The order of scorpionfishes is as well famous as famed. Without scorpionfishes a real bouillabaisse is unthinkable, without lionfishes public aquaria and marine hobbyists would miss a wonderful attraction, but all members of this order have venomous spines and can inflict very painful – in case of the stonefishes even eventually deadly – stings. Scorpionfishes are ususally marine animals, only one species of the family Tetrarogidae from Australia has become a freshwater species.
Neovespicula depressifrons belongs to the very same family, the Tetrarogidae. The species has a very wide distribution in the indo-west pacific region, attains a length of about 10 cm and is a marine species. But the 2-3 cm long juveniles are found in large numbers in freshwater and so they appear from time to time in the ornamental fish trade. The leaf goblinfish is an interesting and easy to keep animal, but it will not survive in a long time sight in freshwater. It needs brackish water or seawater. It is a peaceful species, but will feed on small fish. During the time of settlement these fish are fed best with live food items, later they readily accept frozen fishfood, too. One should be really careful when the fish have to be caught. The sting is usually harmless (exept one has an allergy), but is can be extremely painful.
For our customers: the fish have code 474001 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
Text & photos: Frank Schäfer
