Do Lionfish Have Predators?

-- By Carol

Lionfish are a special fish species known for their unique appearance. These fish have many defense mechanisms, so you may be wondering if they have predators.

Lionfish have few predators. The few aquatic creatures willing to go after Lionfish include grouper, sharks, eels, and Cornetfish.

In this guide we will discuss whether Lionfish have predators. We will also go over why many marine creatures avoid going after Lionfish.

Table of Contents

What Defense Mechanisms Do Lionfish Have?

Lionfish have few predators due to their highly effective defense mechanisms. If you have ever seen a Lionfish at an aquarium or in a video, you may have marveled at their spines.

These fish have a row of spiky spines known as dorsal spines protruding from their back.

These spines are capable of piercing through flesh, so many predators would get injured if they tried eating a Lionfish whole.

The Lionfish’s spines also contain a dangerous toxin called Ciguatera. This is a neuromuscular toxin that is considered as toxic as cobra venom.

If this toxin penetrates through a creature’s skin, it will experience extreme pain and swelling. In extreme cases, the creature may experience convulsions or even paralysis.

For this reason, most predators will pass up the opportunity to eat a Lionfish in favor of less dangerous prey.

What Predators Eat Lionfish?

Some marine life are still willing to go after Lionfish in spite of their intimidating defense mechanisms. This includes:

Grouper

Grouper are large fish from the Serranidae family. These fish can grow to lengths that easily exceed one meter and weigh hundreds of pounds.

This size means they are capable of attacking and swallowing large sea creatures. There have been reports of Grouper eating sharks over one meter in length.

Grouper can also eat marine creatures with hard shells or spines that other fish would rather avoid. They can do this because they possess hard tooth plates in their throats.

The Lionfish’s spines can’t pierce through these tooth plates. In fact, these tooth plates can crush the Lionfish’s spines and make them easier to swallow and digest.

For this reason, Grouper have no trouble eating Lionfish.

Sharks

Sharks are the oceans’ apex predators. These fish routinely consume large quantities of sea life to sustain themselves. This includes the occasional Lionfish.

Most sharks do avoid eating Lionfish due to the risk their spines pose. However, Caribbean Reef sharks are known to frequently go after Lionfish for a meal.

These sharks belong to the Carcharhinidae family and grow to lengths of up to two and a half meters. The largest Caribbean Reef Shark ever discovered had a length of three meters.

Caribbean Reef sharks don’t possess any special physiological traits that help them eat Lionfish. However, like most sharks, they have tough skin that is difficult to pierce.

The most likely reason why Caribbean Reef Sharks eat Lionfish is because they live in the same region.

Eels

Some large eels have also been known to eat Lionfish. This includes moray eels that belong to the Muraenidae family. These eels can reach lengths of up to three meters and weigh up to sixty pounds.

Moray typically eat crabs, squid, octopuses, and shrimp. However, they are most notable for eating Lionfish whenever they get the chance.

Moray eels are one of the few creatures that are capable of wolfing down Lionfish without getting hurt. They flip these fish over and coil their bodies around them for easy consumption.

This technique ensures that the Lionfish’s spines collapse as they enter the Moray’s mouth. This protects the Moray’s mouth and innards from being pierced and poisoned.

Cornetfish

Cornetfish belong to the Fistulariidae family. These fish stand out for their thin and elongated body type, which makes them resemble Eels.

Cornetfish are easy to distinguish from eels because they have long snouts. By contrast, eels typically have short snouts.

Cornetfish typically eat crustaceans and small fish. They have also been observed eating Lionfish.

It is unknown if these fish have any special physiological traits that allow them to eat Lionfish safely.

Is It Bad That Lionfish Have Few Natural Predators?

The Lionfish’s defense mechanisms make it difficult for most oceanic predators to hunt this fish. As a result, Lionfish can roam the oceans with little fear. This has led to many problems.

Lionfish originated from coral reefs in tropical regions such as the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific. However, they were detected near Florida’s coastlines in the 1980s.

