near the fish and use the baster gently to create a small amount of flow so the mysis move around just enough to look like they might be alive. If you can get the frog interested it will almost definitely strike.

Using a feeding stick for an extended period and waving food in their face can stress the fish and I will only use a stick for a few minutes at a time. They can consume huge food items so they don't really need to eat everyday. I would come up with a schedule and stick to it so you aren't freaking out the fish and working against yourself. Eventually you should be able to hand feed the frog silversides once he's comfortable.