Scorpion Fish Q's

[samdaman]

I have a question. My reef club is having a group buy... I'm thinking of getting Scorpion Fish (Scorpaen caribbaeus)... I am yet to set up my 55. Can I have it in a 20 Gal Tall for a while? Or I can I put it in my temporary aggressive tank (40 Gal) housing a Niger and damsel. ( I'm thinking this would end up badly...)

In the near future, I plan on housing ven. fish in my 40.

 

[czwannabe]

As long as it isnt long term im sure you would be fine holdin him in a 20 gal

 

[namxas]

IME, Scorpaenodes caribbaeus is a great little scorp, altho they can be a bit cryptic, esp. at first. A 20 will be fine for a bit for QT and weaning purposes. I do recommend getting the fish eating/conditioned and weaned on its own with no other distractions from tankmates, as this fish may suffer from food competition before it is established.

Here's an article on Scorpionfish Care that has a bit of info on the species as well as a couple of photos (scroll down to "Let's Meet Some Scorps").

Here's a more recent pic, as you can see the fish is now a pretty "salmon" color:

 

[ashtree68]

I just got one, he's in a 38g for QT and feeding purposes. Mine looks a bit different than Greg's so maybe it's something else. It looks kinda hairy, sort of like the Ambon lionfish but was collected off of Florida so doubting it's that. I'm having trouble finding the pictures ATM but I'll post some once I find them.

 

[namxas]

As I mentioned in your "ID" thread, your fish is Scorpaena brasiliensis, not Scorpaenodes caribbaeus.

We like this species so much that we have two specimens:

 

[samdaman]

Naxmas. Do you have the one I'm getting? Is it a common one?

 

[ashtree68]

Who are you getting yours from?

 

[samdaman]

Who are you getting yours from?

ccritters

 

[ashtree68]

That's where I got mine, it was suppose to be Scorpaenodes caribbaeus but I got Scorpaena brasiliensis instead. Not complaining still really like the one I got just a heads up that it may not be exactly what you order.

 

[samdaman]

well that would be good because I like the Scorpaena brasiliensis more

 

[namxas]

Naxmas. Do you have the one I'm getting? Is it a common one?

The photos I posted are our fish. Yes, it's probably the most common scorp in the trade, but as I mentioned in your other thread, one of my faves. The only issue you may have is that if you were counting on a smaller fish for a given setup, the brasiliensis will be close to twice as large, altho we find it to be a fairly slow grower.