Today’s mini critter is a juvenile warty frogfish (Antennarius maculatus), the first ever known to be hatched in an aquarium. Caretakers have named him “Domino.”
Domino’s groundbreaking journey started in September of 2025 when aquarists at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago found a gelatinous egg mass floating in their warty frogfish habitat. They moved the mass to a special care tank and carefully monitored and adjusted water temperature, flow rates and light levels. Although the eggs hatched into thousands of tadpole-like larvae, only this one made it to the fishy state we see here—a not uncommon occurrence even in perfect natural conditions, as frogfish (and most other fish) will lay large numbers of eggs as a survival strategy to balance out the high mortality rate as eggs develop into juveniles.
Frogfish are some of my favorite marine animals, with their unusual mode of locomotion via their pectoral and pelvis fins, use of lures to ambush prey and overall bizarre appearance. I wrote about them a few years ago. Click through for a refresher.
Warty frogfish (also known as “clown frogfish”) are a species found in the coral reefs and rocky seabeds of tropical and subtropical waters, most often found in the Indo-Pacific region. Fish within the species vary in coloration and patterns, allowing them to blend into their surroundings, and they can even change their coloration after a few weeks to better match a changed environment. Their bodies are covered in wart-like bumps, aiding in their camouflage abilities. They can grow up to 15 centimeters (5.9 inches) long.
Domino is only a bit over a centimeter long, but he’s already doing the frogfishy stuff the adults get up to; walking on the seafloor with his specialized fins and using his little lure (his illicium) to ambush prey of in-house raised brine shrimp. Aw, that sounds so freakin’ cute! Imagine a little pea-sized badass, strutting around with all the attitude of his bigger mates, waving his lure in the air like he just don’t care. Someone sign that kid up to his own television series: he’s got charisma to spare.
The source for today’s gif is below.
But, are Warty Frogfish prone to Frenetic Random Activity Periods?
And how would we know?
Wow, that is a pretty remarkable looking fish. Good thing he has some growing to do because being the size of a pea seems dangerous for him. And feeding him brine shrimp?!? I had some as pets when I was a kid. Yeah, yeah, I'm one of those idiots who sent for them from the back of a comic book. Okay, I was naive. It didn't occur to me that people would lie to sell something. Sea monkeys, my ass. Thanks, Martini, for a fun Monday post.