Frogfish maybe swallowed air?

[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."

[paddyob]

Crazy. Good info.

Originally Posted by 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.

[fishoholic]

Originally Posted by 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.

Other then stomatella snails and pods there isn't anything in tank for him to eat. Definitely will cut back on future feedings.

[Delphinus]

How's the froggie doing now Laurie?

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

I feed only twice a week on average. Either some pieces of market prawns or rehydrated FD shrimp. If I feed more frequently, he doesn't have a strong feeding response. He'll eat 4 to 6 small FD shrimp or 3 small pieces of prawn at one sitting.

[fishoholic]

Originally Posted by Delphinus

How's the froggie doing now Laurie?

He's alive but looking skinny. Hasn't eaten at all, so I've been debating adding a damsel to the tank for him to try to eat. Tried burping the air out again and rubbed his tummy briefly but it didn't seem to help. Actually seemed to make things worse, right after he floated to the top and I think he sucked some air

Was talking to fellow reefers yesterday and they asked about the flow, and when I mentioned there isn't a lot, they wondered about the amount of oxygen in the water. So I added a bubblier just in case.

[fishytime]

Originally Posted by fishoholic

Was talking to fellow reefers yesterday and they asked about the flow, and when I mentioned there isn't a lot, they wondered about the amount of oxygen in the water. So I added a bubblier just in case.

for the record this wasnt my advice......adding air bubbles to a tank with a fish that isnt supposed to be exposed to air doesnt seem like a good idea to me.....put a real powerhead in the tank