orange scorpionfish

amandaschlicher

amandaschlicher

Member
i'm considering getting myself an orange scorpion (toad) fish for my 29 gal. I've been doing some reading but was wondering if anyone had any experience with this species. And yes, i know he will outgrow the tank but the ones available to me are less than 4" right now and i am prepared to upgrade when the time comes.
 
gasguzzler

gasguzzler

Active Member
They seem to be laid back until something comes along they can swallow. They are kind of like lions that way. Cruising around until a potential victim swims by. From what I hear relatively easy to keep. I have never kept one myself. Did you get that e-mail I sent to you earlier?
 
amandaschlicher

amandaschlicher

Member

Originally posted by gasguzzler
They seem to be laid back until something comes along they can swallow. They are kind of like lions that way. Cruising around until a potential victim swims by. From what I hear relatively easy to keep. I have never kept one myself. Did you get that e-mail I sent to you earlier?
yes i did, thank you :)
 
fmarini

fmarini

Member
IIRC, toad fish aren't scorpionfish, but nevertheless they are cool looking and they eat anythin that fits into heir mouths.
A 4" toadfish will be about 7-8" in 4-6 months, so plan accordingly. They are very mellow fish and are really shy (they tend to hide most of te time), except when feeding. Lastly don't feed fw feeder fish to these fish, its not good for them
do you plan for tankmates?
 
amandaschlicher

amandaschlicher

Member

Originally posted by FMarini
IIRC, toad fish aren't scorpionfish, but nevertheless they are cool looking and they eat anythin that fits into heir mouths.
A 4" toadfish will be about 7-8" in 4-6 months, so plan accordingly. They are very mellow fish and are really shy (they tend to hide most of te time), except when feeding. Lastly don't feed fw feeder fish to these fish, its not good for them
do you plan for tankmates?
in my research i've seen this species (Opsanus beta) called by both names. The tank has a 3" porc puffer, a 2.5" picasso trigger, and a 3" longhorn cowfish in it currently.
 
R

royalshrimp

Guest

Originally posted by Irenicus
I don't thing toadfish can sting.
Or can they?
thay can...
 
amandaschlicher

amandaschlicher

Member
yes they can. mine is an orange or gulf toadfish, Opsanus beta.
http://www.aircav.com/survival/asch11/asch11p04.html
http://www.aircav.com/survival/asch16/asch16p12.html
http://www.aikimaui.com/news/news-2003.cfm
http://users.adelphia.net/~froyer/U....ERTEBRATES.htm
http://users.adelphia.net/~froyer/U....%20DANGERS.htm
http://www.zoolex.org/zoolexcgi/view.py?id=153
these are just a few of the pages i found that referred to specifically a "sting." many other pages said they were "poisonous" but did not specify "venomous." Several others mentioned that they attacked with sharp spines on their back but did not mention venom. When I bought the fish it was labelled as venomous, and i was verbally warned by the person who assisted me. In fact, I could not find a single source that said they were NOT poisonous, venomous, or capable of stinging.
also of interest may be the fact that Opsanus beta are capable of switching back and forth between excreting urea and ammonia. I don't really know much about this but it is apparently very remarkable and fascinating, and lots of people are studying it :)
 
bp

bp

Member
All toadfish are not venomous/posinous! Read Reef Fishes Vol 1 By Scott W. Michel and that will fill you in on toadfish.
BTW many Lfs employs often miss lablel fish. They also don't always know what they were doing.
 
lionfish12

lionfish12

Active Member
Im just excited becasue i found a new fish store about 20 minutes away that has TONS of neat fish. I would have to say 10x better then pet suplie plus! Really neat fish btw
 
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