It is famous for a wide variety of fish, shellfish and other marine life. It is for this reason that people love to go diving in resorts. It is here that the lionfish lives - a fish that has an expressive appearance. Despite all the beauty, its thorns are very poisonous, so not only divers, but also bathers should be careful. A few years ago, there were no zebra fish in Caribbean, she lived only in the Pacific and Indian oceans.

General information about fish

As noted above, this creature is considered very beautiful, but at the same time it is a rather dangerous individual of the scorpion family. It should be noted that this fish has several popular names, for example, striped lionfish. Since the habitat is usually limited to the coastal zone and places where there are a lot of corals, tourists need to be careful, because if you step on it with your foot, you are 100% likely to receive a dose of poison. Adults reach 30-40 centimeters in length, and the weight, as a rule, does not exceed 1 kilogram. Color is what is most interesting about this individual. Branch rays, which open only during hunting or danger, can be different color: brown, gray and even red. The head of this seemingly harmless fish is covered with spikes, and near the mouth there are tentacles similar to those of a catfish.

Lionfish: photos and features

It is safe to say that among all the other inhabitants of the oceans and seas you will recognize this immediately. This is due to the fact that the fish has a number of features. For example, the absence of rays on the pectoral fins, as well as a large oblique mouth with teeth. Please note that bright coloring this representative of the scorpionfish says that you should not get too close, and serves as a warning sign. But if such signals are understood, then a person immediately looks for an underwater camera and gets closer to high-quality picture. Believe me, it's better to find photos taken by someone before than to risk your health to see what a lionfish is. The fish, of course, does not attack first, especially those who are larger than it in size, but it will definitely defend itself. Its peculiarity is that the coloring allows you to disguise yourself anywhere, be it algae or something else.

Is the lionfish dangerous for a person or not?

Let's not delay for a long time and frankly say yes. There were cases even lethal outcome, and all this due to negligence and excessive curiosity. As already noted a little above, this fish has a large number of rays. Some are soft and harmless, while others are hard. Inside there are deep channels through which the poison flows. The more injections received, the worse the consequences. This poison always causes paralysis of the respiratory and skeletal muscles, and since the swimmer or diver is presumably under water, he can easily drown. Therefore, the victim needs to call for help as soon as possible and get out of the water. Small swellings form at the injection site, and the wound will hurt for a long time.

Habitat expansion

Under favorable conditions, the fish develop quite quickly, which causes concern. For example, for last years lionfish appeared on the popular Florida, Haiti, etc. First of all, it is dangerous for lovers sea ​​recreation, since it can easily be spoiled by stepping where the fish is resting. But that's not all. Since, under favorable conditions, the lionfish reproduces very quickly and is a predatory individual, it poses a danger to other marine life, in particular, smaller ones. Most likely, soon scientists will take some measures to reduce the population of lionfish.

A little about the content in the aquarium

IN Lately keeping such fish in captivity has become extremely popular. No, no, this is not done for the purpose of conducting experiments, people just buy lionfish and keep it in an aquarium. In principle, this is due to its attractive and exotic appearance. It is necessary to create optimal conditions for keeping such an individual as lionfish. The fish in the aquarium should feel comfortable, for this you need to know a few important points. Firstly, the volume of the aquarium should not be less than 200 liters. In addition, it is necessary to take care of filtration and aeration. For this, a special compressor is bought. Since the lionfish is poisonous, it simply loves to disguise itself and wait for its prey. In order not to spoil the feeling of realism, take care to install large shells, snags, corals and other shelters. As for food, a small grass shrimp or something like that will do for a start. When the fish grows up a little, it is necessary to give her food containing meat or fish. It can even be purchased frozen minced meat.

Passive and active hunting

The lionfish spends most of its free time resting with its belly up, not far from air pockets or caves. Twilight activity suggests that this individual hunts mainly in the evenings. The fish determines for itself exactly how to get food this time. If this is a passive hunt, then the lionfish spreads its fins wide and disguises itself in corals or algae. Careless prey comes too close to the predator and ends up in its belly in a split second. By the way, the lionfish swallows its prey whole, while not always using poisonous rays. More often they go into action when the fish feels danger. As for active hunting, in this case the lionfish practically does not use its disguise. She chases after her prey until she drives her into a trap. There she quickly neutralizes it and eats it. By the way, often the lion fish itself becomes prey, even though it is poisonous. Some more large inhabitants without any problems for their health they eat lionfish.

Conclusion

As you can see, the lion fish is very interesting and beautiful, but you need to be extremely careful. For example, if there is a lionfish in the aquarium, and you are going to change the water, then do not stick your hands in there, as you can get an injection. Even if the dose is small, you will get a lot of discomfort. You can not buy lionfish today everywhere, but you can’t call it a deficit either. In large specialized stores, it is sold in a wide range. These are different colors and sizes. By the way, before today it was not possible to breed this fish in captivity for breeding, so if you are making a purchase for this purpose, then you can leave this venture. That, in principle, is all that can be said about how dangerous the lionfish is and what kind of aquarium it needs. It is recommended to close the aquarium with a special lid, because if a fish jumps out of there, a cat can eat it, and it is quite possible that you yourself will step on it and pierce your leg. So we figured out what it is, a lionfish. Fish are dangerous to humans, so be careful.

