Scientific name:
Pterois, Dendrochirus

Natural spread:
tropical seas

to the showiest fish-shapes of warm seas is fitting the red-fire-fish, who are liked to hold in sea-water-aquariums. They are widespread in 12 types in coral-reefs and at rock-coasts of tropical seas. The strikingly coral one, with other types brown - or black-red reason-color becomes through engstehende, light cross-strips interrupted. This also brightly and red quergebänderten, overlong rays of the flippers and the first back-fin give not only a grotesque look to these splendid fish; before the background of the colored coral-reefs with showy light and shadow-effects, they do the bearer largely invisible. In this respect we must disagree with the opinion of some researchers that the coloring should be used for the warning. Numerous skin-rags, particularly at the head, make the camouflage-effect even more complete.

Virulence At the reason of the first back-fin-thorns, poison-glands sit, that give away its poison into the skin-coat about the thorn. The poison is spurted at pressure on the thorn and is reached into the wound of the enemy. Also in aquariums, there were accidents with red-fire-fishings already repeatedly; nevertheless, the dangerousness often is exaggerated for the human being. No one of these accidents, that are however painful and evoke also fever-thrusts and short-term paralyses, was deadly until now. However, the poison-effect can dangerous with hugs - or cycle-suffers people becomes; therefore, one always should be careful with the contact with red-fire-fishings.

Loot-acquisition As gluttonous robber, the red-fire-fish swims, hovers as it were in the water, slowly very near to the corners, cavities and narrow splits of the coral-reefs, in which many reef-perches hidden, along holds. At the sudden emergence of the "monster" gets the inhabitants in panic densely before the caves and wants to flee. With the unloading flippers, the red-fire-fish obstructs them the escape route and snatches the loot with its big mouth.

Types The most frequently, one finds the ordinary red-fire-fish (Pterois volitans) in aquariums up to 38 cm of length one of the biggest types, that are widespread in the Indopazifik, as well. Especially separately, the brick long until 23 cm works - until brown-red antenna-fire-fish (Pterois antennata) with white rags at the top of the back-fin-thorns, and that just as intensively gloomily colored, only 15 cm long radiation-fire-fish (Pterois radiata) with especially thin, equally white back and flipper-radiations. They of somewhat compact built dwarf-fire-fish (type Dendrochirus) with shorter breast and back-fins, for example the striped dwarf-fire-fish (Dendrochirus zebra), gain only lengths by 15 cm.