This video was taken during June 2012 at the Sea World, California, USA
Review: Abdel Rahman El Gamal (Founder of the website and video channel)
Introduction: The stonefish, Synanceia verrucosa which belongs to the family Synanceiidae is a fish species, which is widely known as the reef stonefish, rockfish or “dornorn”. The average length of most stonefish is about 30-40 centimeters although longer specimens have been reported.
Distribution and habitats: The Reef Stonefish is widely distributed and known to be found throughout tropical, marine waters of the Pacific and Indian oceans. The main habitat for stonefish is coral reefs where they live on reef bottoms. They are also found under rocks or ledges and are also found buried dormant in the mud or sand using their pectoral fins.
Feeding habits: Stonefish eats mostly small fish, shrimp and other crustaceans. This species is patient hunter as it usually waits motionless for prey to swim past, and then strikes with incredible speed. The mouth cavity of stonefish expands creating a vacuum allowing them to swallow small prey. It is believed that if enough food is present, this fish demonstrates its sluggish nature and will stay in the same general area of the reef for very long periods. Hunting preys is greatly enhanced by the outstanding ability of stonefish to camouflaging themselves and giving the appearance of a rock and hence fool their prey and catch them unaware.
Reproduction: A stonefish female may produce about a million eggs. Because of potential predation by other fishes, only a small number survive till maturity.
Commercial value of stonefish: The primary commercial merit of stonefish is as an aquarium fish. However, stonefish are food fish in some countries like Hong Kong and the Philippines. It is also consumed in Japan as sashimi.
Note: One may not be able to identify the fish among the surrounding rocks. Please visit the second post on the same species where you will be able to see the excellent camouflaged fish when moving and leaving the surrounding rocks.
References: Wikipedia, Australian Museum, Life of sea, http://bioweb.uwlax.edu, Wakatobi Dive Resort, http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com, Wakatobi Dive Resort
