The zebra lionfish (lat. Pterois volitans) is a marine ray-finned fish from the Scorpaenidae family. Because of its unusual appearance it is also called sea devil, zebra fish, butterfly fish, firefish or striped lionfish. She is the dream of many aquarists. Unfortunately, only the most daring and experienced lovers of exotic fish can admire it at home.
The spines of the lionfish contain poison, which, although it is fatal, only if allergic reaction, but leads to a lot of unpleasant side effects. In addition to acute pain and possible tissue necrosis at the injection site, the victim experiences vomiting, fever, and temporary confusion.
The victims' faces turn bright red, and they themselves often see terrible hallucinations. Acute pain lasts more than a day. It can only be relieved with hot compresses or baths.
High temperature promotes faster breakdown of toxins.
Spreading
The zebra lionfish lives in the tropical waters of the World Ocean. It settles in places where the water temperature never drops below 25°C. Her favorite habitats are Coral reefs off the coast of Malaysia, Northwestern Australia, Micronesia, Korea and Japan.
The lionfish always chooses natural shelters (caves, rocky niches, coral thickets) or the hulls of sunken ships. As a rule, these fish stay at a depth of 5 to 50 m.
Behavior
Lionfish lead a solitary lifestyle, spending most of their time in shelter. The fish remains motionless in one place for a long time or swims majestically around its possessions, barely moving its tail fin.
In case of danger, it meets the enemy face to face, bristling with poisonous spines of the dorsal fin. If the enemy does not retreat, the lionfish uses them, causing unbearable pain to the offender. Fortunately for civilized bathers, she uses thorns only for self-defense.
The fish goes out hunting in the late evening and hides behind some stone or coral. Seeing prey, it sharply opens its mouth and sucks it in along with the water. Both jaws are lined with very sharp teeth, making it almost impossible for the victim to escape.
Sometimes the lionfish spreads its pelvic fins wide and simply drives the prey into a remote corner, where it swallows it with appetite. On especially successful days, she swims into schools of fish and methodically eats her fill, grabbing her victims with lightning speed.
The zebra lionfish's diet consists of small fish ok, crabs and crustaceans. Adults often eat their smaller relatives. Having eaten, they love to frolic, jumping up out of the water and falling down noisily. During such fun, fun jumpers themselves often become victims of some types of sharks.
Reproduction
Before spawning begins, the stripes on the male’s body become brighter, and the color itself darkens significantly. In females, the abdomen, throat and snout acquire a silvery color. This outfit allows the male to see her in the darkness of the sea depths.
The male spawns either with one partner or with a group of 3-7 females.
During the spawning period, the quarrelsome nature of males deteriorates even more. Seeing a competitor, he literally turns dark with anger, and, opening his thorns, tries to scare him. The weakest applicant lays down his thorns and swims away in shame.
The female lays eggs within 15-20 minutes in two portions. The caviar is placed in tubular protein capsules, which can contain from 2,000 to 15,000 eggs. After fertilization, they drift calmly on the surface of the ocean. Their walls gradually swell and the capsules take on the appearance of small balls with a diameter of 2-5 cm. On the fourth day, larvae emerge from them. After a few days, the larvae can already swim freely and hunt small planktonic creatures.
The larvae feed intensively, quickly turning into fry. The fry are also distinguished by their enviable gluttony, quickly gain weight and soon may no longer be afraid of any predators.
Description
Body length adult equals 35-38 cm. The fish reaches a weight of 1-1.2 kg. The body is strongly flattened laterally and is colored white-cream with red-brown transverse stripes.
The bulging eyes are set at the top of the rather large head. There are soft skin growths under the eyes and around the mouth.
The anal and caudal fins are thin and transparent, covered with dark specks. Each pectoral fin is supported by 14 long, feather-like rays. The anterior part of the dorsal fin consists of 13 long rays, the posterior part of which is delicate and thin.
The lifespan of the zebra lionfish is about 10 years.
There is a lion in nature - the king of beasts. There is also a sea lion - an inhabitant of the northern seas... it turns out that lions are also found in the underwater kingdom! What kind of creature is this and what is it called? - you ask. This is a lion fish. Photos of the underwater king and description are in our article.
These animals are also called zebra fish and striped lionfish. They belong to the ray-finned fishes and belong to the order Scorpiformes. The lionfish is part of the scorpionfish family, which includes the genus lionfish.
What are zebra fish? Why are they considered similar to members of the lion family? Let's look at the photo of the lion fish and try to figure it out...
The appearance of an unusual fish. Lion fish photo
The striped lionfish grows up to 40 centimeters in length. The animal weighs approximately 1 kilogram.
