Molamola
Posts: 1559
Joined: 11/14/2006
From: St Croix US Virgin Islands
Status: offline
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Blatant copying:
"Lionfish grow like weeds. This 13" long fish is a Hoover in lionfish stripes. The pectoral wingspan on this fish reached over 18" wide, hammering home the point that Volitans lionfish require big tanks. This fish can easily consume any medium sized angel or wrasse.
"When someone states they have a lionfish, this is usually the fish they are describing [Volitans lion, "lionfish", turkey fish
Maximum size: 12-15 inches, minimum tank size: 85 gallons]. The most common lionfish in the hobby, the Volitans lionfish are hardy and pollution tolerant. In the wild, Volitans lions spend dawn/dusk periods in open water in search of foods (primarily fish), and frequently travel in packs of multiple animals (5 or more). During the daylight hours, they head to cave openings and protected structures for safety." [I would tend to think rather than safety, they like a dark, quiet place to sleep, since they're nocturnal hunters. They have few predators: eels, frogfish, and other lionfish.]
"Frequently offered for sale as 2 inch juveniles, they are cute and adorable with tremendous personality. The 2" juvenile fish at the store will reach 8-10" in one year's time (with proper feedings) and within 6 more months it will obtain a maximum size of 15 inches. Any fish that is equal to half the body size of the Volitans lion, is considered food. ...In the wild, a lionfish will consume from 1 to 11 small to medium-sized prey items per feeding, then retire to a hiding spot to digest the food for a day or so, and repeat this process.
"Lionfish are hunters and ambush predators, plain and simple. One of the most remarkable features of lionfish are their pectoral fins. These fins may vary in size, but are flamboyant, colorful, and very mobile. When a lionfish stalks it's prey, it uses the pectoral fins to perform a number of tasks, often swaying its pectoral fins from side-to-side and slightly forward, an action which seems to make its approach less distracting to the intended victim. Additionally, by tilting the fins forward, it creates a barrier or fencing, and herds the prey to a certain spot restricting its movement."
Lionfish Sting... What To Do
If a lionfish or scorpionfish ever stings you, the very first thing to do is immerse the wound site in hot, non-scalding water (110-113°F) for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the pain subsides. According to Michaels (1998), applying rapid heat using a hair dryer will also work. The key point is heat; lionfish venom contains many heat labile proteins, and heat will denature these venom proteins, preventing them from spreading in the bloodstream and decreasing the severity of their effects. Do not use boiling hot water; the burn resulting from boiling water will often be worse than the lionfish sting. The most frequent symptoms of a lionfish sting are pain and swelling. However, a few people may have an allergic reaction to lionfish venom and should be cautious if the pain and swelling get worse over a few hours
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Maybe to be the next Long John Silver's craze?
If I lived where they are, I'd certainly take up spearfishing!
All this info and more, lots of pretty pictures, at:
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-11/fm/feature/index.php
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http://coralreefpainter.blogspot.com/
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Lionfish in the Turks & Caicos + - 
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