Freshwater Stonefish AKA Freshwater Lionfish

[BCherdingthefish]

I'm getting a 100 gallon this weekend and am interested in putting a Freshwater Stonefish in with an Albino Tiger Oscar. A few questions/concerns though;
The thing I'm most concerned about is the venom of this fish. It's debated exactly how venomous(some people say it could kill you, others say that it's just like a bee sting). I'm worried that if the Oscar were to bump into his poisonous spines on his back that it would kill him. Should I be worried about this?

A second concern, is that the Stonefish will only accept live food. Since they're ambush predators, they won't attack until the fish swims right by them. I'm worried that the Oscar would end up eating the (home-bred)feeder fish before the Stonefish would get them. Ideas?

And the last concern is that they would try to eat each other as juveniles. What size should I get each of them at, if I went with this stocking idea?

Thanks for the input!


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[charles-n-charge]

I own one myself, and your idea will not work. They are not freshwater fish, they are actually brackish fish that do best in very salty water. They thrive in marine systems; freshwater will quickly kill them.
They are sold as freshwater fish because they can stay in freshwater for short periods of time, just long enough to be sold to you and die shortly after.
so DO NOT BUY THEM unless you're planning on going marine very very VERY shortly.


Most people don't keep these fish, so you won't get too much help on here I'm sure. If you have any other questions, my email is charlesncharge24@yahoo.com

 

[charles-n-charge]

And to answer your questions..
Mine chases down his food, they're very aggressive and should only be kept with fish larger than their entire body.
They are not venomous whatsoever, but it will hurt when you get stabbed by one.
and They probably won't eat each other, but it is a possibility

 

[BCherdingthefish]

I have heard quite the opposite, actually, from people on this forum and others. They're also found living in freshwater creeks, and they live in freshwater every time the tide goes out...I've talked to many people who have successfully kept them for years in freshwater.


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[BCherdingthefish]

And to answer your questions..
Mine chases down his food, they're very aggressive and should only be kept with fish larger than their entire body.
They are not venomous whatsoever, but it will hurt when you get stabbed by one.
and They probably won't eat each other, but it is a possibility

How often&what do you feed him?


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[charles-n-charge]

They seasonally move into freshwater systems just like many other marine fish around the globe; this does not make them freshwater fish. The lack of salt will prematurely kill the fish. Also, they have a hard time growing and developing in FW. I had mine in freshwater for 4 months, and he didn't even grow a mm. Once I started acclimating him to saltwater over a period of 2 months, he finally began to grow. Now he's becoming huge since he's in a full-marine aquarium.

I feed mine raw shrimp. Because he is in a saltwater system, he doesn't have to conserve energy by waiting for food to come. So in a marine system they can be given any meaty foods, dead or alive. They will chase down their food and even swim to the surface for it in marine systems; something that will very rarely happen in freshwater

 

[Fat Homer]

BCherdingthefish , your right, there are TWO species of stone fish, one is the type charles-n-charge has which is indeed BRACKISH, but there is also a FRESHWATER species...

The freshwater species looks almost identical to the brackish version, except it has really small beady eyes... will see if i can find a pic of one on google and link it here...

 

[Fat Homer]

FOUND IT, Info from PFK Mag:

Toadfishes are members of the order Batrachoidiformes, which are predominantly marine. However, two species are known from the Amazon and are found in freshwater hundreds of miles from the sea. One of them, the Prehistoric monster fish, Thalassophryne amazonica, is a popular aquarium oddball and sometimes spawns in captivity.

 

[charles-n-charge]

I have heard quite the opposite, actually, from people on this forum and others. They're also found living in freshwater creeks, and they live in freshwater every time the tide goes out...I've talked to many people who have successfully kept them for years in freshwater.


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They are found in creeks because that is where they go to breed, just like several other fish do. They can only tolerate the lack of salt for this trip, not forever.
They also come into freshwater to hunt for a few days at a time, then they return to the ocean.

You breathe oxygen, but you're capable of holding your breath. You can only hold your breath for so long though before you have to return to oxygen. Sometimes you can hold it longer than normal when the situation calls for it, but to survive you still need air eventually.

Same goes for this fish, and many other fish that are wrongfully sold as "freshwater" fish

 

[charles-n-charge]

FOUND IT, Info from PFK Mag:

Toadfishes are members of the order Batrachoidiformes, which are predominantly marine. However, two species are known from the Amazon and are found in freshwater hundreds of miles from the sea. One of them, the Prehistoric monster fish, Thalassophryne amazonica, is a popular aquarium oddball and sometimes spawns in captivity.

View attachment 758402

Yes, this is a full freshwater toadfish. But the ones that are sold as "freshwater" toadfish are not. I've yet to see anywhere that sells true freshwater toadfish.

And reality is, the marine and brackish species are much more attractive IMO, so of course they would be sold as freshwater fish, because most people just don't want to go through the work needed to maintain a marine or brackish system. Which isn't really that hard