# Venemous fish



## Lucifus (Aug 30, 2007)

Just wondering does anyone have any experience keeping venomous fish such as stone fish, Stargazers, weavers and my favorite - lionfish.











Also what sort of venom does lionfish and stargazers have? I know stonefish will be able to end your life in an unbelievably short amount of time and weavers although severe are rarely life threatening but what about the other two?


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## RoninUK (Aug 30, 2007)

I kept Lionfish for years and have swam with them in the Indian ocean too. I have also swam near Stonefish which is a little unnerving.

Lionfish are very easy to keep though they will eat anything they can fit in their mouths. You do have to watch the spines on the back but mainly to avoid sticking yourself accidentally.

I have seen one Lionfish sting when a tropical fish shop owner was trying to put one back in a tank before it died (vandals had wrecked the tanks and we were trying to salvage the fish that were still alive). he scooped it up in a net but then cupped his hand round the net - as you would with most fish - and was stung. He was quickly in intense pain and you could see redness and inflamation travel up his arm. He was fine after a trip to hospital and a few days rest to let the swelling and pain subside.(though I don't know what treatment they gave him) .

Mark


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## simonas (Apr 12, 2008)

I kept toadfish and have a waspfish now and I just keep my hands away when feeding


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## Lucifus (Aug 30, 2007)

RoninUK said:


> I kept Lionfish for years and have swam with them in the Indian ocean too. I have also swam near Stonefish which is a little unnerving.
> 
> Lionfish are very easy to keep though they will eat anything they can fit in their mouths. You do have to watch the spines on the back but mainly to avoid sticking yourself accidentally.
> 
> ...


What sort of tank would i be looking at for a lion fish and how much would the fish itself actually cost. Will probally be another year before i get one but don't want to dive right in and end up killing an expensive fish. (or any fish for that matter)


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## Omerov1986 (Feb 11, 2009)

dont bother with stone fish, to boring and to much hazard imo, the lion is a great starter in the venomous chapter, as posted above, you do get some real pain, its like x50 bee stings in one, and it raises the chance of anaphylaxis upon being stung again, but i would reccomend a dwarf lion, such as the Fu-man-chu (seen above) or the fuzzy (seen below), theyre smaller, and even though may have the same potency as a normal lion, the range is obviously shorter than the normal, as they do not possess the same length of finnage










hope this helps abit


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## Omerov1986 (Feb 11, 2009)

also, that these fish i have seen for about between £30-40 a piece so in marine standards, that s cheap


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## xyra (Apr 26, 2007)

I've got a three spined toadfish ("freshwater" stonefish, a brackish species thats not as venomous as the marine species) Very docile species, when I have to catch it, it is incredibally calm easy to work with. Just don't forget not to touch the spines!

I've also got freshwater stingrays, again very gentle species, although can be spooked at feeding time by more boisterous fish.


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## RoninUK (Aug 30, 2007)

Lucifus said:


> What sort of tank would i be looking at for a lion fish and how much would the fish itself actually cost. Will probally be another year before i get one but don't want to dive right in and end up killing an expensive fish. (or any fish for that matter)


Lionfish were always at the "cheaper " end of marine fish but I am out of touch with prices now so I don't know what they cost these days. I kept mine in a 48 x24x15 inch tank which let it get to a fair size and still have room to swim - a bigger tank would be even better.. As suggested above the smaller species like the Fu Manchus are very attractive and would do well in smaller tanks.

When I kept marines the Lionfish was a standard starter fish a lot of people used while maturing their marine tanks because they are pretty hardy. The only one I had die unexpectedly choked itself trying to eat another tank inhabitant which was much too big for it. They really cannot be trusted with anything vaguely near a size they might try to swallow (again less of an issue with the smaller species because there are more fish that are too big for them to eat).

I am still a big fan of Lionfish - they are so peaceful to watch drifting around the tank with their fins spread and unless you grossly neglect the tank or otherwise screw up the system big time they are among the easier marines to keep happy.


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## Binky (May 7, 2008)

Dwart fuzzies, your looking at bout £25, most of other larger species head towards the £40 mark and then u have the fumanchu which reach about £50's


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## xyra (Apr 26, 2007)

Binky said:


> Dwart fuzzies, your looking at bout £25, most of other larger species head towards the £40 mark and then u have the fumanchu which reach about £50's


Fumanchu are stunning...i've been tempted to set up a tank for one for a while.


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## Richcymru (Nov 21, 2008)

Large envenomations can cause a reduction in blood pressure and an increase in respiration rate. The most significant signs of envenomation are an initial erythematous reaction (i.e. reddening of the skin/inflammation), formation of blisters and in severe cases necrosis.
Placing the envenomated limb etc into hot water (not scolding!!) will break down the venom proteins and aid in recovery. However, you should expect a fair amount of pain!!


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## Aquai (Feb 11, 2009)

Binky said:


> Dwart fuzzies, your looking at bout £25, most of other larger species head towards the £40 mark and then u have the fumanchu which reach about £50's


I think with pricing it's heavily dependant on location, around here you can pick up fumanchus for just over £30 i believe and the same for dwarves, volitans you're talking around £40 again


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## mr herp (Feb 11, 2009)

do you know if you have to have a licence to keep poison fish in the uk how much does it cost to get a licence what info do u have to give and where will you get poison fish in the uk


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## Richcymru (Nov 21, 2008)

mr herp said:


> do you know if you have to have a licence to keep poison fish in the uk how much does it cost to get a licence what info do u have to give and where will you get poison fish in the uk


Venomous fish are not covered by the DWA act


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## mr herp (Feb 11, 2009)

what types of poison fish can you keep in the uk


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## Richcymru (Nov 21, 2008)

mr herp said:


> what types of poison fish can you keep in the uk


Any that you can get your hands on!

