Oyster Toadfish

[Vicious_Fish]

Has anyone ever kept an Oyster Toadfish (Opsanus tau)? I was deep sea fishing last week and we caught a bunch of these guys off the coast of Delaware. They are really evil and unusual looking (my kind of fish!) and I was reading up on them and they seem like they would do well in captivity. Anyways, I was just curious and I highly doubt I would ever get one but if you have any info for me please feel free to share!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oyster_toadfish

 

[Riverserver]

Well, they'll eat anything they can fit in their mouth. And they get a foot long, so you'd need a big tank and a big budget to feed the feller...

 

[cam191919]

ha, that things awesome.

 

[Vicious_Fish]

Well, they'll eat anything they can fit in their mouth. And they get a foot long, so you'd need a big tank and a big budget to feed the feller...

Oh I'm aware that they have a greedy appetite, 75% of the fish that we caught were these guys. And they have a pretty stong bite too. Our guide refered to them as “Oyster Crackers”.

 

[ersico]

i have 2 that i caught from myrtle beach sc over 2 months ago, they are fat and plump, they are on shrimp (the same kind i caught them on) squid and silversides and occasionally they will eat on grass shrimp that are in theier tank, thier tank mates are 2 spider crabs, also caught in the same trip. the tank has a power head for flow but they hide alot and but always have their heads viewable...i love them they are adorable here are a few pics from a while ago that i took of them.

 

[Amphiprion]

Keep in mind that this is also one of the few common toadfish that are venomous (spines). Also be sure that their diet is varied, since they eat almost everything, including vegetable matter (believe it or not), though is much smaller amounts.

 

[Vicious_Fish]

Wow, great pics ersico! They really are interesting looking fish. How big of a tank do you have them in and how big are they?

 

[Mudfrog]

Awesome little guys, I've kept their cousins (three spined toadfish) in a brackish tank but everything I read about them said they are hard to keep in captivity. The one I had ate himself to death.. it was truly a pig.

 

[247Plants]

Wouldnt need a whole lot to feed them.

The species can live in very bad conditions and needs little food to live.

 

[ersico]

right now they are in a 29 with lots of places to hide and they are eating well, and whatever they don't eat, the spider crabs finish it off i really enjoy those lil buggers, i have a a72 fish only tank ready for them once they get some good size to them