Lion Fish

Animal Unique | Lion Fish | One of the most photogenic fish you may encounter while diving is the Lionfish, a fish as beautiful as it is dangerous. It is also known as Devil Fire fish, Turkey fish, Scorpion fish and Zebra fish. This species has a very distinctive striped body, and a series of spines and fins that open into a magnificent display of flamboyant. Attractive even poisonous, but wanted feared, the Lionfish has confidence in his own abilities and is often one of the first fish species novice divers come to recognize. 

Lionfish appear to still prefer water sheltered from the current, quieter and darker parts of reefs and wrecks, where they hover almost motionless with their heads a little down the title. They are also known to exist in bays, estuaries and harbors.

Scientific classification
Kingdom:     Animalia
Phylum:     Chordata
Class:     Actinopterygii
Order:     Scorpaeniformes
Family:     Scorpaenidae
Subfamily:     Pteroinae
Genus:     Pterois, Oken, 1817

The 9 or 10 species of the genus Pterois  have a pair of fan-shaped pectoral fins and a pointed first dorsal fin. The dorsal, anal and pelvic fin spines are highly toxic, unlike the breast and tail fins that do not contain backbone. The poison is very powerful, and a lionfish sting is a serious health problem emergency. Symptoms of envenomation are intense throbbing, sharp pain, tingling, blisters and sweaty. Worst case scenarios, but usually not deadly to humans are headache, nausea, abdominal pain, delirium, seizures, paralysis of the limbs, changes in blood pressure, breathing difficulties, heart failure and tremours, pulmonary edema, and loss of consciousness.

Lionfish can be aggressive, even working on potential threats to the approach of a 'spine forward, they should be treated with caution at all times. Scorpionfishes second only stingrays in the total number of stinging worldwide, with an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 cases per year. Basic treatment includes immersing the affected area in hot water (to 45 C). Professional medical assistance should be sought in all cases of fire fish envenomation. 

For most of their adult lives, Lionfish are solitary and will fiercely defend their homelands against other individuals of either the same or different species, using their poisonous dorsal spines. Males are more aggressive than females. As their name suggests, Lionfish are fearsome predators. Hunt mostly at night, the lion fish to eat almost any fish or shellfish can catch. Normally sluggish fish, they spend a lot of energy hunting and must therefore eat a substantial amount, so much of the behavior of these fish is dictated by hunger.

Although the majority of feeding the Lionfish is completed within the first hour of the night, will remain out in the open to daylight. When the sun rises, they withdraw to their homes under the shadowy coral, rocks and overhangs. When hunting for shellfish, they glide over the surface, vibrating rays to their potential prey for the safety.

They tend to corner prey using their large fins and then with a fast gulp to swallow whole, like the attack sips of a frogfish. It is believed that they usually approach their prey slowly from below, their fins spread shielding the movement of the tail fin, so that their prey will not be alarmed. Their bizarre striped color pattern can be a very useful disguise in a reef environment, which also helps in the hunt. However, like the stripes of the African zebra, the true reason is open to conjecture.

 

 

Lionfish have also known that a different strategy to hunt. They float in open water just below the surface, look for schools of small fish jumping out of the water to avoid another predator. Once the smaller fish break the surface and back into the water, they suddenly are in the belly of a grateful Lionfish. 

They learn quickly and are useful swimmers and hunters of small ciliates within 4 days after conception. The larvae settle out of the water column after a period of about 25 to 40 days, with a size of 10-12 mm in length.

Lionfish bulk and quickly developing a large body size early in their life cycle. This makes them more likely to prevent attacks by predators, and increases the chance that they mating success. Depending on the species, lLionfish lives of 5 to 15 years, but the vast majority do perish in the wild early in life. 

The Lionfish in the Red Sea is known haunted by cornet fish, believed to be an ambush and consume them from behind. Given the widespread nature of cornet fish, it is possible that the local species of cornet fish would prey on other species of lionfish too.

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