One of the most beautiful fish is the sea dweller, the lionfish. Which attracts attention with its bright and unusual color.

But despite its name, lionfish (lat. Pterois volitans) cannot fly. The lionfish is also called the lion fish or the zebra fish. She owes her first name to her long fins, which look like a predatory lion's mane, and won the second because of the wide brown, red and gray stripes that stretch all over her body. Basically, the lionfish is a better-known inhabitant of the tropical parts of the Pacific and Indian Oceans off the coast of Australia, Japan and China.

The multitude of pectoral and dorsal fins in which poisonous needles lurk made the lionfish also a very dangerous inhabitant of the seas.

During the day, these fish are inactive, and putting out their poisonous fins, they hide among corals or among stones. They go hunting after dark. Their menu mainly includes crabs, shellfish, shrimp and small fish. Hiding and standing still, it is difficult to distinguish the lionfish from algae, and therefore the fish very easily fall into their trap. If the prey decided to run away, then it stumbles upon poisonous spikes, and the poison of the lionfish acts instantly.

Zebra fish is a good predator, for example, in half an hour it catches and swallows up to 30 fish. The poison of this beautiful and deadly dangerous fish also very dangerous for humans. Such poisoning leads to disruption of the heart and is accompanied by convulsions. The pain begins to subside only after a few hours and is felt for more than one day, and in some cases, gangrene may begin at the injection site with poison.

The male lionfish during the mating period changes its color, and becomes darker than usual, which makes its stripes less noticeable. The female becomes paler, and parts of her body become white-silver. For mating, the male chooses a group of 3 to 8 females, at which point the males are more aggressive than ever. If another male swims into the mating territory of a male lionfish, the owner of the territory spreads his fins wide, approaching the enemy and showing his strength and power. Caviar during the spawning period is divided into two balls which contain at least 2000 and up to 15000 eggs.

The lionfish got its nickname for its large pectoral fins, which are so well developed that they big size gives them a resemblance to the wings of birds. The body of the fish is dotted with a large number of long sharp and poisonous rays. An injection with such a spike is extremely painful, from which a person can fall into a painful shock, which is especially dangerous at depth, since the diver simply does not have time to surface to the boat or swim to the shore. IN rare cases tissue necrosis may form at the injection site, which leads to gangrene of the stung limb.

The extreme danger of the poisonous rays of the lionfish makes it one of the most scary inhabitants sea ​​waters. In addition, the fish lives for the most part on picturesque coral reefs, which are traditionally a favorite place for divers to dive. An inexperienced diver or a person simply enchanted by the beauty of the fish will definitely be pricked if he tries to stroke the lionfish.

However, the lionfish fish is quite passive. She spends most of the time without moving, lying on her belly at the bottom, or climbing into a crevasse. She only comes out to hunt at night. She sucks her prey along with water into a large mouth when it approaches close enough to the predator. Among the bright colors of the coral reef, the lionfish looks like “another” beautiful bush that small fish, shrimps or clams definitely want to explore. But the same ability to disguise itself as a bunch of algae for a person, as already mentioned, sometimes turns out tragically.

At all coral reef a place as beautiful as it is dangerous. If it is not difficult to spot a giant grouper, and he, as you know, can attack a person if he considers him a contender for his territory, then seeing a moray eel, snake or lionfish is sometimes difficult. Therefore, be vigilant. It should be remembered that the lionfish does not attack first, and the injections are random.

Talk about appearance lionfish can be long. Many types of lionfish living in the world's oceans differ in size and color. In the Caribbean Sea, there are individuals growing up to 55 cm. Basically, fish do not exceed 30 cm. Large pectoral fins are characteristic of all subspecies of lionfish. On the back are long rays. The caudal and anal fins are shifted far towards the tail. The coloring resembles zebra stripes, which is where the informal name of lionfish comes from - zebra fish.

There are not many enemies at the lionfish on the reef. Only in the stomachs of large groupers were the remains of this fish found. A great danger to zebra fish is a person. He uses her as an aquarium fish.

Lion fish: one of the most dangerous inhabitants underwater world at the Lazarevsky Oceanarium tropical amazon»

Lionfish or lion fish(Pterois volitans) - inhabitant sea ​​depths, one of the most dangerous for humans marine fish. The lionfish got its name due to the beautiful fins that look like the wings of a bird. And if the fish spreads its fins and bristles them, then they become like a violent lion's mane, hence the second name of this species of fish.

Let's find out how amazing and unusual these fish are, the inhabitants of the aquarium in Lazarevsky and why meeting them is a serious danger for a person.

