Author: Ingo Siewert

The Lion fish is without doubt one of the most striking looking fish on any reef, including the reefs in Thailand. As they glide gently about in shallow waters, you would think that butter would not melt in its mouth. At second glance however, underneath all those beautiful markings and symmetric fins lies one of the most aggressive predators pound for pound in the oceans today.

Lion fish do actually belong to the Scorpion fish family, and that name alone must tell you something about this fish. They have a distinctive look to them, their coloring is normally brown, white stripes though here in Thailand we have Black ones too, these specimens tend to be little smaller than the Common Lion fish.

You will find small protruding tentacles above their eyes and also underneath their mouths, the fins on the side of the body (pectoral fins) are long and wispy. They have 13 dorsal spines with other 10 or 11 lateral spines; they also have 3 anal spines.

The adult Lion fish can grow quite large, especially where there is an abundant food source, such as an old wreck -where juvenile fish are born and bred. In fact, any artificial reef or nursery will house some magnificent Lion fish specimens.

They much prefer the warmer tropical waters (Thailand’s Andaman Sea), in the Indian Pacific and Atlantic oceans; they tend to stay around reefs, which means they are shallow water dwellers, however, specimens have been found as deep as 300 meters down.

Lion fish are quite a popular aquarium fish until they grow so big that they tend to eat all the other fish in the tank. This behavior has led many fish being released back into the wild; and even in waters where they would not normally be found, such as the cooler waters around the United States.

These fish have created a problem, as they have such a voracious appetite they tend to eat almost any smaller sized fish than itself. I have met many divers form the United States, many whom dive in the east coast waters and have complain about these fish growing very large and eating all the smaller fry. I guess this is what happens when man interferes in nature.

The spines of the Lion fish are extremely poisonous and will deliver a venomous sting to anything foolish or clumsy enough to tangle with it. The pain can be excruciating, it can cause extreme swelling, respiratory problems as well as paralysis, the young and aged are more at risk if stung.

Their venom is a combination of protein, a neuromuscular toxin and a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine all sounds very nasty and it is, just be careful out there, especially where you put your hands. If stung by a lion fish the patient must seek medical attention immediately. Warning these fish are dangerous, they can lay under ledges out of the sight of the diver.

Lion fish are normally a solitary creatures, however they can be found in small groups, these groups will usually consist of a large male and several females (a lion fish harem, if you like) that he will mate with. He is particularly aggressive of his territory and will protect his area.

The female lion fish, during mating, will release several thousands of eggs, maybe as many as 15000 at any one time, then the eggs will be fertilized by the male. The eggs will then float away on the ocean currents for a only a couple of days before the baby lion fish hatch. Once hatched, the young fry will stay close to the surface until they are large enough to defend themselves. Then they will swim down to join the nearest reef community.

The Blue Spotted Stingray or Kuhl’s stingray as it is also called – depending on where you dive I guess- is a member of the stingray family and the stingray species is also a distant relative of the Shark family, as they both have a skeletons made from cartilage.

These fascinating fish can usually be found down on the sandy bottom just off the reef, so when diving near bottom, it is a good idea if you are so inclined, to venture a little way from the reef, and you might indeed find several lying waiting for their prey.

Being the opportunistic feeders that they are they can be quite difficult to spot. I usually look for a tail sticking out of the sand, as their tails have a black and white band around them, this does give them away, but you must look very closely indeed.

These rays, like I have previously mentioned love nothing more than to bury just underneath the sand. They are also found around rocky areas, as well as coral rubble, they also tend to be near old wrecks and are can be found at around 20-25m deep.

These rays typically feed on crabs, lobsters, small fish, mollusks, octopus and worms. Most reefs have an ample food supply to support quite a few of these rays. The Blue Spotted Stingray does not have teeth like many fish; it does have bony plates in its mouth, which it uses to crush its victims, after it has over powered them and pinned them to the bottom.

Blue Spotted Stingray have a long tails which half way down house two venomous spines. The tail is usually about twice the length of the body of the fish. The spines or barbs as they are really called are two different sizes, one being larger than the other.

This stingray has bright yellow eyes and they are positioned in such a way that they have an excellent field of view and can see from almost every direction possible. Like sharks, they have spiracles; these spiracles allow them to draw in oxygenated water and are located right behind the ray’s eyes.

If you were able to flip the ray over onto its back (not recommended) then you would see its mouth and gills. These particular rays tend to live alone, however not much is known about these fish after dark in the wild.

Blue spotted rays give birth to live young while they are inside the womb, the embryo is well nourished by the yolk and these eggs are retained by the female until they hatch. The blue spotted ray can produce around seven live young in every litter.

All Blue Spotted Stingray juveniles are born with the distinctive blue markings of its parents. When they are ready to mate the male ray will follow the female with his acutely sensitive nose close to her cloaca, he does this all the while waiting for a sign to tell him that she is now ready to mate.

The actual courtship (like many other rays and sharks) typically includes some sort of biting and grabbing of the main body of the fish. The teeth of the male are used to hold the female in place during copulation. The male fertilizes the female via internal fertilization through the use of their claspers, again as with all other members of this species. The gestation can be anywhere from 4 months to a year. It is recommended to give members of this classification a wide birth if you think that they maybe mating, they might not like to be disturbed.