My little buddy "Pokey" the sea goblin

This is my first salt water fish in about 8 years or so and it was finally the fish my girlfriend and i saw that we couldnt live with out. We are pretty sure its Inimicus didactylus (still waiting on a friend to come key it out).

He lives in a 35 gallon glass tank with about an inch of live sand on the bottom, ten pounds of live rock, 8 pounds of base rock out of my brackish water tank. Five poylps of some sort and about 100 aiptasia anemones, some little snails that keep the rock and glass clean rather well (snuck in on the rock and i love em so far).

He feeds on thawed frozen silver sides, shrimp or just about anything that i offer with a feeding stick.

Down side is being an ambush predator I cant put small fish in there that i might get overly attached to since he'll eat them eventually. Also i cant use shrimp of any sort as he's horribly fond of them for dinner.

I've always like cryptically colored animals more than bright flashy colors. So i've been drawn to things like sea robins, sea goblins, angler fish, some trigger fish and things like that. I know one other person with one in a fish tank and he keeps his with anglers so as soon as i can lay my hands on an angler large enough to live with him i'll give it a shot. Lately all the anglers have been too small.

I tried to add some pics of the little fellow two made it as attachments one was a tad too big so the side profile will have to wait a bit yet .

He spends most of the day buried half in the sand and would bury further when i get moved and double the live sand in his tank. He does walk around and occasionally makes a laughable effort to swim, I rarely see him on the live rock but occasionally i'll catch him hanging out on a piece.

Jason

PS i have a link to a thread done by a friend of mine on the venoms from scorpion fish but its on another fish board and i dont want to step on anyones toes by posting it so i'll try to figure out who to contact about doing so. I'd cut and post it but she has some work into it and i'd like to see if viewed in her format until i can get her ok. Its a great write up and made me VERY cautious around him. At least the LFS personel knew of and flat out stated how harmful they could be (they were also happy as hell to get it out of their tank).

 

How cool is that fish?! More pics please!!

 

I just remembered we made a primitive video of him eating, sorry its so grainy we just noticed that our old digi cam could do video and its the best we have. The fish are on a feeding stick that i was trying to keep outa the frame so it didnt look so artificial.

The last strike is my favorite i try and get him to really stretch for it. He enver really chews his food just swallows and waits for his next meal. I try to keep it to three to five silver sides two to three times a week right now until i get a better feel for his food intake and how fast he digests.

YouTube - LUNCH!!

I'd like to try a damsel fish in there since i would like to think they know what to avoid but with his speed i doubt the damsel would get too many lucky shots.

Jason

 

I want one, is it reef safe?

 

that is an awsome fish...how much was he??

 

He was $60.00 from the LFS and of course then the 40 lbs of sand, rock ect...that'll teach me for not have "everything" i need at once.

Jason

 

What are those fish are you feeding it?

Marc.

 

Thawed frozen silver sides, the packaged ones from Petsmart (they were on sale and its one of the few things my big clown knife will eat). Next time i get there i'll add some krill and maybe mysis (not sure he'll be interested in mysis shrimp ) to his diet.

Tonight he's partially buried in front of the arch in his tank looking at me, i redirected some water flow in the tank and i'm not sure he approves it of it.

jason

 

I was surf fishing one evening out on Pensacola Beach and caught something very simular to your, except it was pretty much black. For the longest I didn't know what it was. I called it a Bat fish.
Wish I had kept it. Cool fish you have. Can you put a divider in the tank and get a smaller angler and let it grow?

 

What a cutie!!!!!!