Walking Batfish, fdg., gen.    9/9/09
Hello Crew,
<Hello Eric,>
After reading your FAQs, Googling and reading what limited info I could find I still have questions regarding my walking batfish. I'm afraid I do not know the exact species except that it is definitely not one of the
"pancake" or rostrum less varieties. Best guess is Ogcocephalus nasutus.
<Haven't seen one of these in the UK trade for very many years.
Ogcocephalus aren't the easiest of fish to keep, as I'm sure you know.>
Up till now I have been giving him vitamin soaked pieces of krill, silverside and clam from a feeding stick. (Took about 4 weeks to get him "trained.") From what I've read, in their natural habitat, snails make up
20-30% of their diet depending on the season and fish species (Reference:
http://thewalkingbatfish.com/Batfish_Feeding_Biology.html.) Should I add some snails to his tank? I'm concerned with what may happen if he swallows the shell since he tends to inhale his food like an angler or lionfish.
<I wouldn't bother. Your prime goal is variety, plus supplemental live foods such as copepods from the live rock in your aquarium, or from the refugium. Actually trying to re-create a natural diet in the aquarium will
be too difficult. By varying the diet as much as possible, you'll try to get around the shortcomings of any one particular type of food. Silversides are quite good in this regard, since they don't have any thiaminase in
them, but I believe smelt do, and these latter are sometimes sold as silversides, so be careful. The use of a vitamin supplement would be useful.>
The other question I have is how often should he be fed? Are they like anglers that only need food 2-3 times per week or should they be fed daily?
<The latter. These are more like Mandarinfish, and in fact your aim is to ensure it can feed at liberty, whether from live foods in the tank or the regular supply of meaty morsels you're offering.>
Now that he readily accepts food I've been feeding him daily to assist him in recovering from various ailments. (The little fellow has endured almost 4 weeks of antibiotics, 2 treatments of Prazipro and is now undergoing hyposalinity for Ich.) He typically accepts 3 or 4 chunks of food and then spits out or loses interest in any further offerings. Any suggestions or leads on additional information would be greatly appreciated. (I am familiar with on-line articles by Sarah Goodwin-Nguyen and Bronson Nagareda.)
Thank you for your time,
Eric
<Good luck with this very challenging fish. Back when I was a teenager, I convinced my dad to buy one for his reef tank. It lasted a few months if I recall, and lack of the right foods was very likely the cause of its
demise. Haven't seen them in the trade much, and to be honest, I don't recommend them except for the very patient and the very expert. Having weaned yours onto frozen foods, you've overcome the major hurdle, so well done! Cheers, Neale.>

Sick walking batfish 8-23-2009
Hello all,
<Mike here this evening>
Since you have gifted me useful information in the past I was hoping you would have some more to give.
<I'll try!>
I recently purchased an O. cubrifrons from an LFS. The fish was in sad shape. Normally I do not purchase sick fish (don't want to encourage poor store practices, etc.) however, these fish are rare where I live and I
wanted to try and save it as I might not see another for a year or 2.
<Online retailers are much preferred, if your LFS is not 'up to par' - don't encourage badly run LFS!>
The fish has an advanced case of "batfish rot," cloudy eyes and a large white spot on his side (LL a bacterial infection). He is currently in a quarantine tank and on his 3rd day with a Furan 2 treatment. I've been
using a double dose to equal the medication in Spectrogram which I have not been able to find. On the bright side I have been able to get him to eat frozen squid and silversides, but only 1 or 2 small pieces at a time.
<Eating is a good sign. Broad spectrum antibiotics, such as Saltwater Maracyn and Maracyn II combination should do the trick>
Now he appears to have Ich as well.
<See FAQs regarding>
Any recommendations would be appreciated.
<Be careful of the water quality in the QT tank, and read our FAQs regarding marine disease(s)>
Thank you for you consideration,
<Anytime>
Eric
<Mike Maddox>