TV alert... Lionfish on NBC Nightly News
- Thread starter Jandree22
- Start date
elvn
New member
Like other have indicated, we kill deer to keep the population in check not only because we displace their habitat with development but because we kill all their natural predators. When coyotes started making a comeback here in WNY/upstate NY/PA some of the first comments I heard were about killing them off. "Farmers" are traditionally adamant about killing them to protect their investment in livestock. Others kill them out of fear (they could be rabbid! They could eat/bite my pets or attack my kids!). Originally there were coyotes and wolves (and even bears) in most of the areas deer inhabit before people killed them off. Sometimes escaped dogs revert to wild and form a wild dog pack which tries to fill the same niche, but these are killed off out of fear also.
A quick google indicated that the reef cornetfish may be a predator of lionfish.
http://www.mexfish.com/fish/rcornet/rcornet.htm
I also found this interesting...
http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa121/islandshark633/general fishing pics/lionfish.jpg
The lionfish 'invasion' is a shame but I think the last comment in the msnbc news article indicating that some people think keeping lionfish should be made illegal, or perhaps their importation made illegal, really bothers me. I live in Upstate NY on lake erie ( freshwater, and also very cold in the winter here :b ). I think its almost 500miles from here to the coast of the ocean via NYcity. I own a lionfish. He's not going anywhere.
A quick google indicated that the reef cornetfish may be a predator of lionfish.
http://www.mexfish.com/fish/rcornet/rcornet.htm
I also found this interesting...
http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa121/islandshark633/general fishing pics/lionfish.jpg
The lionfish 'invasion' is a shame but I think the last comment in the msnbc news article indicating that some people think keeping lionfish should be made illegal, or perhaps their importation made illegal, really bothers me. I live in Upstate NY on lake erie ( freshwater, and also very cold in the winter here :b ). I think its almost 500miles from here to the coast of the ocean via NYcity. I own a lionfish. He's not going anywhere.
greenbean36191
Premium Member
May be is the important part here. I know one of the guys that reported this in the literature and we were actually talking about this a few days ago. One large cornetfish had a single small lionfish in its stomach. That's the only reported case ever of a cornetfish eating a lionfish. The interesting part was that it was eaten tail-first. It may or may not have been an isolated case, but either way it's extremely unlikely given their rarity, that cornetfish have a controlling impact on lionfish abundance even where both occur naturally.
In the Atlantic, the cornetfish is a different species that would never naturally see a lionfish and may not recognize it as food. Again, there's almost certainly no controlling pressure from cornetfish predation, especially on adults.
elvn
New member
Thats correct about the cornet. Pretty thin evidence and not a solution I guess. Still was probably worth mentioning and linking.
However lionfish might be on the human menu? From what I've heard lionfish taste great. Having a very personable lionfish as a 'pet' though, I squirmed when I saw a youtube video of "lionfish hunters" spearfishing them, cleaning them, and frying them up.
However lionfish might be on the human menu? From what I've heard lionfish taste great. Having a very personable lionfish as a 'pet' though, I squirmed when I saw a youtube video of "lionfish hunters" spearfishing them, cleaning them, and frying them up.
We as hobbyist need to be more responsible (many are), but the few that aren't will ruin our loved hobby for everyone. Calupera one day...lionfish another. Seems it comes back to those with aquariums.
We have a very nice canal in our downtown. Recently it was cleaned and large goldfish and oscars were removed, (not sure how oscars lived in our cold water, probably dumped in during the warmer months). These were discarded pets that probably out grew their bowls and aquariums.
Recently on our local news a man found an alligator near his home that belonged to his neighbor. He had them in his water garden.
I understand that if an aquarium breaks during a hurricane that there is a likely hood that something will survive. However, we need to be more responsible and educate irresponsible hobbyist about discarding unwanted pets or we will not have much of a hobby left.
Thanks for the link to the MSN site as I missed this last evening and wanted to see it.
We have a very nice canal in our downtown. Recently it was cleaned and large goldfish and oscars were removed, (not sure how oscars lived in our cold water, probably dumped in during the warmer months). These were discarded pets that probably out grew their bowls and aquariums.
Recently on our local news a man found an alligator near his home that belonged to his neighbor. He had them in his water garden.
I understand that if an aquarium breaks during a hurricane that there is a likely hood that something will survive. However, we need to be more responsible and educate irresponsible hobbyist about discarding unwanted pets or we will not have much of a hobby left.
Thanks for the link to the MSN site as I missed this last evening and wanted to see it.
