Nassau Grouper Stalks and Eats LF - Unaided by human

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Brules

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Anyone else seen this video? Pretty awesome to see the grouper stalking and eating the LF:

Lionfish stalked and devoured by grouper in shocking video | New York Post

Looks to me like the grouper is definitely herding it, and it knows to avoid the pointy parts! Fascinating to also watch the LF try to ward off the grouper with its movements.....! First time I have seen or heard of a grouper doing this and the LF not being pre-injured.

Hope it becomes more frequent!
 
It looks like the grouper gives him a quick tap, stuns the little bugger and swallows him. Unless I saw it wrong it looks like the lionfish was taken tail first? I thought it was always head first.

Love the groupers on Brac and LC. Too bad they are so rare.
 
Awesome to see. Now if can teach that to the other groupers. I saw something similar last year on LC on 3 Fathom Wall but the grouper left it alone after playing with it for a while.
 
As I posted on Cozumel 4 U:

From the video it appears that the Grouper stalks and redirects the Lionfish out into open water to then eat it. However, I question if the lionfish had already been speared and injured by a diver prior to the start of the video as it did not atte
mpt to bolt when the Grouper first appeared. Although, since the Lionfish does appear to be in Full defense mode from the beginning, it may have been boxed in and did not have an escape path. Overall, I hope the Grouper took care of business on its own as that would we an awesome step forward .

Now, a couple of other thoughts:

1) Does it appear that there are two Groupers and perhaps one is stalking and redirecting while the other Grouper is blocking a getaway? If that is true, then could there be a long shot that the Groupers are learning to cooperative hunt ? If it is, that would be extremely awesome.

2) What is the typical swim behaviour of a Lionfish out in the open ? I have always either seen them covered by coral or in a wreck for instance. I have also seen them hover close to coral and then bolt quickly into a hole or crevice when approached. However, I have never seen how well Lionfish do free swimming any distance. If they are poor free swimmers, I can understand why the Lionfish in the video was in full flared defense mode and just floating around.

Double S
 
Grouper was just protecting his dive buddies.........:)

To each his own(these pics & video are from Brac---Oct 2014)..........This 'thing' wouldn't eat a LF for anything......

15651837678_0209d297f8_z.jpg
[/URL]IMG_1111 by GEAUXtiger, on Flickr[/IMG]

Finally a green moray came up from behind(& 'bout ate my left strobe 1st!!!---on a sneak attack) and took it-----right into the reef, see the 'cloud'????--that's the eel heading into the reef---lol, I wasn't fast enuff--& still in shock --too.....
Hey grouper,----You snooze you lose-----(look @ the look on 'his face'-'you gave it away??????')
15813667556_7b951831b4_z.jpg
[/URL]IMG_1112 by GEAUXtiger, on Flickr[/IMG]

Another one it wouldn't eat.....:

15851290445_a07ddeffd6_z.jpg
[/URL]IMG_1160 by GEAUXtiger, on Flickr[/IMG]

15229070894_ddaaeb056b_z.jpg
[/URL]IMG_1162 by GEAUXtiger, on Flickr[/IMG]
15850764652_e112923d34_z.jpg
[/URL]IMG_1163 by GEAUXtiger, on Flickr[/IMG]

Finally gave it to an octopus to enjoy..:)...(the octopus did come out eventually & take it---I just wasn't patient enuff)..Click this video to see....
https://www.flickr.com/photos/80825593@N08/16128545579/in/set-72157648894001489
 
85 every time I have seen a snapper, grouper, etc eat a speared lion fish it had to be fed off the spear. the dm would bump it up and down with shaft so that the fish would finally take it on the fall. sort of like fishing with a jig.
 
In Carriacou the green morays don't really eat LF. The black and white spotted ones however..... One even came up out of his hole a few feet and was a mad whirling dervish of lionfish blending....never did get the video


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 
As I posted on Cozumel 4 U:

From the video it appears that the Grouper stalks and redirects the Lionfish out into open water to then eat it. However, I question if the lionfish had already been speared and injured by a diver prior to the start of the video as it did not atte
mpt to bolt when the Grouper first appeared. Although, since the Lionfish does appear to be in Full defense mode from the beginning, it may have been boxed in and did not have an escape path. Overall, I hope the Grouper took care of business on its own as that would we an awesome step forward .

Now, a couple of other thoughts:

1) Does it appear that there are two Groupers and perhaps one is stalking and redirecting while the other Grouper is blocking a getaway? If that is true, then could there be a long shot that the Groupers are learning to cooperative hunt ? If it is, that would be extremely awesome.

2) What is the typical swim behaviour of a Lionfish out in the open ? I have always either seen them covered by coral or in a wreck for instance. I have also seen them hover close to coral and then bolt quickly into a hole or crevice when approached. However, I have never seen how well Lionfish do free swimming any distance. If they are poor free swimmers, I can understand why the Lionfish in the video was in full flared defense mode and just floating around.

Double S

They are poor swimmers out in the open, and it def looks like the grouper is herding it away from the coral and out into the open.....by the way it continues to circle it to turn it etc - it looks like it has done that dance a time or 2! :)
 
Yeah!!!!!!!!!! Finaly a resident creature wants to eat LF. I still will kill any I see and leave them for the worms (bacteria, or any other that will benifit from their dead body).
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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