The most common are the lionfish but you occasionally see scorpionfish. There are also a few brackish water species of toadfish which are nowhere near as venomous as their marine counterparts. If you have a native marine tank you could always go and catch your own weaver fish. The best habitat is on exposed sandy shores but I think you would have to be lucky to find one unless you use a sein net (which requires a license to use).


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## xyra (Apr 26, 2007)

mr herp said:


> what types of poison fish can you keep in the uk



Any you can get hold of. None are DWA to my knowledge. Some might be CITES however and difficult to get hold of.


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## mr herp (Feb 11, 2009)

can you keep what is the most poison fish you can keep and also can you keep puffer fish


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## Aquai (Feb 11, 2009)

What is this obsession with the poisonous fish?

Puffer fish are legal, but need big tanks.


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## xyra (Apr 26, 2007)

Puffers are probably the most poisonous fish you can get.
Lionfish are probably the most venomous that is commonly available. Stonefish etc are obviously far more venomous, but very rarely turn up for sale.


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## Binky (May 7, 2008)

Aquai said:


> I think with pricing it's heavily dependant on location, around here you can pick up fumanchus for just over £30 i believe and the same for dwarves, volitans you're talking around £40 again


I do agree, those prices were just a rough guide based on normal mark up from tmc prices


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## Lucifus (Aug 30, 2007)

Aquai said:


> What is this obsession with the poisonous fish?


I like keeping animals with a bit of danger. Im looking for stuff that wont kill me but have that little bit of danger mixed in even if i will probably (hopefully) never get stung.


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## xyra (Apr 26, 2007)

Lucifus said:


> I like keeping animals with a bit of danger. Im looking for stuff that wont kill me but have that little bit of danger mixed in even if i will probably (hopefully) never get stung.


Not to much danger from a poisonous fish, unless it is on your plate. Sorry, couldn't help it  <hides>

I agree though. Plus some are so lovely, ie stingrays... and toadfish have such great faces.


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## owlbassboy (Jun 26, 2008)

if your going for a smaller lion id go for the fuzzy dwarf as fu manchus can be a complete pain in the arse tho i know a guy that had a fu feeding on new era flake in a few days.


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## Snakes r grreat (Aug 21, 2006)

I have deleted several pages of crap from this thread, the cause of which is on a holiday at present. Perhaps the thread has a chance of returning to something useful.


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## Aquai (Feb 11, 2009)

Snakes r grreat said:


> I have deleted several pages of crap from this thread, the cause of which is on a holiday at present. Perhaps the thread has a chance of returning to something useful.


Nice one, ty mod :2thumb:


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## Graylord (Jul 17, 2007)

I`ve been stung by three species of lionfish none of which were too painful a quick soak under very hot water and bobs your uncle a few stiff fingers for a bit but not much more.

Rabbit fish stings are more painful but more short term as are the spines of the black sea urchin.

i`ve heard the sting from the spines of the coldwater catfish the black bullhead is really bad had someone tell me they had an arm go black and blue after being jabbed.

More fish tales of the golden monkey soon folks :lol2:


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## mike515 (Sep 12, 2006)

Been 'done' by a couple of lions (volitans and fuzzydwarf, both common inmates in the shop I work in) as well as a foxface.

All were really painful but like darwengray splash of hot water and no lasting affects. It's all down to the person. For some its like a bad bee sting. For others it can be hospital. For me it was pretty painful, had stiff fingers and a splitting headache (with the volitans anyway). The fuzzy dwarf it was just the initial pain and a bit of stiff fingers. The foxface wasn't too bad, real painful for like 5 minutes but was fine thereafter


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## inkyjoe (Mar 31, 2008)

i nearly got stung by my laticeps sting ray. I was moving house and the only thing i could net the ray with was a collander and my big(ish) net. it all went well, until i noticed his barb stuck in the net, like, millimetres away from where my thumb was. Apparently p.laticeps has one of the most excrutiatingly painful stings, im glad it didnt get me, i wouldnt have been moving that day, and it wouldve screwed up new years celebrations:lol2:


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## xyra (Apr 26, 2007)

inkyjoe said:


> i nearly got stung by my laticeps sting ray. I was moving house and the only thing i could net the ray with was a collander and my big(ish) net. it all went well, until i noticed his barb stuck in the net, like, millimetres away from where my thumb was. Apparently p.laticeps has one of the most excrutiatingly painful stings, im glad it didnt get me, i wouldnt have been moving that day, and it wouldve screwed up new years celebrations:lol2:


I moved our rays to a new tank recently - one wouldn't go into a box so I ended up using a large mesh koi net thinking it would work.

Took me 20 minutes working about 2mm from the barb to get it released. Fortunately the ray was perfectly behaved and didn't even try and wriggle whilst I was pulling it about!


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## owlbassboy (Jun 26, 2008)

a mate of mine was hit by a fu manchu and got him in the bloodstream and he says it was the most excrutiating thing hes ever experienced


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