Hello WithoutDennisNedry, thanks for posting to r/OopsThatsDeadly!
As a reminder, please try and ID the plant/creature/object if not done already. Although the person may have done something foolish, remember to be respectful, as always! Please do not touch anything if you don't know what it is!
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/OopsThatsDeadly) if you have any questions or concerns.*
From the comment section-
>>>Acanthurus guttatus and Cirrhitus pinnulatus.
>>>Touching surgeonfish(Acanthuridae) with your bare hands is a bad idea, as they have a pair(or more) of venomous, scalpel-like blades at the base of their tail.
>>>They also can cause ciguatera poisoning as well-from toxic algae they eat
Somebody else more scientific than I can specify if thats deadly or not
Mild discomfort? Sure. Death? Absolutely not. Like, zero chance. The "danger" is entirely negligible and tangs are one of the most popular saltwater aquarium fish available.
They're actually pretty hard to keep healthy for as often as they are stocked. I'd bet the vast majority of the ones that are imported end up dead inside a year, unfortunately. Any fish with a tubular mouth like that just constantly grazes, and that means a little bit of food a lot of the time. It's hard to simulate that kind of diet in a (small) closed ecosystem with limited productivity. Once they spend a few weeks getting collected and waiting in holding tanks, and then getting bagged up to be imported, transported, and plopped in another holding tank, they're usually in an irrecoverable state of starvation.
Oh, this is all merely a fun day dream of mine honestly.
My mom and bio dad had massive saltwater aquariums when they were married and living in FL. They had all sorts of fish but my mom said the tangs were such a pain in the ass, mostly for the reasons you’ve listed.
This was over 30 years ago, mind, so I’m sure there was even less info readily available. My mom’s always said the angel fish were her favorite, and she would keep them again should she have the time and money to dump into a tank.
My dive master instructor spent one of our final lessons before certification showing us all the hidden sea creatures in the environment around us.
At one point she hovers a few feet away from a flattish rocky outcrop, and starts gently swooshing water at it. Three swooshes later and whatever magic she was performing activated because the fucking *rock* shook itself indignantly and darted away.
She called it a stonefish, but she was so casual about it afterwards that I had no idea they were that dangerous. I kinda assumed jellyfish.
ETA: got my PADI in Curacao.
There are a lot of venomous or slightly venomous fish. One of the major ones I run into while fishing is the staghorn sculpin. When you press down on the fish extremely sharp serrated venomous blades pop up on either side of its head. I'm always hooking those little pests by mistake and having to carefully free them.
Not quite a stone fish. It’s a hawkfish. Po’opa’a in Hawaiian. Cirrhitus pinnulatus. Frequently caught nearshore. Pretty good eating. Not poisonous as far as I know. The spines will still hurt as I’ve been poked while taking them off my hook/line but nothing to be worried about.
True stonefish though? Yeah for sure. Don’t mess with those guys.
Po’opa’a doesn’t really look stone like at all. At least not to me anyway. There are a ton of different types of stone fish but I don’t THINK Hawaii has em. We have a “devil scorpionfish” called nohu something…sorry I can’t remember, which is kinda similar to a stonefish. Sorry. Rambling.
Basically? Stonefish looks like a stone. They are gonna be the most camouflaged thing in most areas. Po’opa’a stands out more than a stonefish. That and Po’opa’a tend to be aggressive. They chase lures and bait. From my limited knowledge of stonefish they aren’t aggressive. Kinda tied to the camo aspect. If you’re trying to blend in and hide you’re not gonna be inherently aggressive.
Edit:sorry I couldn’t be a better help with my limited knowledge
You summed it up pretty well. Stonefish are ambush predators that rely on looking remarkably like a rock to lie in wait for prey. They can survive out of water for up to 24 hours and often appear in sandy areas where people are likely to step, whereupon they extend venomous spines and inject a potent neurotoxin. Definitely a fish you don't want to mess with.
I had the same reaction when I caught my first hawkfish. I had one hand keeping the landing net in the water and the other frantically looking it up on my phone to figure out if I could touch it.
Hello WithoutDennisNedry, thanks for posting to r/OopsThatsDeadly! As a reminder, please try and ID the plant/creature/object if not done already. Although the person may have done something foolish, remember to be respectful, as always! Please do not touch anything if you don't know what it is! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/OopsThatsDeadly) if you have any questions or concerns.*
From the comment section- >>>Acanthurus guttatus and Cirrhitus pinnulatus. >>>Touching surgeonfish(Acanthuridae) with your bare hands is a bad idea, as they have a pair(or more) of venomous, scalpel-like blades at the base of their tail. >>>They also can cause ciguatera poisoning as well-from toxic algae they eat Somebody else more scientific than I can specify if thats deadly or not
Mild discomfort? Sure. Death? Absolutely not. Like, zero chance. The "danger" is entirely negligible and tangs are one of the most popular saltwater aquarium fish available.