The most attractive thing about this inhabitant underwater world- its color. There's so much on her different designs and flowers! The stripes come in red, brown, yellow, and bluish shades. When the fish spreads its fins, from the front it really looks like a lion: its splayed spines, together with its variegated color, resemble lion's mane. The lateral fins may have a grayish tone.
The body of the fish has a slightly laterally flattened shape. The lion fish has a large mouth. A structural feature is the absence of a swim bladder.
Now let's learn more about lionfish spines. These are not just once-hardened growths on the skin. Each such needle contains a gland containing a toxic substance. If the lion fish pricks with its thorn, then the wounded person will not be happy. In addition to sharp thorns, variegated colors also signal danger. It seems to us that the fish is painted for beauty, but in wildlife- this is a warning symbolizing: “Don’t approach, I’m dangerous!”
And the expression of the “face” is exactly royal, arrogant and threatening! Where does the lion fish live?
IN Lately this ray-finned fish has greatly expanded the boundaries of its “domains”. If previously she lived only in the Quiet and Indian Oceans, then now it has reached the Atlantic. She began to be found near the Caribbean islands, near the coast of Cuba, Haiti and the state of Florida (USA).
Zebra fish lifestyle
Like its land-based namesake, the lion fish is a real predator. This sea beauty has two methods of hunting: passive and active. When a lionfish hunts passively, it camouflages itself environment, in which the coloring of the body helps her, and waits for prey. When an unsuspecting prey swims by, the lion fish instantly grabs it and eats it. Active foraging involves intimidating the prey and swallowing it.
For zebra fish, the twilight lifestyle is more attractive; this fish prefers to spend daylight hours in crevices or underwater caves.
How and what does the lion fish eat? Who is her favorite prey?
The peculiarity of eating food is that the fish swallows its prey not by dismembering it into parts, but directly whole. The basis of its diet is small fish, a variety of shellfish and crabs.
What is known about the reproduction of zebra fish?
These fish spawn during the half-moon week. Eggs are laid every 20 to 40 minutes after the sun sets. Males become aggressive during the spawning period and can attack bathing people.
The caviar is placed in spherical formations, which have a diameter of about 5 centimeters. This “ball” contains from 2 to 15 thousand eggs! Subsequently, these spherical clusters disintegrate, and the eggs begin to swim independently through the water, carrying future fry over vast distances.
Lion fish, striped lionfish, zebra fish (Pterois volitans) are the names of the same marine fish that lives in the Pacific and Indian oceans. IN last years Populations of these fish began to appear in the waters of the Caribbean (Coasts of Cuba, Haiti, Cayman Islands, Florida).
The lionfish belongs to the scorpionfish family (Scorpaenidae). Body length ranges from 30 to 40 cm, weight up to 1 kg, the fish lives near the shore, mainly near corals.
The lion fish is interesting for its coloring and rays, which the fish reveals during danger and hunting. The color of the body and fins is striped, the stripes can be gray, red and brown.
The head of lionfish, relative to the body, is large, slightly flattened on the sides, there are spines on it, and near the mouth there are small leathery outgrowths - tentacles.
The mouth is large, has an oblique cut and velvety teeth in the jaws and on the vomer. The fins have spiny and soft rays. There is one dorsal fin with 12-13 spiny and 9 soft rays, anal fin with 3 spiny and 5 soft rays.
The pectoral fins have thickenings below, but there are no rays on them. The lion fish lacks a swim bladder. Its bright, variegated color acts as a warning.
For sea creatures this is a clear signal, since the instinct of self-preservation, inherent in them at the genetic level, is triggered. For people, on the contrary, everything bright, colorful and unusual arouses unhealthy interest, which can have sad consequences.
In addition, the color and shape performs the function of camouflage, this allows the fish to quietly fit into the sea landscape, coral reefs and calmly wait for its prey.
Zebra fish are predators and swallow their victims whole. Food includes: small fish, shrimp, crabs, and shellfish. Lionfish lead a crepuscular lifestyle, hiding in crevices during the day or standing with their bellies upside down near the ceiling of underwater caves.
Can use two types of hunting: passive and active. During active hunting, with the help of its long rays, which are located on the fins, it drives the prey into a trap (a crevice of stones, corals) and swallows it there with lightning speed.
During passive hunting, the fish freezes among the corals, while spreading its fins widely with splayed rays, masquerading as algae. The small fish is unaware of the danger and swims very close, and the lion fish swallows it.
The poisonous glands of the lion fish are located in eighteen needles, which are located on the back, belly and near the tail. Each needle has deep channels where the poisonous glands are located.
