Pterois antennata – Broadbarred Firefish

Pterois antennata – Broadbarred Firefish

Pterois antennata was described as early as 1787 by Bloch. The genusname Pterois is derived from the anciant Greek “Pteron” which means ‘wing’. The species name ‘antennata’ means with antenna, a reference to the long ringed antennae above the eyes of this species. Their common name is Broadbarred Firefish or Spotfin Lionfish.

Description

The Broadbarred Firefish does not grow very big. It is a somewhat stocky fish that can grow up to about 20 centimetres long. The ground colour is off-white. Dark red vertical stripes are visible on top of it. Above the eye, the red/white striped antennae are visible from which Pterois antennata owes its name.

Between the fin rays of the dorsal and pectoral fins, they have a semi-transparent/whitish membrane up to about half their length. Dark dots are visible on this membrane. These dots are brown or dark blue in color.

Sometimes Pterois antennata is sometimes confused with Dendrochirus zebra, especially when young they look very similar. However, the dark dots on the membranes of the dorsal and pelvic fins are absent in Dendrochirus zebra. In addition, the fin rays of Pterois antennata are much thinner.

Watch out for the spines!

Broadbarred Firefish usually spread fins wide. The tips of the fins are hard and can sting viciously. Worse, they contain poison. This poison causes severe pain that can last for a long time. So be careful when handling these fish. It is not only the dorsal fins that contain poison. The pectoral, abdominal and anal fin rays are also provided with poison. The dorsal fin is the most strongly developed.

Diet

Pterois antennata is a true carnivore that feeds on live food. Getting this species used to aquarium food is not always easy. You can try feeding them fish meat and the like on a stick or grab. If the food is still moving, they are more likely to strike.

When catching fish, Pterois antennata opens its mouth wide and sprints forward. It sucks the fish in by opening its mouth. This happens so fast that fish don’t have time to react.

Video

Author

John de Lange

Copyright images

Francois Libert – CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Jan (Arny) Messersmith – CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

References

Fishbase
Koraalvissen en lagere dieren – Hans J. Mayland