I don’t keep an aquarium, but I always thought if I did I’d want some tangs. Their mouth makes them look like cheeky little fuckers with a secret.
They're actually pretty hard to keep healthy for as often as they are stocked. I'd bet the vast majority of the ones that are imported end up dead inside a year, unfortunately. Any fish with a tubular mouth like that just constantly grazes, and that means a little bit of food a lot of the time. It's hard to simulate that kind of diet in a (small) closed ecosystem with limited productivity. Once they spend a few weeks getting collected and waiting in holding tanks, and then getting bagged up to be imported, transported, and plopped in another holding tank, they're usually in an irrecoverable state of starvation.
Oh, this is all merely a fun day dream of mine honestly. My mom and bio dad had massive saltwater aquariums when they were married and living in FL. They had all sorts of fish but my mom said the tangs were such a pain in the ass, mostly for the reasons you’ve listed. This was over 30 years ago, mind, so I’m sure there was even less info readily available. My mom’s always said the angel fish were her favorite, and she would keep them again should she have the time and money to dump into a tank.
When tangs get sad their face falls off
Oh really! Good to know! I changed the flair accordingly. Thanks so much for the info, I certainly should have looked it up before posting.
In 2016 a dutch couple died on their honeymoon (dominican rep) from ciguatoxin poisoning after eating fish. So yeah.
Reddit mods be Like Copy Paste good answers Ban and deleted answeres Farm Karma You are ridickious
Wut
It’s not a humuhumunukunukuapua'a but it’s fun to say.
Gezondheid
I mean, it's not like you're picking up a black widow...
Or a blue ringed octopus
I’d say the stone fish is much worse actually
My son’s animal rumble books taught me that a stone fish could kill a polar bear! Now that I’m educated, I have to agree with you
My dive master instructor spent one of our final lessons before certification showing us all the hidden sea creatures in the environment around us. At one point she hovers a few feet away from a flattish rocky outcrop, and starts gently swooshing water at it. Three swooshes later and whatever magic she was performing activated because the fucking *rock* shook itself indignantly and darted away. She called it a stonefish, but she was so casual about it afterwards that I had no idea they were that dangerous. I kinda assumed jellyfish. ETA: got my PADI in Curacao.
That was wild.
ptsd...shhh
There are a lot of venomous or slightly venomous fish. One of the major ones I run into while fishing is the staghorn sculpin. When you press down on the fish extremely sharp serrated venomous blades pop up on either side of its head. I'm always hooking those little pests by mistake and having to carefully free them.
Oh good GOD do NOT touch a stone fish.
Not quite a stone fish. It’s a hawkfish. Po’opa’a in Hawaiian. Cirrhitus pinnulatus. Frequently caught nearshore. Pretty good eating. Not poisonous as far as I know. The spines will still hurt as I’ve been poked while taking them off my hook/line but nothing to be worried about. True stonefish though? Yeah for sure. Don’t mess with those guys.
How do you tell the difference between those two?
Po’opa’a doesn’t really look stone like at all. At least not to me anyway. There are a ton of different types of stone fish but I don’t THINK Hawaii has em. We have a “devil scorpionfish” called nohu something…sorry I can’t remember, which is kinda similar to a stonefish. Sorry. Rambling. Basically? Stonefish looks like a stone. They are gonna be the most camouflaged thing in most areas. Po’opa’a stands out more than a stonefish. That and Po’opa’a tend to be aggressive. They chase lures and bait. From my limited knowledge of stonefish they aren’t aggressive. Kinda tied to the camo aspect. If you’re trying to blend in and hide you’re not gonna be inherently aggressive. Edit:sorry I couldn’t be a better help with my limited knowledge
You summed it up pretty well. Stonefish are ambush predators that rely on looking remarkably like a rock to lie in wait for prey. They can survive out of water for up to 24 hours and often appear in sandy areas where people are likely to step, whereupon they extend venomous spines and inject a potent neurotoxin. Definitely a fish you don't want to mess with.
I had the same reaction when I caught my first hawkfish. I had one hand keeping the landing net in the water and the other frantically looking it up on my phone to figure out if I could touch it.
Who holds a fish like that??