Maybe white-tip reef sharks control lionfish in the Indo-pacific?

[tdchandl]

Just back from belize and we did our share of spearing and feeding. Groupers, reef sharks, barracuda, and octopus all very happy to have a meal of lionfish.

 

[Steve_C]

In my experience fish are not dumb when it comes to getting fed. If they see one fish going for something they will go for it too. If groupers are fed lionfish they will learn to eat lionfish. Cannot promise that the others will also go for it, but would not be surprised if they do.

 

[bracko]

It is ironic that new divers really get excited when they see lion fish in the Indo Pacific. in Malaysia I would get a few tugs on the fin or bcd while shooting something actually interesting like a rare flatworm or mantas shrimp to someone pointing out a god damn lion fish.

but yes, they are here and certainly not in plauge proportions.

 

[R-balljunkie]

yes, rare and solitary sightings here, south pacific for lion fish.

 

[dalaimama]

Just back from belize and we did our share of spearing and feeding. Groupers, reef sharks, barracuda, and octopus all very happy to have a meal of lionfish.

The last time I was in Belize, I was surprised how aggressive the moray eels were to divers. Feeding lionfish to the sea life teaches the sea life that divers are a source of food.

 

[bracko]

that seems a very logical connection, you see it with land animals all the time.


it would be interesting to find out how long it takes the various species to learn that lion fish are food and how much longer divers are continuing to spear and feed. surely a hunting fish would learn pretty quickly that a slow moving edible fish is prey.

 

[Mike]

I was watching a video about white-tip reef sharks and they are a perfect reef predator at night. They can detect the slightest muscle movement of fish hiding on the reef so I was wondering if they also eat lionfish. It seems that lionfish would be easy prey for white-tip reef sharks because they are slow and white-tip reef sharks swim through all the nooks and crannies searching for prey. There are no white-tip reef sharks in the Caribbean so that might be why there are high numbers in the Caribbean? Just a thought.

Just a couple of thoughts on the subject

Lion fish are not slow. Mess with one some time and watch how they can rocket through the water! I've messed with many, done things I'd never do to other marine life. Poked them, kicked them, even tried to drop rocks on them, the little buggers are extremely fast when they want to be.

In regard to what eats them I suspect we are all looking at this the wrong way. The question is always asked in regard to the actual fish being eaten, I suspect what keeps them in check in the indo pacific has more to do with what eats them when they are in their egg phase, avoiding them ever hatching in the first place.