FOTM- June'10- Goosehead Scorpionfish

Phylum- Chordata
Class- Actinopterygii
Order- Scorpaeniformes
Family- Scorpaenidae
Genus- Scorpaena
Species- Scorpaena Brasiliensis


Common Name- Goosehead Scorpionfish

Max Size- between 9-12 inches depending on sex. These cannot be sexed by appearance. Females will be bigger than the males.

Reef Compatibility- may perch on rocks. Will not eat corals but may aggravate them by perching on them for periods of time. A high threat to shrimps.

Difficulty- Very easy, very tolerant of water quality issues, though not recommended in less than perfect water, if a problem arises don’t worry too much about this guy, but correct the problem quickly. Very disease resistant due to the ability to shed the epidermis of their skin, this looks like mucus in the water and can be left or removed at the keepers will. A very easy fish to wean onto frozen foods.

Feeding- Any meaty food (silversides, squid, krill, table shrimp, clams, etc.) these can be fed in the water column or with feeder tongs. Again what is preferred by the aquarist will work with this easy fish.

Temperament- My S. Brasiliensis is currently in its own 55 gallon aquarium so I cannot comment from personal experience about its temperament. Mine is very aggressive at feeding time showing no hesitation to silversides. However, in general these fish are not the ones to do the bullying. Rather, they are the ones to be bullied.

Origin- S. Brasiliensis can be found widespread around the Caribbean. They prefer the coast rather to open ocean for the rocks. They can be commonly found around piers and naturally occurring rock shelves.

Fish Compatibility- S. Brasiliensis will eat fish half its size. It is not an aggressive fish but an opportunistic feeder that will eat what passes by and is thought to be digestible. NOT for a reef with small fish or a Fish only tank with small fish, species or family only tank would be a wise choice. Be careful with rock grazers though as this fish resembles a rock.

Personal Experiences- this fish will readily take to frozen, the day I got mine it took to frozen. This is a very sedentary fish, not much movement, but fun to have the family try and look for. My Goose head scorpionfish will mainly be on the sandbed. I would personally not use Crushed Coral Substrate as bedding. Use fine sand so its underside will not get cut and get an infection.

Warning!!!!! This fish is Venomous. It is more venomous than that of a lionfish or fox face rabbit fish, but not as deadly as a stonefish. Extreme care should be taken when keeping one of these fish. If stung submerge stung area in hot water (100 degrees) for up to an hour. Take benedryl and ibuprofen. If problems with breathing or chest pains occur, taken patient to a hospital for treatment.

 

awesome fish! Great post! Make sure you add HUFA's to your food and it will help its colors really pop! Mine turned a cool orange/red color as he matured more!

 

ok thanks. havent even heard of hufas to be honest. ill try them out though.

 

sorry..it is highly unsaturated fatty acids...many of your food supplements have that. I use either selcon or amino-omega from brightwell. Foods like RODS food contains HUFA but most other foods do not. I add it to my food a couple times a week, esp the FOWLR tank as I feed RODS to my reef tank

 

oh lol ok that makes since.

 

awesome fish! whats going to be its tank buddy?

 

great write up Gexx

K+ for the FOTM contribution

Steve

 

thanks everyone. not bad for a 15 year old eh . im gonna get a singapore angel today. i have a week straight to keep an eye on him nipping at the scorpion. hopefully it wont as its eating at the store. i would NOT advise getting an angelfish with any sedintary fish. i am taking a risk here and may very well lose one of the fish.

any tanks mates that will not fit in its mouth would be good. other scorps (pterois and Dendrochirus lionfish would work) also any rhinopias scorp would work well also. just no wasp fish and prob no leaf fish. they are too small.

 

Hey Goosehead-Boy ;D, HUFA's , try steeping/soaking food in Selcon.

 

Nice write-up Gexx!!