Description of lion fish and habitat in nature

The lion fish does not differ in large sizes - the length of its body does not exceed thirty centimeters. The coloration is light - large light stripes pass on a beige or red-brown background of the body. The pectoral fins of the fish are large, fan-shaped. The lionfish also has such fins on its back. The main weapon of the lionfish is hidden in the fins - thin, incredibly sharp poisonous needles. The prick of such a needle is not only painful, it is deadly even for humans, since the poison of the lionfish can cause paralysis of the respiratory muscles.

The lionfish arrived at the Tropical Amazon Lazarevsky Oceanarium from tropical waters. Fish of this species are found in tropical zones Pacific and indian ocean, along the coast of Japan. Most recently, the lionfish settled on the territory of the Caribbean coral shallows - this happened due to the wreck of a private yacht on which an aquarium with lionfish was transported. Fish, once in the sea, quickly multiplied and now pose a rather serious threat to the ecosystem of the region, as lionfish exterminate a significant number of species of rare coral fish.

Behavioral features and curious facts about the lionfish

The lion fish is a predator that preys on more small fish. Lionfish leads night image life and prefers to swim out of the shelters to hunt about three to two hours before sunset. Lionfish hunt in two ways - with the help of a direct attack of the victim or disguise. In the second method, the lionfish freezes motionless next to the corals and becomes like a marine plant. Small fish, unaware of the trick, swim up to dangerous predator close, and then she attacks and immediately swallows her prey.

Diving and spearfishing enthusiasts should remember that any contact with a lionfish can be deadly. The pricks of the thorns of this fish contain a strong poison that can lead to paralysis of the limbs, a state of shock. And the injection itself is so painful that a person can lose consciousness right under the water! beautiful coloring fish is a warning that should not be ignored for the sake of curiosity and the desire to take a closer look at the amazing fish.

The inhabitants of the underwater world are amazingly beautiful. A striking confirmation of this are the lionfish. But they are not only beautiful, but also very dangerous. Several injections inflicted by their poisonous needles located on the fins lead to paralysis of the skeletal and respiratory muscles. If a person stung by a lionfish is not helped to get ashore in time, he will drown.

In their defense, I will say that these fish never attack first, but if you disturb their peace, then the offender will be thoroughly punished.

Most often, such collisions occur through the fault of the person himself. An inattentive bather may accidentally hit her with his foot when she is peacefully resting among stones or corals, and curious divers have nothing to pull their hands to sea ​​creatures even if they are very pretty.

In fact, this is a rather cute and cute creature about 30 centimeters in length. It doesn't look like a normal fish. Special nobility and sophistication of the image is given to her by large pectoral and dorsal fins with long ribbons. But it is this beauty that is the most dangerous weapon.

These luxurious fan-shaped fins hide sharp needles with poisonous glands. One light prick and a person’s health deteriorates sharply, if several injections followed, then third-party help is already required here, otherwise the person may simply not be able to swim to the shore on his own.

The striped lionfish has several names: zebra fish, lion fish, zebra lionfish. And they all have their place. It is compared to a zebra because of the striped coloring, consisting of gray, red and brown stripes; with a lion - because of the long fan-like fins that give the fish the appearance of a kind of "mane". She was nicknamed the lionfish because of the large pectoral fins resembling wings.

Its bright color acts as a warning - "Dangerous for life - do not approach!" Marine life for some reason they understand this, but people do not always. In addition, it also performs a camouflage function, which allows the fish to quietly fit into the landscape of coral reefs and calmly wait for their prey.

Lionfish are ruthless predators. They prey on smaller fish, shrimp, crabs and shellfish. There are 2 types of hunting. The first is when a fish, with the help of its long fins, drives the fish into a trap, such as a narrow crevice between corals, where it swallows it with incredible speed.

The second is when she dissolves all her “decorations” and freezes in a motionless pose. Against the background of bright corals, it becomes similar to colored algae, so small fish calmly swim up to it so close.

If you want to try your luck, then you can safely go for a swim on the Red Sea coast or visit tropical waters off the coast of China, Japan and Australia. It is there that you can get to know this amazing fish better (if someone has such a desire).

Not so long ago, literally 16-17 years ago, our beauty settled in another place that was not typical for her before - in the Caribbean Sea. To date, they have already spread off the coast of Haiti, Cuba, Florida and the Cayman Islands.

Tourists vacationing in these resorts do not like this neighborhood. Yes, and aquatic inhabitants have a hard time, since the lionfish is famous for its voracity (it is able to swallow smaller fish, including its relatives, whole). But sometimes she herself acts as a tasty and apparently safe lunch, more big fish.

Poisonous glands in the lionfish are located in 18 needles located on the back, belly and closer to the tail. Each needle contains deep channels in which poisonous glands are located. In principle, the amount of poison from a single needle injection does not pose a particular threat to life.

The injection site will be very painful, gangrene may form, convulsions and disruption of the heart are observed, but this will not lead to death. But if several needles have stuck into the body and, moreover, deeply, then urgent measures must be taken urgently to save the person.

Although zebrafish venom may represent mortal danger, documented cases with a fatal outcome after meeting her have not yet been found.