Frogfish maybe swallowed air?

[sphelps]

Originally Posted by fishoholic

Just went to read up on swim bladder issues with frogfish and the only frogfish that has a swim bladder is a sargassum frogfish, and mine isn't a sargassum frogfish.

Interesting, perhaps it is some kind of trapped gas then. Is it actually having problems staying down?

[paddyob]

Following. Never heard of anybody keeping these successfully. Not for long anyhow.

Money grab fish.

[fishoholic]

Originally Posted by sphelps

Interesting, perhaps it is some kind of trapped gas then. Is it actually having problems staying down?

Yep, any time he moves out from under the macro alage he floats up to the top of the tank. He dives right back down again but continues to float back up and around until he manovers himself under the algae. I'm guessing the algae acts as a weight to hold him down

[sphelps]

Well I think you nothing to loose really, seeing how it obviously floats and has no swim bladder it must be trap air. Use a net and see if you can get it to thrash around a bunch again. Message its belly and do whatever you can but don't freak out

Not sure there's anything else you can try, I doubt just leaving it will pay off. Best to keep trying something.

[fishoholic]

Originally Posted by sphelps

Well I think you nothing to loose really, seeing how it obviously floats and has no swim bladder it must be trap air. Use a net and see if you can get it to thrash around a bunch again. Message its belly and do whatever you can but don't freak out

Not sure there's anything else you can try, I doubt just leaving it will pay off. Best to keep trying something.

Easy for you to say when it's not your figure right by it's mouth however I will most likely try it later on today.

[sphelps]

hehe, I don't think there defense involves biting. Honestly I'd just try getting it to trash around in a net or something. Or at least do that long enough so it's pretty tired before trying to grab the tail.

[FitoPharmer]

How much are you feeding him?

When I first read up on frog fish, a very specific warning was included to not over feed them or else the built up digestion gasses will cause them to float, sometimes to the point of death.

HTH

[whatcaneyedo]

Unfortunately Michael doesn't have a whole lot on this problem in his book.

From Scott Michael's Reef Fishes Vol 1 page 338
"Frogfishes have the potentially suicidal habit of ingesting air, especially during shipping or when they are lifted from the water. For this reason, it is extremely important to keep them submerged. If you need to transfer an individual from one tank to another, use a specimen container not a net to catch and move it. If they are being transported from the store to your home, the water and the frogfish should be carefully poured from the specimen container into a plastic fish bag. When you get home, acclimate the fish, discard some of the water in the bag, then submerge the bag opening and release the frogfish into the aquarium. Although I usually do not recommend adding water from a dealer's aquarium to your own, in this case of a frogfish it is warranted. If your frogfish ingests air during the transfer, there is not much you can do. They will often succeed in expelling the air on their own, but it is not uncommon for specimens to float around until they die."

[fishoholic]

Originally Posted by FitoPharmer

How much are you feeding him?

When I first read up on frog fish, a very specific warning was included to not over feed them or else the built up digestion gasses will cause them to float, sometimes to the point of death.

HTH

This could be the problem, I fed him krill every other day, sometimes two pieces Any ideas on how to help him if the issue is him being overfed? He hasn't eaten in 4-5 days now so maybe the gas will work it's way out on it's own? In the future I will feed less.

Good info whatcaneyedo. I remembered reading that before I bought my frogfish and I told the lfs employee to make sure he wasn't exposed to air during the transfer, I also watched when he was bagged to make sure he wasn't and I've had him for over three months now.

[FitoPharmer]

Just cut back on his food, and make sure he is not ingesting anything in the tank. If you feed him less and his buoyancy is no longer a problem, then you know for sure it was the issue.