[Normy]

I gave this thread this name to bring attention. I have had a HUGE problem with feral iguana's eating my expensive decorative plants for the past three years here in Fort Lauderdale. Now it turns out that escaped pets are not only eating my yard...they are chasing off game fish and they can even kill a person who inadvertantly brushes up against them!

I had a "Lionfish" as a pet for about a day in 1976. I was 10 years old, and a neighbor closed out his aquarium and since he and my mom were good friends...suddenly I come home from my 6th grade class and my 10 gallon is full of odd fish! My own pets were hiding under the rocks, totally unprepared for the onslaught from the newcomers. One of the fish was a "lionfish", which has spines going everywhere, and is poisonous. If you are stupid enough to try to grab something like this~

There was no way that 10 gallon could have successfully held all those fish. I knew it, but my mom didn't have a clue. Well, the tank had no top, and the first week 6 fish commited suicide by jumping out of the tank. One of them was the lionfish. Actually, he was the first. My mom, [of course....] was the person who told me that the fish had died. She did this by pointing out that he was laying dead on the floor behind my dad's chair in the living room. And of course since the aquarium was mine it meant that the fish was "mine", and the ***** told me that it was my job to remove it from the floor, dispose of it, and clean the carpet.

The reason the damn thing was in my aquarium to begin with was because she acquiesced and let Joan put her kid's fish in my tank. I KNOW my mom...I chose not to fight about this one.

Anyway, feral pets destroy natural habitats. Here's a lionfish write-up:

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"Top scientists are warning about an impending invasion of a poisonous fish into South Florida's waters.

The lionfish, a native of the Pacific Ocean, is both gorgeous and dangerous. Many people may have never seen a lionfish in the waters surrounding Florida, but that will soon change.

Scientists don't use the word "invasion" lightly, but that's exactly what they are predicting of the exotic-looking lionfish.

The poisonous tips on the lionfish's fins could present a danger to people who swim, dive or work in South Florida waters.



Related links
Danger areas of deadly lionfish Photo
Government's 'Have You Seen Me' flyer on dangers of lionfish to divers, fishermen & others
What to do if you get stung by a lionfish
From YouTube: Lionfish hunter Aquarium manager Anthony Bartolome said he has been stung five times by lionfish.

"It pretty much burns like fire," Bartolome said.

The pain from a lionfish sting lasts for about 15 to 20 minutes. The lionfish's sting is so serious it can send victims to the hospital and even kill them.

"There is no anti-venom for this," said Lad Akins, executive director of Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF).

Experts are so concerned about the impending invasion of lionfish they are desperately trying to warn the public.

"They're also very bold fish, especially in this new Atlantic range where it appears that they have few, if any, predators," Akins stated.

Lionfish have no predators because they do not belong in the Atlantic Ocean. There is nothing here to eat them or stop them from eating Florida's reef fish.

When lionfish grow too big, aquarium owners begin dumping the fish right into the Atlantic Ocean.

Now they are breeding at a rapid pace, experts said.

Scientists and volunteers are feverishly trying to fight the invasion of lionfish.

To do this, they are studying -- and killing -- the lionfish, now found in both deep and shallow water.

Experts believe lionfish in the Bahamas and in Cancun, Mexico, will, as larvae, make their way to Florida on the ocean currents.

Once established, they will start destroying reefs and throwing the ecosystem out of balance.

This change will threaten the lobster, grouper, snapper and many more animals that call these waters their home.

New studies headed by Mark Hixon of Oregon State University are about to be published in a peer-reviewed science journal found one lionfish can deplete 79 percent of a reef in just five weeks.

That means coral ecology dies and algae takes over.

"You know the potential is there for it to be devastating," said Tom Jackson with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Jackson's job is to track invasive species and creatures that can sometimes change and destroy a vital ecosystem.

His personal opinion is it would be best to ban the sale of lionfish completely.

"In 2003, nearly 8,000 were imported to Tampa alone, 8,000. You only need 15 or 20 in one area to create a population," Jackson said.

Volunteers are being recruited to help stop the invasion of this species into the South Florida waters.

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