The Anglerfish or Angler is a small, carnivorousfish known for its ability to harvest large amounts of Silica Pearls as well to be a bioluminescence light source. It was first added in ARK: Survival Evolved on the 12th of November, 2015.
This section is intended to be an exact copy of what the survivor Helena Walker, the author of the dossiers, has written. There may be some discrepancies between this text and the in-game creature.
“
Species
Melanocetus anglerpescum
Time
Early Cretaceous - Holocene
Diet
Carnivore
Temperament
Aggressive
Wild
Whether its size is caused by adaptation to the Island's other inhabitants, or by cross-breeding with another larger species, Melanocetus angerlpescum is the largest form of Anglerfish I've ever heard of. Typically found among the deepest, darkest expanses of the ocean, this creature preys on smaller fish while being an excellent source of food for larger predators.
Melanocetus has an array of bioluminescent light pods at the end of stalks on its head. Like typical Anglerfish, it primarily uses these to attract smaller creatures and trick them into coming close enough for Melanocetus to consume the prey. This often makes wild Melanocetus itself relatively easy to spot among the briny depths.
Domesticated
Exploring the depths of the ocean can be difficult. The cold, the lack of air, and the shocking absence of light combine to make travel very dangerous.
A tamed Anglerfish can use the natural light at the end of its stalks to illuminate the depths, making exploration not only safer but more lucrative, as I've heard some survivors use this creature to harvest the silica pearls found throughout the ocean's depths!
Despite being described in its Dossier as being generally skittish, the Angler will attack the player and any tamed creatures on sight. When damaged in a fight, they will attempt to flee but will turn around and attack again after a short chase.
Appearance
This fish has three bio luminescent lures on its head and an oversized mouth lined with long, needle-like teeth to capture prey, perfect for survival in the lowest depths of the Island's ocean.
Color Scheme and Regions
Region 0:Body
Natural colors:
0
1
2
3
4
14
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
36
75
Region 1:Unused
This region does not show on the body.
Region 2:Unused
This region does not show on the body.
Region 3:Unused
This region does not show on the body.
Region 4:Spots
Natural colors:
14
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
36
Region 5:Tail fin and Accents
Natural colors:
14
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
36
This section displays the Anglerfish's natural colors and regions. For demonstration, the regions below are colored red over an albino Anglerfish. The colored squares shown underneath each region's description are the colors that the Anglerfish will randomly spawn with to provide an overall range of its natural color scheme. Hover your cursor over a color to display its name and ID.
This information can be used to alter the Anglerfish's regions by entering cheat SetTargetDinoColor <ColorRegion> <ColorID> in the cheat console. For instance, cheat SetTargetDinoColor 0 6 would color the Anglerfish's "body" magenta.
Type in values of a wild creature to see on which stats it's emphasized. Green values on a high-level creature are very good for breeding. If you have already tamed your creature you can try to recover the breeding stats with an external tool.[1]
Anglerfish
The stat-calculator does not work in the mobile-view, see here for alternatives: Apps
Note that after the creature is tamed it gets bonuses on some stats depending on the taming effectiveness. This makes it hard to retrieve the levels on a tamed creature, so this tool is only for wild ones, but gives a first impression, how well the stats are distributed.
Can be used every 0.83s by both a rider and the AI.
Passive
Light
The Anglerfish produces its own bioluminescence by default without any cost.
Taming
For general info about domesticating a wild creature see Taming.
KO Strategy
Since the Angler lives deep underwater, the only way to knock it out is with a Crossbow and Tranquilizer Arrows, a Harpoon Launcher with Tranq Spear Bolts or a creature that deals torpor such as the Tusoteuthis (or a Wooden Club, if you're feeling adventurous). Be careful to not deal too much damage at once, as it has relatively low health compared to its torpor, so it's easy to kill it accidentally. The Angler can also deal a decent amount of damage itself, so be sure to suit up in a full set of SCUBA gear. Once they take a bit of damage, they will attempt to swim away. Be careful if you chase them, as they will often turn around and attack again without warning.
A good strategy is to bring a tough underwater mount, such as a Plesiosaur, and set it to passive. That way, once it has been shot, the Angler will target your mount instead of you, giving time to take it down in relative safety.
Ideally, the best place to tame Anglerfish is The Emerald Forest on Valguero, since Abberant Anglerfish will frequently spawn in the shallow creeks here. Most of the time, the water will be too shallow for them to swim away from you, although keep in mind that they can still be attacked by nearby hostile creatures and can also die if they manage to beach themselves.
Another area for easy Anglerfish taming is Eldritch Isle on Crystal Isles, where the many floating bubbles of water contain Anglerfish that cannot flee from being tranqed. Be sure to clear out the Electrophorus, Cnidaria and Piranhas that also spawn in these same bubbles, as they will instantly aggro onto your Angler as soon as it tames. Simply take the finished tame home in a cryopod.
Torpidity-depletion: 9.67 / s, Time until all torpidity is depleted: 00:15:25
Note that the values are for optimal cases, always bring extra supplies!
For a level-dependent count of resources needed, try an external taming calculator.
This section describes how to fight against the Angler.
General
One must first take into consideration the environment that the Angler lives in, the deep ocean. Other animals patrol these waters, making Angler combat or taming difficult. Ichthyosaurus, though friendly, tends to swarm the player and can easily become overwhelming if one attracts the attention of too many of them. Additionally, predators like Cnidaria, Megalodon, Mosasaurs, and Plesiosaurs can attack at any time: even the Anglers themselves are dangerous. Finally, asphyxiation and temperature hazards will finish off any survivors rather quickly that have not equipped themselves with a full set of SCUBA Gear.
