Antennata lionfish

Care at a glance

Overview

Give a single antennata lionfish at least 300 litres with caves and open swimming room, at 24 to 27 C and pH 8.0 to 8.4. It is coral safe but will eat any fish or shrimp small enough to swallow, so choose larger tankmates. Feed thawed marine shrimp, silversides and chunks of fish from a feeding stick, and avoid a diet of only freshwater feeders, which cause fatty liver disease. Take great care during maintenance, since the spines are venomous even on a healthy-looking fish.

In the wild

The antennata lionfish is a mid-sized lionfish with long, separated pectoral rays that fan out like feathers and fine barring in red, brown and white. It has spotted membranes and a pair of long tentacles above the eyes. Slow and deliberate, it drifts out at dusk and corners small fish with its spread fins.

Good to know

Pterois antennata reaches around 20 cm and carries venom in the grooves of its dorsal, pelvic and anal spines, used purely for defence. A sting is intensely painful and best treated by immersing the wound in hot water, which breaks down the venom. It herds prey into a corner with its wide pectoral fins before a lightning gulp.

Did you know

Lionfish spread their fan-like pectoral fins to slowly herd smaller fish into a corner, then strike so fast that the prey vanishes in a single visible gulp.

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