lion fish pics from Florida reef

[Mr Reefer 1690]

My family recently returned from a Florida Keys vac.
We saw 2 lion fish on one of our dives at Sombrero Reef. When I heard my daughter screaming and saw her frantically pointing at something I knew it would be good. We also had a couple sharks swim by our dock
And, yes, that is an iguana in our hot tub. He swam up onto our beach and continued on to the hot tub for a drink.

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[pnavarro170]

very cool pics, thanks for sharing

 

[BuffaloReef]

It's sad to see the lions. They're not native to the Atlantic. It looks like you had some great dives though. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

wow your pix came out great! what was your gear?

where was that Acropora palmata?

 

[Lukes_Reef]

Great pics!! I've always wanted to dive with sharks.

 

[SkiFletch]

wow your pix came out great! what was your gear?

where was that Acropora palmata?

It's not my picture, but it sure does look like the Elkhorn. And a nice big healthy one too

 

[albano]

It's not my picture, but it sure does look like the Elkhorn. And a nice big healthy one too

I believe Elkhorn is Acropora palmata

 

[magdelan]

I believe Elkhorn is Acropora palmata

I think he knows that :dance:

 

[Mr Reefer 1690]

Buffalo - Knowing the lion fish are in the Atlantic, and there to stay, it was a goal of ours to see one. I agree them being here is not a good thing.

The elkhorn pic is from Sombrero Reef. We only saw a couple colonies and both looked healthy. I saw a lot more colonies when diving in the upper keys 10 - 12 yrs ago.

The camera is a p/s Panasonic DMC TS3. It is waterproof to 40 ft w/o a housing. The pics are as taken, not altered in any way. They probably would have been better in clearer conditions. Visibility was good but not great.

Thanks for the kind words

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

aren't you supposed to spear any Lionfish you see?

Introduction of non native fishes is a problem and the idiots that release fishes like Tangs and Lions are causing big problems for the environment and aquarium keepers.

 

[tent boy]

Make it a food source.

 

[Mr Reefer 1690]

We saw a sign posted at a Divers Direct store that talked about killing the lion fish or at least reporting any sightings. I don't know if they can be killed in a protected area. Sombrero Reef is part of a marine sanctuary and is a no touch / no take reef. I assume for an invasive species it would be OK to kill them, but not sure.
On one of the dives someone wanted to get a couple lobsters. We had to move the boat to a smaller patch reef so he could try his luck.

 

[Foody]

I love the parrotfish. I wonder if anyone has a parrotfish in their aquarium? I understand that they secrete a "bag" around them at night to mask their scent. I'm wondering if they do that in captivity.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

I love the parrotfish. I wonder if anyone has a parrotfish in their aquarium? I understand that they secrete a "bag" around them at night to mask their scent. I'm wondering if they do that in captivity.

they do a bag in captivity. IME some of the Cirrhilabrus wrasses do this as well.
Parrotfish have beaks to crunch corals in search of their food. They also get very large. I know of some aquariums containing Parrots but they are extremely large aquariums. LFS's sometimes often juvis for sale. It would be a mistake to purchase one for a small (less than 500 gallon) home aquarium.

 

[chrisqueenz]

Love the pics! We we're just there a little over a month ago. Love sombrero reef, very laid back atmosphere down there.

 

[DustyReefer]

That french angel looks awesome