Strategy
Often, the Angler will be the one attacking you. In that case, use your mount if it has enough health and attack damage, but also make sure your mount has a quick turning circle to compete with the angler's agility. Fighting the Angler without a mount is also possible; use ranged melee weapons that can keep Anglers at bay like Pikes (Spears are not recommended due to break chance) and when it runs away, use a Crossbow or a Harpoon Launcher to finish it off.
When chasing it, be aware that it can turn around and attack again. Also make sure to keep an eye out for other, dangerous animals.
Weakness
When compared to other marine predators, the Angler has a low threat level.
Utility
Note that the Angler does not require a saddle to ride, making it a decent mount for seafaring survivors who are short on resources.
Roles
Deep Sea Exploring Mount: Thanks to their light, the angler is perfect for exploring the depths of the sea. Raise Melee Damage and Health to be able to fight the powerful creatures that spawn in the depths, or raise Movement Speed and Stamina if you plan to escape from them and avoid them, as the Angler is fairly suited to both fighting or fleeing.
AnglerGel Hunter: The light on the angler attracts other angler fish, making it a good way to collect AnglerGel. (Level up Melee Damage and Health).
Silica Pearls Farmer: Anglers are the best and only creature that can harvest Silica Pearls on the seafloor or water beds with their bite attack.
Light Source: The light given off by the Angler is exceptionally bright(especially when brought to the water's surface) and can illuminate an area of over 40 foundations in diameter, making it a cheap alternative to electric lighting or torches if one lives near, in, or on a water source.
Combatant: Though the Angler is small and lacks a saddle, it is rather nimble and packs a punch for its size with decent health and stamina. Thanks to their abundance in the depths and their relatively easy taming compared to other sea mounts, one can acquire an army relatively quickly. If levelled appropriately and used with the right methods, an Angler can be a formidable force at mid-game tier, whether used as a solo fighter or for swarm tactics. Leveling depends on the desired combatant role.
River Access: Although the Anglerfish is a deep sea fish it can travel up rivers since it is smaller than other sea creatures. Despite being able to move around in rivers the Anglerfish is limited on where it can go so a fish basket can help move them to an area they can't reach.
Since Patch v257, Anglers now harvest Silica Pearls with their bite attack. This was originally planned to be a Liopleurodon feature according to the dossier but got moved to the Angler as the Liopleurodon serves the purpose of a temporary treasure enhancer.
The specific epithet anglerpescum is a pseudo-Latinization of the English word "anglerfish", retaining the first half as it is and replacing the second half with a corrupted form of Latin piscis (meaning "fish").
Although Ark's anglerfish genus name, Melanocetus, is shared with modern-day Black Seadevil Anglerfishes, it instead seems to share traits from many different deep-sea anglerfish families, all of which belong to the suborder, Ceratioidei. Almost all modern-day anglers practice a type of reproduction called sexual parasitism and all species show(often extreme) sexual dimorphism, with the males sometimes being hundreds of times smaller than the females. During this practice, the males will attempt to find a female, either by sight or scent, and proceed to swim over and bite onto the underside of the female where their tissues will then fuse and their circulatory systems will connect, essentially turning the males into external gonads. This adaptation is likely a solution to their sparse, spread-out population and the slowness created by the rarity of food and harsh conditions in the ocean depths.
The females produce light by housing a specific kind of bacteria culture inside the tips of their vertebral rods. The rod tip and culture is essentially what is collected in the game, in the form of AnglerGel. Males cannot make this light.
It is also important to note that Ark's anglerfish is rather unlike their real-world counterparts, as they have 3 rods, can swim much faster, and are much larger. Ark's anglerfish also has absolutely no sexual dimorphism to speak of, essentially making the males identical to the females.
In real life, most male anglerfish conjoin and sacrifice themselves to mate with a female, which is not the case in ARK where males can mate normally with females.
Yes
Region 0:
Region 4:
Region 5:
Silica Pearls as well to be a bioluminescence light source. It was first added in 
ARK: Survival Evolved on the 12th of November, 2015.
Aberrant Anglerfish is the Aberrant variant of Anglerfish found in Aberration. It is identical to the normal species except for its bioluminescence. It is tameable and is not 
Radiation immune.
Health
Stamina
Oxygen
Food
Weight
Melee Damage
Movement Speed
Torpidity
Level 1
Regular Kibble
Raw Mutton
Cooked Lamb Chop
Raw Prime Meat
Cooked Prime Meat
Raw Prime Fish Meat
Raw Meat
Cooked Prime Fish Meat
Cooked Meat
Raw Fish Meat
Cooked Fish Meat
× 90; 
× 37; 
× 10; 
× 6; 
× 5; 
× 3
Regular Kibble:
1 × 
Cooked Meat Jerky, 1 × 
Medium Egg, 5 × 
Fiber, 2 × 
Longrass, 2 × 
Savoroot, 1 × 
Water
Melee Damage and 
Health to be able to fight the powerful creatures that spawn in the depths, or raise 
Movement Speed and 
Stamina if you plan to escape from them and avoid them, as the Angler is fairly suited to both fighting or fleeing.
AnglerGel. (Level up 
Silica Pearls
Raw Meat
Liopleurodon feature according to the dossier but got moved to the Angler as the Liopleurodon serves the purpose of a temporary treasure enhancer.
Feces.
Manta and 
Ichthyosaurus.
Torpor so it won't wake up as fast when knocked out.
Fish Meat instead of regular 
Meat.
Spyglass and 
GPS are now usable on all water creatures.
Fish Basket wasn't returning creatures properly.
ARK: Survival Ascended Changes
