These species are native to the Pacific and Indian Oceans and are carnivore in nature. Due to their striking image, they are very popular in home aquariums. However, they do not play well with others! Their 13 venomous dorsal spines, 2 pelvic spines, and 3 anal spines are very painful but not fatal to humans. They are extremely territorial and hate sharing their food and space so they do not make kind neighbors. They are not very active swimmers and like to hangout in caves and beneath dark ledges.
The problem with these organisms is that they are efficient consumers, they have no natural competitors or predators, and they reproduce frequently and in large broods. Because of this, they are taking over our reefs! Education on these and other harmful invasive species is very important and can help control their exploding population. In case of a Lionfish sighting, please call REEF at (305)-852-0030 to note their location.
When visiting the reefs while snorkeling tomorrow we may encounter this beautiful, yet venomous creature. Keep following us Tropical Ospreys on our Florida adventures to see what shenanigans we can get into next!
#Lionfish #Venomous #Invasivespecies #SaveOurReefs #EducateAboutLionfish
I'm really glad that during our day and night dives we didn't encounter them. We really weren't prepared to handle them aside from phoning someone else to come in and take care of it. I just hope that one day we can really get a grasp on how to control these guys - but that may be in another lifetime since invasive species are hard to really handle!
ReplyDeleteI wrote my paper for class about them, they can lay up to 2 million eggs every time they spawn! It's really crazy to think about. Especially because they do not play a big role in their home environment in the Pacific
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