Common Name/s- Antennata lionfish, Ragged fin Firefish, Spotfin lionfish

Scientific NamePterois Antennata

Family- Scorpaenidae

Origin- Africa , Indo-Pacific, Tahiti

Maximum Size- 8"

Care- This fish should be kept in at least a 30 gallon tank. They like a cave or crevice to hide out in. THis species can tolerate a variety of substrates ranging from a Deep Sand Bed to a barebottom tank. They dont like bright lights so this would not be a species to keep in a reef. These fish are best kept with fish that are around the same size such as other lionfish, scorpionfish, large wrasses, and anthias. Should not be kept with puffers or triggers as they will nip at its fins a lot.

Feeding- Should be fed frozen silversides, cocktail shrimp, scallops, crab and any other fresh seafood. It can also be fed live ghost shrimp or damsels as a treat. NEVER feed freshwater feeders to any Saltwater fish. They cause fatty liver disease. When you first get your lionfish the first thing you have to do is to get it to eat frozen food. To do this you must first set up a feeding schedule so the lion knows who is feeding it and when. Then you can start to substitute frozen in a little bit at a time. Try soaking it in garlic and then wiggling it around on a clear acrylic feeding stick.

Sexing- none

Breeding- Will breed if you have a pair but the fry are too small to feed.

Comments if trying to keep with other scorpionfish do not get a stonefish. They are very poisonous and if you are stung you will be dead in minutes. Do not house with small fish as they will be eaten. An Antennata lionfish would also eat shrimp, and possibly hermts and snails so the best Clean up crew is a UV sterilizer.

Picture credit goes to " Gasguzzler from SWF.com

Just to note on the stonefish comment, a study was taken of all reported stonefish incidents in Australia and Indonesia and noted there are no known fatalities from stonefish in Australia. It could only definitively attribute 3 deaths to stonefish venomation and these were where the spine pierced straight into a vein or artery thus carrying the blood further around the body. Added to this is the lack of first aid applied at the time of the incident.

A simple way to prevent death is to submerge the injured area into a bowl of very hot (40 degrees C) water as the venom is heat reactive.

I am not saying that the venom of stonefish (or other members of the Scorpaeniformes family) is not bad, it hurts like hell, I just want to stop people thinking that if you step on a stonefish you have like 15 second to live as this just simply isn't the case.