Toadfish

[captmicha]

I'm asking here b/c there's brackish and freshwater species. I know they're venomous, sluggish and will eat what can fit into their mouths.

I think they're absolutely adorable and can't find any info on captive care. What can you guys tell me? And what's the size and other differences between species/brackish/freshwater?

 

[clawlan]

I'm asking here b/c there's brackish and freshwater species. I know they're venomous, sluggish and will eat what can fit into their mouths.

I think they're absolutely adorable and can't find any info on captive care. What can you guys tell me? And what's the size and other differences between species/brackish/freshwater?

check out this site:
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/universal-viewid381.html

 

[Ruben Tolon]

the most common is mostly a brackish fish (B. trispinosus) but there is a freshwater Amazonian species that is usually traded under the common name "prehistoric monsterfish"

 

[monkey_toes]

We have oyster toadfish (Opsanus tau) wild down here. In brackish water, they're one of the most common species. They get up to about a foot long. They'll eat anything animal in origin and they're tough as nails. A lot of fishermen consider them a "trash" fish and will leave them on shore to die. I've rescued quite a few and returned them to the water, sometimes a half-hour or so after they were caught, and they always seem to recover. I've also seen them living in nasty little tide pools and other stranded areas. As many as I've handled, I've never been stung or stabbed — bitten a couple times, though.

 

[captmicha]

As you probably know, that's disgusting that they're considered "trash fish" and left to die just because they didn't benefit the fishermen.

I wonder if that's why I've seen dead horseshoe crabs high on the beach.

 

[monkey_toes]

As you probably know, that's disgusting that they're considered "trash fish" and left to die just because they didn't benefit the fishermen.

It's terrible, but they do it all the time. A lot of rays get left to dry, too.

I wonder if that's why I've seen dead horseshoe crabs high on the beach.

They may just be sheds. Check the front shell margin (opposite the spike) for a horizontal slit where the top and bottom of the exoskeleton meet. If there's a slit, the horseshoe is still out in water, having grown too big for his shell.