The expansion of the habitat of this fish did not please people, since their habitat included such traditional and popular recreation areas as Cuba, the Cayman Islands, the coast of Florida and Miami. And the lion fish poses a danger to humans.
She never attacks first, but if provoked, you can get several injections. Most often, a person himself is to blame for these collisions: while swimming carelessly, he can touch a fish with his foot, which is resting among the corals, or a diver, out of curiosity, tries to catch it.
Poisonous injections received from lionfish are dangerous for humans, as they cause paralysis of the skeletal and respiratory muscles, so a person in the water needs to be helped to get ashore. Medical assistance will be provided on shore.
The injection site is still for a long time will be swollen and painful. Despite the fact that the venom of a lion fish can be fatal to humans, there are no documented cases of death after communication and acquaintance with it.
They reproduce quickly, and population growth under favorable conditions is large. With the emergence and rapid proliferation of lionfish in the Caribbean, scientists fear they could displace or wipe out some native fish species.
Lionfish can be kept in an aquarium, with the minimum aquarium size being 208 litres. Her neighbors in the aquarium can only be large fish and sessile invertebrates, since it can eat small fish.
The aquarium should have secluded places where the fish could hide (rocks, corals, large shells). When keeping zebra fish in an aquarium, water filtration and aeration are necessary.
In a large aquarium, it can form groups, but occasionally, one individual from a group can become aggressive towards members of its own species or other individuals of the genus Pteros. In the beginning, it is recommended to use live grass shrimp or live food to feed them.
Later you can feed with meat food (frozen), which must include sea fish and crustacean meat. The fish lay eggs in the aquarium, but no offspring have yet been obtained.
Lion fish are poisonous, so it is not recommended to touch them with your hands when cleaning the aquarium.
Video of zebra fish (Pterois volitans)
An inhabitant of the sea, the lionfish, immediately attracts attention due to its bright color. Despite its name, it cannot fly. The fish got this nickname because of its large pectoral fins, which look a little like wings. Other names for lionfish are zebra fish or lion fish. She got the first because of the wide gray, brown and red stripes located throughout her body, and the second due to her long fins, which make her look like a predatory lion.
The lionfish belongs to the scorpionfish family. The body length reaches 30 cm, and the weight is 1 kg. The coloring is bright, which makes the lionfish noticeable even at great depths. The main decoration of the lionfish is the long ribbons of the dorsal and pectoral fins, which are what resemble a lion's mane. These luxurious fins conceal sharp, poisonous needles, which make the lionfish one of the most dangerous inhabitants of the seas.
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The lionfish is a predator and feeds on other fish, because of this it has negative impact on the coral reef ecosystem. Lionfish destroy species of fish, which in turn feed on algae, and because of this, the eco-balance is disrupted, which leads to the destruction of reefs.
During the day, lionfish are usually inactive. They hide in caves among stones and corals, pressing their bellies tightly to the surface and exposing their spiny and poisonous fins. At dusk they go out hunting. Their main food is crabs, shrimp, shellfish and small fish.
Standing motionless, the lionfish looks like a bunch of colored algae. The fish that decide to explore this bunch suddenly end up in the wide-open mouth of the lionfish.
Lionfish spawn only in warm climates, and spawning can occur every 4 days—females release two gelatinous egg masses of approximately 12,000 to 15,000 eggs each, which can drift for up to 25 days until the fry emerge.
The lionfish has 18 poisonous spines, which are used as a means of defense against predators. Thirteen long, venomous spines are located along the front of the dorsal fin, which is located on top of the fish. Two short poisonous spines are located on the pelvic fins (one on each side), which is located closer to the fish's head on the abdomen. Three additional venomous spines are located along the leading edge of the anal fin, which is located closer to the fish's tail. The large and feathery pectoral fins and caudal fin do not contain poisonous spines.
You can see how the spines help the lionfish protect itself from other predators (in particular from the eel) in the video:
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Poisoning with lionfish venom is very serious: it is accompanied by convulsions and disturbances in the functioning of the heart. It happens that gangrene develops at the puncture site. The pain from one thorn begins to subside only after a couple of hours and is still felt after several days. But you can get deep injections from several thorns at once...
When pricked by several thorns, a person experiences sharp pain, from which he loses consciousness or falls into a state of shock. This is especially dangerous at depth, when a person loses control and is unable to rise to the surface on his own. This is why lionfish injections can lead to death.
