My Lion is Crazy... picture

[Dewman]

My Dwarf Zebra has recently (a week) taken up residence in a patch of star polyps. I know his venom is potent from experience. OUCH! 8O
I am wondering if the release of venom is voluntary, or are the tips of the fins simply coated with this poison and can accidently be injected into corals?
Not too worried about the polyps, but it could be disasterous for a brain or other LPS.

Sorry the pic is so crappy, it is from a pen-cam...

 

[Desolas]

The venom is within the hollow tubes that make up the spine, and there is a poison gland at the base of the spine - so when it enters something the gland sends out the poison.

Only the spines in front of the dorsal have this venom, the rest are just sharp spines. The spines are used in defense, and mild offense usually during a defensive move, like a head-butt. When the fish is resting, the weight of the fish will not puncture anything it is sitting on as the pectoral spines are not nearly as sharp as the dorsal.

You may notice if you have your hand in the tankd and move quickly the fish will point it's dorsal spines towards you, even if you are toward it's side it will angle them in your general direction; sometimes.

 

[Dewman]

Desolas,

Yeah, I "Noticed" that one day when I was feeding krill and watching TV at the same time.
The first indication was the sudden burning in the back of my hand, followed by a little blood in the water... my blood...

Thanks, I was sort of worried...but also curious how my pic would turn out.

 

[Anonymous]

Nice pic

 

[FMarini]

The venom (not poison) is in all the dorsal and anal spines. Each spine is like a small hypodermic needle and venom is not released unless there is pressure on the spine, it must be actively pumped. There are many fish which eat lionfish w/ no problems, so unless the venom is injected into tissue (the venom is composed of a heat labile protiens, the predominant is free acetycholine thats how it works it overrides the nervous system)m its harmless
frank
ps if you get zapped by a liom immerse your hand in non scalding hot water for at least 30min-1hr

 

[Dewman]

SKboK, Thanks.
I got a pen camera for christmas. It's ok for recreational use. But nothing special. I always have to sharpen the images in Adobe before posting them.

Fmarini..
Thanks for the tip. It has only happened once, but it was painful enough to make me more careful when feeding time comes.

 

[EmilyB]

I've always got my hands in the tank and have yet to have any type of aggression from my zebra. I have to remind myself there is a lionfish in there.

 

[Anonymous]

an extra word of caution to all lion keepers:

if one is allergic to the toxin(and you don't know if you are or are not :wink: )- even a small 'sting' can have very serious consequences.

a customer of ours at my first lfs got 'scratched' by a very young volitans-he was hospitalized for a few days-a severe allergic reaction can lead to cardiac arrest, and respiratory failure 8O

the sting , even if you aren't allergic-can be extremely painful, and also involve extreme swelling of the immediate area(feels like a severe burn)-and as F Marini pointed out-the treatment isn't exactly a piece of cake,either :wink:

always keep at least one eye on a lion at all times, if you put your hands in the tank :wink:

 

[Anonymous]

am i the only one missing the picture?

 

[EmilyB]

Nope. There are no pictures.

 

[wombat1]

Ditto. I thought I read once that the venom isn't dangerous to other fish, but I may be mistaken.

 

[Anonymous]

I have a Foxface that I often just forget about when working in my tank. I just know I am goin to get nailed someday. He has never shown any agression towards me and eats out of my hand. This is my favorite fish. I am planning a 55 gallon Dwarf Lion Tank now. I would like to try a Zebra and perhaps another Dwarf in the same tank.

 

[Dewman]

Sorry, The picture worked all night lastnight. I don't know why it's not working now.
I posted it on Pictures.net.

here is the link

http://www.photo.net/photodb/image-disp ... 71&size=md


I didn't post it as an attachment, do I need to di it that way?
I just threw the url in between the thingies...

 

[Dewman]

Sorry, The picture worked all night lastnight. I don't know why it's not working now.
I posted it on Pictures.net.

here is the link

http://www.photo.net/photodb/image-disp ... 71&size=md


I didn't post it as an attachment, do I need to di it that way?
I just threw the url in between the thingies...

 

[pmac]

Picture is still not working.

 

[aquarist=broke]

I see the picture fine just fine......

It is pretty cool.

 

[pmac]

oh well.. I can't see 'em... Wonder why. Anyone else having the same problem?

Patrick

 

[Dewman]

OK... here we go.
This time, I know it will work...

No more Photo.net