Warty Frogfish.
Hey everyone,
My wall calendar features a different fish every month & all July I've been looking at this photo:
This, friends, is Antennarius Maculatus; commonly known as the Warty Frogfish or Clown Frogfish.
At first I was repulsed by the picture & cringed every time I saw it, then I became intrigued, and after some research, I really like the little things.
Frogfish are a family, Antennariidae, or anglerfish. They are found in tropical oceans and seas around the world. The warty frogfish (Antennarius Maculatus) is a less commonly encountered species from the Indo-west Pacific. This species is highly variable and typicaly grows no larger than 5.9 inches (15.0 cm.) It has warty skin which ranges in color from brown, grey, red, orange, pink, yellow, cream or white. Adults can also slowly change from one color to another until their skin matches the color of their surroundings. I wish I could do that!
These bottom-dwellers have hand-like pectoral fins which can grip the rocks, coral & sponges in the tropical reefs they call home.
...or, with the right kind of current, they might occasionally find themselves just floating along...
Frogfish are generally small with large globose heads. They can be distinguished from other anglerfish by the three extended dorsal spines on their heads, with the forward-most one (called the illicium) serving as a sort of fishing rod with a fleshy lure-like appendage (called an esca) at the end. The Warty Frogfish will perch on live rock and blend in with its surroundings. Using its esca, it then lures small fishes and crustaceans close enough to ambush them. When feeding, the frogfish engulf their prey with a reflex that is said to be the fastest "gape and suck" of any fish, it takes only a six-thousandths of a second, which is faster than a scorpionfish or a stonefish (15 msec).
Apparently, since the Warty Frogfish is harmless to humans, it can be kept in aquariums. On the flipside, this fish is highly predatory toward other fish & capable of consuming fish close to its own size, WHOLE!
As a result, an enthusiast would want to keep the Warty Frogfish either with larger tankmates, or in its own tank.
As a final note, I'd like to ad that while I believe the YouTube videos to be of Warty Frogfish, it was hard for me to tell, so there is a chance they may be a very similar species.
Thank you all for reading! It was fun to share!
My wall calendar features a different fish every month & all July I've been looking at this photo:
This, friends, is Antennarius Maculatus; commonly known as the Warty Frogfish or Clown Frogfish.
At first I was repulsed by the picture & cringed every time I saw it, then I became intrigued, and after some research, I really like the little things.
Frogfish are a family, Antennariidae, or anglerfish. They are found in tropical oceans and seas around the world. The warty frogfish (Antennarius Maculatus) is a less commonly encountered species from the Indo-west Pacific. This species is highly variable and typicaly grows no larger than 5.9 inches (15.0 cm.) It has warty skin which ranges in color from brown, grey, red, orange, pink, yellow, cream or white. Adults can also slowly change from one color to another until their skin matches the color of their surroundings. I wish I could do that!
These bottom-dwellers have hand-like pectoral fins which can grip the rocks, coral & sponges in the tropical reefs they call home.
...or, with the right kind of current, they might occasionally find themselves just floating along...
Click to view Frogfish are generally small with large globose heads. They can be distinguished from other anglerfish by the three extended dorsal spines on their heads, with the forward-most one (called the illicium) serving as a sort of fishing rod with a fleshy lure-like appendage (called an esca) at the end. The Warty Frogfish will perch on live rock and blend in with its surroundings. Using its esca, it then lures small fishes and crustaceans close enough to ambush them. When feeding, the frogfish engulf their prey with a reflex that is said to be the fastest "gape and suck" of any fish, it takes only a six-thousandths of a second, which is faster than a scorpionfish or a stonefish (15 msec).
Apparently, since the Warty Frogfish is harmless to humans, it can be kept in aquariums. On the flipside, this fish is highly predatory toward other fish & capable of consuming fish close to its own size, WHOLE!
As a result, an enthusiast would want to keep the Warty Frogfish either with larger tankmates, or in its own tank.
As a final note, I'd like to ad that while I believe the YouTube videos to be of Warty Frogfish, it was hard for me to tell, so there is a chance they may be a very similar species.
Thank you all for reading! It was fun to share!