All fish / Scorpaenidae

Blackfoot Lionfish

Parapterois heterura

Also known as blackfoot lionfish, bluefin lionfish, blue-fin lionfish, sailfin lionfish, heterura lionfish, black foot lionfish, blackfooted firefish, ヒメヤマノカミ, 异尾拟蓑鲉

A lionfish with banded reddish and white body stripes, long venomous fin spines and large pectoral fins that are dark with a striking blue inner patch when flared. It lives over soft sandy and muddy bottoms in fairly deep, cool water, often buried partly in sediment, and is kept by specialists for its unusual looks and display behaviour.

Care at a glance

Care level

Hard

Temperament

Semi

Adult size

25 cm

Temperature

18 to 24 °C

pH

8.1 to 8.4

Smallest tank

400 litres

Keep as

Singly, or a pair in a large tank

Diet

Carnivore: live and frozen shrimp, mysis, krill, silversides and chopped seafood; needs weaning onto dead foods

Swims

Bottom of the tank

Lifespan

8 to 12 years

Water

Marine (saltwater)

Wild range

Indo-West Pacific: Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, Australia to the Red Sea and East Africa

Breeding

It scatters buoyant egg masses after courtship at night, and the larvae are planktonic. It has not been bred reliably in home aquariums.

Good to know

Fin spines are venomous and stings are very painful, so handle with care. It will eat any fish or shrimp it can swallow, often prefers cooler water than typical reef tanks, and imported specimens can be hard to feed. The trade label "Caution" is not a name but a warning about its venom.