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- - Lionfish update (https://www.feldoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2744)

Being utterly nitpicky about this; the lionfish can now be listed as "Western Atlantic" (Carolinas to Florida, IIRC), too.

It seems some fools decided they couldn't handle the fish and, rather than kill the fish, tossed them in the Atlantic. :rolleyes: Maybe this was with the best of intentions but it turns out the lionfish are reproducing and have no apparent preditors in the Atlantic. :mad:

NOAA is tracking these fish and want reports of sightings from divers.

Why do I feel like I stepped into the last half of the conversation here?

He's talking about the Fish Guide on my site which lists the oceans Lionfishes can be found in.

I was also referring to the fish habitat or range listed in the fish description in MA.

On a side note: What natural predators do the lionfish have in the Pacific? They look somewhat cumbersome to feed off...

/Tiny Spikes :)

Quote:

http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Descript/RedLionfish/RLionfish.html
· Predators
Published records of natural predators of adult red lionfish are unknown. But again, studies of the closely related Pterois miles may provide us with some indication of the natural history of P. volitans. In the Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea, the piscivorous cornetfish, Fistularia commersoni, appears to be a predator of Pterois miles. Judging by the presence of a specimen of P. miles in the stomach of a large F. commersoni, and its particular orientation therein, a published note concludes that cornetfish in the Red Sea may utilize their ambush tactics to seize lionfish safely from the rear, consuming them tail first.

As cornetfishes are widespread, effective piscivores, species sympatric with P. volitans may be predators of the same.

Other as yet undocumented predators of the red lionfish might include sharks, as many sharks are known to consume noxious or venomous organisms with no obvious ill effects.

Thanks, YT. Interesting.

Sorry for the late reply, haven't visited here in a while.

The lionfish in the Atlantic were the direct result of a hurricane, not a careless fishkeeper who threw them into the ocean. The hurricane destroyed a home with a reef tank containing a mated pair. The fish were washed into the ocean along with most of the guy's house.

Just thought I'd clear that up. :)

Ricordia

Quote:

Originally posted by Ricordia
Sorry for the late reply, haven't visited here in a while.

The lionfish in the Atlantic were the direct result of a hurricane, not a careless fishkeeper who threw them into the ocean. The hurricane destroyed a home with a reef tank containing a mated pair. The fish were washed into the ocean along with most of the guy's house.

Just thought I'd clear that up. :)

Ricordia

Um, er, perhaps that accounts for a pair but there have been sightings off North Carolina, South Carolina, and off the coast near Titusville, Florida. That's a touch far ranging for fish lost from a single tank. Additionally, there are a host of other species sighted in the Palm Beach and Broward County area along Florida's Atlantic coast. Specifically, I refer you to "Invaders from Inner Space" by Alex Brylske, Dive Training magazine, the October 2004 edition, pp 30-41. Despite the rather lurid title, this is a soundly researched article on the problem of "wrong fish in the wrong place".

Copies of Dive Training can be found, for free, at many dive or scuba shops or check their web site.