Experts believe these fish didn’t travel from the Pacific Ocean or the Indian Ocean to the United States’ Eastern coast. Instead, they were likely released by aquariums.

Releasing such fish into areas where they aren’t native can be dangerous due to the risk they pose to other aquatic wildlife. The Lionfish is known to eat herbivores.

Such herbivores are prey for native fish such as Grouper and Snapper. By eating such prey, Lionfish are depriving native fish of their natural food source.

This has led to Grouper and Snapper populations declining in certain regions.

The Lionfish’s eating habits have also impacted coral reef health. These fish prey on other fish that eat algae around coral reefs.

By depleting these algae-eating fish populations, Lionfish have inadvertently caused algae to increase in coral reefs. This algae spread has damaged many otherwise healthy coral reefs.

Lionfish are also incredibly resilient and can inhabit brackish waters. Marine researchers are currently concerned that they may invade mangrove areas and impact their ecosystems.

Do Humans Hunt Down Lionfish?

The Lionfish has been designated as an invasive species. For this reason, people are encouraged to hunt these fish in the oceans.

This has made Lionfish hunting a popular activity among divers. Many divers catch and kill these fish using spears.

Reaching these fish can be difficult because they typically inhabit depths between 600 feet and 900 feet. Few divers are willing to dive this deep due to the danger it presents.

For this reason, most of the Lionfish that are caught are usually found swimming in coral reefs near the surface.

You might be wondering why fishermen can’t use nets or fishing poles to catch Lionfish. Such fishing methods can damage sensitive coral reefs.

For this reason, Lionfish hunting must be limited to spear fishing.

Can You Eat Lionfish?

As mentioned earlier, Lionfish spines contain a dangerous toxin called Ciguatera that can cause extreme pain and paralysis when injected. However, this toxin isn’t heat resistant.

It is possible to denature the Ciguatera toxin and make it safe to consume by heating it to a temperature of 350 degrees for a short period.

The process generally isn’t necessary as people typically eat Lionfish meat rather than their spines. Lionfish meat doesn’t contain any toxins, so you aren’t in any danger by eating it.

Lionfish meat has been described as moist and tender, and with a buttery flavor. Many people prepare it as “Ceviche”, a dish that consists of raw fish meat prepared with lime juice.

Will Lionfish Develop More Predators in the Future?

It is difficult to predict if Lionfish residing in non-native regions will develop more predators in the future. However, this could be a possibility millions of years from now.

Evolution has demonstrated that many species develop special physiological features to counter the defensive mechanisms their prey possess.

This means sea creatures in the Atlantic ocean and Gulf of Mexico may eventually evolve to eat Lionfish safely if Lionfish populations continue growing unchecked.

Can You Earn Money By Hunting Lionfish?

You can earn money by hunting Lionfish and selling them to seafood vendors. If you live in the United States, you can hunt unlimited Lionfish after getting a saltwater products license.

You can then sell whole Lionfish to seafood vendors for $4 to $6 each. However, you may be able to earn even more by hunting them for population culling purposes.

For example, Florida’s Wildlife commission offers people cash prizes or bounty money for turning in dead Lionfish.

Such arrangements have turned into organized tournaments where people hunt as many Lionfish as they can in a specific region for cash prizes.

Can You Keep a Lionfish With Other Fish?

Lionfish are exotic-looking fish, and this has led to many people purchasing and housing them with their other aquatic pets.

If you own a Lionfish, you should know that your pet isn’t likely to be eaten by its tank mates thanks to its defensive spines. However, your Lionfish may end up eating the other fish.

Lionfish typically consume their prey whole. This means they aren’t able to eat fish that are the same size or larger than them.

For this reason, you should house your Lionfish with similar sized fish.

Learning More About Lionfish

As you can see, Lionfish do have predators, but they are few in number. Therefore, these fish can traverse the ocean with little fear of being eaten.

We have seen the problems this presents. So consider taking up Lionfish hunting as a sport if you want to help the ocean’s ecosystems and keep an invasive species from taking over.

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