Got a scorpionfish

[quigimon]

Picked up a scorpionfish at A.C. Sunday after the meet, he was listed as a red scorpion but I'm doing research to figure out exactly what he is. He's taken frozen food, shrimp and fish but since he's nocturnal it's hard to witness it, but hopefully I can get some video this weekend of him eating. He certainly isn't for everyone since he spends most of the day under sand with just his eyes sticking out of the sand but at night he is perched on top of the sand just waiting for something to come by. He's all by himself aside from a bunch of baby snails and a solitary hermit crab but is doing good. My favorite is waking up in the morning and shining a light in the tank to check him out and he tilts his head towards the light as if to give me a dirty look followed by a string of expletives about turning that light off, my favorite fish so far and I've only had him just shy of 5 days.

 

[ParkerB]

Picked up a scorpionfish at A.C. Sunday after the meet, he was listed as a red scorpion but I'm doing research to figure out exactly what he is. He's taken frozen food, shrimp and fish but since he's nocturnal it's hard to witness it, but hopefully I can get some video this weekend of him eating. He certainly isn't for everyone since he spends most of the day under sand with just his eyes sticking out of the sand but at night he is perched on top of the sand just waiting for something to come by. He's all by himself aside from a bunch of baby snails and a solitary hermit crab but is doing good. My favorite is waking up in the morning and shining a light in the tank to check him out and he tilts his head towards the light as if to give me a dirty look followed by a string of expletives about turning that light off, my favorite fish so far and I've only had him just shy of 5 days.

That's a sweet pick up man,

I have a leaf scorpion fish that I got on frozen in my 15g mostly sps nano. Planning on picking up a red one as I have a yellow. Wish they were more popular in tanks as twy are an amazing fish and mine as well is my favorite fish I've owned.

Post a video when you can man.

 

[Greg@LionfishLair]

Post up a pic, and we can work on an ID.

You'll want a clear shot of the entire fish as well as a detail shot of the head showing any spines, pits, tubercules, etc. Be sure to either focus your camera on the fish or back it off enuff so it will focus itself.

 

[ParkerB]

Post up a pic, and we can work on an ID.

You'll want a clear shot of the entire fish as well as a detail shot of the head showing any spines, pits, tubercules, etc. Be sure to either focus your camera on the fish or back it off enuff so it will focus itself.

Can say your site helped me get my lead scorpion on frozen food. ^ so thank you he now only eats from certain tongs and praises me every 2-3days so that's how I know when to feed.

Thanks again for your website and help.

 

[Greg@LionfishLair]

Parker,

Be aware that often, bright red leaf scorps often fade to a mottled creamy-pink color in captivity (not always, but often). That's great that you have your fish on non-living foods, as leaf scorps are notoriously difficult to wean (some never do).

This is the same specimen, taken a few months apart:

 

[quigimon]

Post up a pic, and we can work on an ID.

You'll want a clear shot of the entire fish as well as a detail shot of the head showing any spines, pits, tubercules, etc. Be sure to either focus your camera on the fish or back it off enuff so it will focus itself.

I've checked out your site as well, I'll give it a shot, he should be easier to shoot in low light since he's by nature not real active. But he certainly is awesome.

 

[quigimon]

That's a sweet pick up man,

I have a leaf scorpion fish that I got on frozen in my 15g mostly sps nano. Planning on picking up a red one as I have a yellow. Wish they were more popular in tanks as twy are an amazing fish and mine as well is my favorite fish I've owned.

Post a video when you can man.

I certainly wasn't expecting to see one since they seem pretty rare, the last searched I performed resulted in menu preparations and one other site, lionfishlairs, so when a friend pointed him out to me I knew I was leaving with him.

 

[ParkerB]

Parker,

Be aware that often, bright red leaf scorps often fade to a mottled creamy-pink color in captivity (not always, but often). That's great that you have your fish on non-living foods, as leaf scorps are notoriously difficult to wean (some never do).

This is the same specimen, taken a few months apart:

That's crazy, any idea why? Js it when they molt they slowly lose their color? I just wanted them to be easier to tell apart from each other. Lol.

But I'm sure I could tell even if they were yellow.

Thanks for the insight.

