Stonefish

armageddon

armageddon

Member
I was at my LFS a while ago and i saw they had a stonefish there. I didn't even think a fish that poisonous is legal to buy. Has anyone seen one for sale, or own one? I would of loved to buy it but i dont have the space for one. It was about 8".
 
reeferdude

reeferdude

Member
I had one for about a 3 days. It hit the tank, acted like a rock then hid under some rocks and died. The koolest thing about them is that they wont back down from an aproaching hand or net like some lions do.
 
squidd

squidd

Active Member
When it died, did it release poisons and kill the rest of the tank ?
Thats the scare tactics/advice I've heard, and the reason I haven't ordered one yet.
However, I have seen pictures/posts of others that have them (on other sites), but they get the same responses " Don't touch it it'll kill you". :rolleyes:
Come on, a little caution goes a long way. Have you ever pulled a cord from your powerstrip with wet hands?:eek: More than once?
 
snakes'n'fish

snakes'n'fish

Member
After doing a little looking around, I have found no real info on stone fish toxin. What I have found is that it is similar to that of all scorpion fish. They all state to run hot water on the area to decrease the pain. But they also state that an anti venom is needed as well as hospital treatment from there sting.
“It has a row of unlucky 13 venomous spines along its back. Each stone fish spine is encased in a sheath containing bulging venom glands. Downward pressure on the spine causes the sheath to be pushed back, the venom from the pressurized glands shooting forcefully up grooves on the surface of the spine into the deepest part of the wound.”
I believe that part of the reason the stone fish toxin needs such treatments and causes such a danger is that when stepped on or even grabber the victim is getting hit with any number of the spines instead of just one or two and causing a deep wound. It is the amount of toxin that is injected in to the victim that makes them so dangerous.
Stone fish can be kept similar to lion fish with the same restraints and caution used with them. The bad thing about most stone fish is that they are VERY hard to get on to frozen. They are a very interesting fish, but can be a challenge to keep.
I have had the unlucky experience of getting tagged by a fuzzy dwarf lion. The pain can only be classified as NEW PAIN It is was incredibly pain full and lasted 4 hours. I have a friend who go tagged from a small volitan and ended up in the hospital for a week from a sever reaction to the toxin. So one must be very careful when keeping any of the scorpion fish, A careless moment can really make your life a living hell.
HTH
 
sohotang

sohotang

Member
I have had a stonefish for over 3 years, Imade a cave just big enough for it to hide in but close enough to the front of the tank so we can see it.
It is about 6 inches long and it never bothers any of the other fish but I do have to feed it with a long stick otherwise all the other fish eat all the food before it gets down to him.
Just make sure his cave is just a little bigger than he is that way no other fish will try to get in it.
My tank is a 125 gallon,with a 14 in. porky, 9 in. stares & stripes puffer, 7 in. niger trigger, 7 inch clown trigger, and a 7 in. volitan lion.
 
beach bum

beach bum

Member
That is an Opsanus beta, Orange Toadfish. It is not a stonefish and is not even toxic, sorry you got misled. Check out 'Marine Fishes' by Michael's for a run down on them. Page 47.;)
 
cincyreefer

cincyreefer

Active Member
yup, it looks like a good old orange toadfish to me also. They are still a cool fish though... with very large mouths. :D
 
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