Wartskin Angler

"Mr. Incognito" here...most anglers aren't too tuff to wean onto non-living foods. I do recommend using a "stealth stick", which we came up with since we have weaned a a pretty fair number of preds over the past few years.

The real key is patience, and keeping the size of the food items on the smaller side...quite a bit smaller than you'd think to be honest. Given a choice, most preds will eat multiple smaller prey items rather than a single large item, which is also healthier for the fish since they are digested much more readily. This is especially important for anglers which have one of the slowest metabolisms around, and can actually die from swallowing too large an item as it will decompose before it's digested.

Also, feeding frequency needs to be low...2x - 3x a week is fine. Feed juvies on the 3x side of things since they're actively growing.

The "stealth stick" is described in our article on feeding and weaning preds: Tools of the Trade: Equipment & Techniques to Convert your Fish onto Frozen

Here's a quick vid of the stick in action:

Lions at Lunch

 

Thanks you everyone for your advice. Next time a nice specimen pops up on DD i might take the plunge.

 

Ever since you made this post I have been looking into them and I am defiantly thinking about buying one for my tank. My only fear is I hear they are jumpers and I have a 20 long which scares me since they aren't cheap fish lol

 

i have never heard of an angler jumping, they are not active swimmers at all and hang out in the bottom of the tank. I have not seen mine ever leave the 1/8 part of the bottom of the tank

 

Hmm then I might just have to buy one thank you

 

Anglers can, and will jump...trust me on this one. This is especially true of Histrio histrio (Sargassum angler), which actually leaps onto the kelp rafts to evade predators, then hops back into the water when all
is clear.

If you've ever seen the location of an angler's gill openings, you'll notice they're built-in jet propulsion, and in a large enuff setup, they will actually use this mode of propulsion to move across the tank.