 

[quigimon]

Parker,

Be aware that often, bright red leaf scorps often fade to a mottled creamy-pink color in captivity (not always, but often). That's great that you have your fish on non-living foods, as leaf scorps are notoriously difficult to wean (some never do).

This is the same specimen, taken a few months apart:

I have not seen him with his dorsal fin erect, he didn't seem as Vivid red as pictures I've seen but I don't know if he's shedding his cuticle resulting in the lighter appearance. This is the only image I have so far, I know its not the best but ill get a better one tonight.

P.s. it's also very interesting to see him huff and puff his way in the sand bed.

 

[Greg@LionfishLair]

I certainly wasn't expecting to see one since they seem pretty rare, the last searched I performed resulted in menu preparations and one other site, lionfishlairs, so when a friend pointed him out to me I knew I was leaving with him.

FWIW, and as you can probably tell from our screenies, wife and I own Lionfish Lair... :wink:

From your photo, the fish MIGHT be Scorpaena brasiliensis (red barbfish), but I can't say for sure from the photo alone.

 

[Greg@LionfishLair]

That's crazy, any idea why? Js it when they molt they slowly lose their color? I just wanted them to be easier to tell apart from each other. Lol.

But I'm sure I could tell even if they were yellow.

Thanks for the insight.

It has nothing to do with their molting...it might be linked to nutrition (carotenoid supplementation may help), it might be habitat, or both. Nobody really knows definitively, but it does happen fairly often.

Leafs are really great little fish tho...very comical the way they crutch and hop around the tank. And they do really well in pairs and trios.

 

[ParkerB]

It has nothing to do with their molting...it might be linked to nutrition (carotenoid supplementation may help), it might be habitat, or both. Nobody really knows definitively, but it does happen fairly often.

Leafs are really great little fish tho...very comical the way they crutch and hop around the tank. And they do really well in pairs and trios.

That's what I wanna do as he's the only fish in my tank, which is super nice for my corals as his bio load is incredibly small. I want another one so I can have a little duo going. I've owned him for about 9mo now and can say couldn't be happier with my purchase. I saved him from the local fish store as a harlequin tusk was picking on him. (Whoever put them together was messed up)

 

[Greg@LionfishLair]

If you can nab a cockatoo waspfish (Ablabys taenianotus), it will do wonderfully with leaf fish, and they have even better personalities. Our specimen will even sit in my palm every so often. They aren't super colorful, but they're my fave of the smaller venomous species.

Do you stick feed yours or feed it from a net?

 

[quigimon]

FWIW, and as you can probably tell from our screenies, wife and I own Lionfish Lair... :wink:

From your photo, the fish MIGHT be Scorpaena brasiliensis (red barbfish), but I can't say for sure from the photo alone.

That was the conclusion I came to after doing some research, I'll try to get a picture when the time is right. He doesn't seem like the type of fish to be pushed around and I have no intention of attempting to coerce him lol.

 

[ParkerB]

If you can nab a cockatoo waspfish (Ablabys taenianotus), it will do wonderfully with leaf fish, and they have even better personalities. Our specimen will even sit in my palm every so often. They aren't super colorful, but they're my fave of the smaller venomous species.

Do you stick feed yours or feed it from a net?

He actually only feeds from some plastic ikea tongs, I used to stick feed him but the way he nabs the food made me sketch because I always felt he was going to hurt himself. I also feed silversides+krill, soaked in vitamins and some restor.

I've even fed him spiralina curious on if he would take it and he takes anything from tongs I've fed him gumbo and rods mysid before as well. Just takes to long as I have to feed him back to back instead of feeding half a silverside

 

[nerdwolf]

I saw one of these at AC yesterday in the front corner of the tank, but unless they don't need to breathe, it was dead. :-( Are they tasty?

 

[ParkerB]

I saw one of these at AC yesterday in the front corner of the tank, but unless they don't need to breathe, it was dead. :-( Are they tasty?

Idk about tasty, they breath very very slow as they hide. Could have still been alive. They do their best to blend in. Was it up right or on its side?

 

[Lionfish Lair]

If you see them breathing.... they are breathing too hard.

 

[ParkerB]

If you see them breathing.... they are breathing too hard.

I should have said it like that. Lol
Exactly right tho you can't even tell unless you get 2" away from the tank and stare for a long hard while lol.

 

[Connie]

so these guys are reef safe?