The lionfish looks like a pretty nice fish, but you should be careful. Lionfish themselves are very passive. That is why they never attack themselves. Most often, through inattention or out of curiosity, a person himself stumbles upon dangerous thorns. Finally, you should remember: even after the death of the fish, the poison retains its strength for a long time. You won't get hurt if you don't touch this fish at all.
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Length: up to 30 cm Weight: up to 1 kg Habitat: tropical parts of the Indian and Pacific oceans off the coast of China, Japan and Australia. |
Lionfish is a beautiful striped fish with poisonous spines. Lionfish are members of the scorpionfish family. These fish found their way into the Caribbean Sea and infested resorts that are extremely popular among tourists.
Description of lionfish
This sea creature immediately attracts attention with its bright colors. Although these fish are called lionfish, they, of course, do not know how to fly, and they were given the name thanks to their large fins that resemble wings.
Lionfish are also called lion fish and zebra fish. They were called zebras because they have wide red, brown and gray stripes on their bodies, and lions - again because of their long fins that develop like the mane of a predator.
The lionfish reaches a length of 30 centimeters, and its weight can reach up to 1 kilogram. Thanks to their bright colors, lionfish are clearly visible even at considerable depths.
Why are lionfish dangerous?
The main decorations of the lionfish - the long ribbons of the pectoral and dorsal fins - contain poisonous needles. It is these needles that do so beautiful fish one of the most dangerous marine inhabitants.
The bright color of the lionfish warns that it is not safe, but inexperienced divers, captivated by the beauty of the fish, try to touch it. At this moment, the person receives a strong injection and a fairly large dose of poison.
The lionfish never attacks people first, but if it is touched or stepped on, it uses its spines. A couple of minutes after being pricked by thorns, a person develops strong pain, temporary paralysis may occur, which is very dangerous, since the diver may drown at this time.
Some claim that a sting from this fish can kill a person, but such cases have not yet been recorded.
The poisoning continues for several hours, during which time the victim’s condition is serious, his heart activity is disrupted and convulsions occur. Subsequently, gangrene may form at the injection site. After a few hours, the pain begins to subside, but the discomfort continues for several days. And if you get pricked by several thorns, the situation can be extremely difficult.
These are very passive fish, they themselves never attack, most often the attack is provoked by people through carelessness or ignorance. The poison remains strong even several hours after the death of the fish.
Lionfish lifestyle
IN daytime lionfish are usually inactive. They take refuge among corals, stones and in caves, with their bellies pressed to the surface and their poisonous needles exposed. At dusk, lionfish go out to hunt. The diet is based on crabs, shellfish, shrimp and small fish.
When the lionfish freezes, it resembles seaweed, the prey, about to examine the algae, ends up in the mouth of the predator. Sometimes, in order to catch prey, lion fish join together in a school. They surround the fish, sting them with their poisonous spines, and then eat them.
These fish are found in Indian and Pacific Oceans. And 16 years ago they ended up in the Caribbean Sea. This happened during a tropical storm that destroyed a private aquarium near Miami in which lionfish were swimming. These poisonous fish took root in the new place and colonized the entire resort. They are dangerous for the local fauna, as they eat shrimp and local fish and, of course, for vacationers. Similar by appearance fish were found in Crimea, but, fortunately, they are not poisonous.
An expert from the University of Oregon says this could be the most catastrophic invasion of the Caribbean Sea, which cannot be prevented.
Lionfish are an object of fishing, in particular spearfishing, as they are valued due to their delicate and delicious meat. Dangerous pets - lionfish
In an aquarium, as in nature, sea zebras reach about 30-40 centimeters. Among aquarium fish lionfish are one of the few that are able to distinguish their host. They ask for food, circling in front of the glass. If you put your hand into the water, the lionfish will take a defensive position, putting its fins forward, this is a signal that it is ready to attack. But in aquariums with shelters, they prefer to hide and wait out danger.
Zebra fish do not need bright lighting; it is enough to install a fluorescent lamp. To mix the water, install a good skimmer. There should be several areas with a slight current at the bottom.
It is not recommended to plant two species together, since constant conflicts will occur, the fish will prick and chase each other until they lose all their strength. Fish of a similar size are added to the lionfish as neighbors. They can be planted in an aquarium with large crabs, corals and sponges, and lion fish eat ornamental crustaceans.
Sea zebras shed frequently, like snakes or lizards, but their skin comes off in pieces rather than completely. Lionfish have excellent immunity, they are hardy, but they need calcium in their water, and if they lack it, their bones become thinner. In poorly flowing water, lionfish can develop bacterial diseases. Lionfish can live in an aquarium for quite a long time, but attempts to breed them have not yet been successful either among foreign or domestic aquarists.