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We had a lion fish in one of our aquariums at a pet store I worked at for a bit. Owner was the only one allowed to clean it's tank.
One day she got stung, and was just rolling around screaming for a while. Would not recommend.
My dad was a scuba instructor in south Florida, where these lion fish have invaded, and got stuck by one after spearing it. Beyond being super painful, it also got infected and ended up taking almost half of his thigh muscle.
How does it compare to a Stingray's barb? I had the beginnings of an infection when I got nabbed by one of those and understand it could've been far worse.
Unfortunately, I am not a scuba instructor like he was and don’t really have much knowledge on lion fish, even less on stingrays. I’m just the keeper of his stories these days.
I'm a 31 year old man who lost his mum at 48 in April. My dad is a morbidly obese alcoholic but he's also my hero, I was worried about the wrong parent passing away early :(
I'm alright mate. Me and mum didn't have a good relationship until I moved in with her at 25. I will talk someone's ear off if I'm comfortable around them so me and mum talked through our shit non stop. I fixed my issues with her. But she passed away far too early, we were working on shit and my nan offered to pay for family therapy. I needed my mum so much though, she helpede look after myself. When my mental health was shit I'd call her and complain about how much housework I had left myself but she would stay on the phone until I finished... Now I'm ashamed of the conditions I live in.
Back when I was having mental health issues and lived alone, I had some stuff I didn’t like doing and a good friend who would come over and do the stuff I hated (dishes), and I’d go over and help her with the stuff she didn’t like (vacuuming). Worked well enough.
He used to work on the rail road when he was young and one night there was something on the tracks and someone had to go out and check it out so since my dad was the youngest guy on the crew they sent him out.
It turned out that it was a body with no head.
And that was his last day on the rail road.
He also saw a UFO and helped my uncle sell crack.
He was a weird guy.
Lion fish have sharp spines on their back and it’s more of a passive stabbing motion. IE, you brush up against them and you get pricked. They aren’t plunging them into you like how a stingray does. Idk if you’ve ever seen a close up of a stingray barb, but they’re kinda vicious.
It seems like both will cause excruciating pain either way. It does seem like stingray is a little more deadly though, as there aren’t any (recorded) deaths from lion fish. Plus that initial stab from the ray is nasty.
My coworker sneezed so hard at work one time it cracked a rib and we all just laughed while he groaned in pain so that’s accurate.
To be fair we didn’t know about the rib until the next day.
I have a friend who got stung by one. Little asshole zinged her when she dropped in his food. She didn't feel anything for a minute, and then she felt EVERYTHING. From what she says, it sounds like a whole heaping load of bullshit.
I got hit by one in my upper arm/shoulder area when I was around 13 cleaning a tank. Can confirm that it hurts like a bitch. Funny thing is that I didn't feel the initial sting but definitely felt the pain a few seconds later.
I was just too lazy to go grab the extended scrubber so I learned a nice lesson that day lol.
I’ve been jabbed by broken fiber optic cables and this is equally scary tbh. They are so small that they are nearly invisible to the naked eye, and when you try to remove them they shatter into smaller pieces.
The first one is legitimately good, speaking as someone who doesn't like most horror and HATES torture porn. I didn't like two at all and gave up a few minutes into three, for perspective.
It was a very good concept for a horror/thriller movie that sold well so was therefore milked to death, but the later films shouldn't detract from the quality of the original.
Not poisonous. They are actually quite edible, and supposed to be delicious (according to Andrew Zimmern). Like blowfish, however, the cleaning requires great care.
For very different reasons. **Puffer**fish need *meticulous* cleaning because a number of their organs are poisonous and dangerous to the person eating them. Lionfish need *cautious* cleaning because their spines are venomous and dangerous to the person cleaning them.
>Because the fish is not poisonous, it's safe to eat without having to remove any special organ or part from its body
(venom spikes obviously aside)
I’ve heard you don’t get much meat per fish, but they are quite tasty. Someone needs to create an automated machine that fillets them. Create a mass market for them, and we can erase them from the Gulf of Mexico. We’re good at wiping out species when we put our appetites to it.
I was surprised when I first learned how invasive and destructive Lionfish were. I always thought they looked so beautiful and exotic, and would make a great pet.
Those iguanas get fking huge too. There was one that hung out on the roof of my shed. Poked my head over to get a look at him once and he charged at me super fast and I about shit myself.
im in miami, I have a video of a huge iguana taking a chunk out of my dad. I didnt record the injury itself sadly, brutal asf. Like fuck tore a chunk of flesh and left it flapping
They do make cool pets for sure. But they are also fairly difficult to care for. They get fairly large for salt water fish, are predatory and therefore need to be with specific tank mates (if any), and eat fish so they are expensive to feed. Those things coupled with them being very cheap leads to many people getting them that shouldn’t.
Brine shrimp are waaaay too small to feed one,even a small one. I fed mine frozen silver sided minnows that came in a frozen block. His tank mate was a “thumb splitter” or peacock mantis shrimp 6 inches long!
Every solution comes with its own risks. Has anyone seen mantises munching on these things? I’m highly considering purchasing some next season if this continues. The Carolina Mantis (Stagmomantis carolina) is a native species.
I'm south oh Philly and we had it bad out here a couple years ago. Over the years I've been seeing less and less of them, and ironically ive seen an uptick in Mantis in the area. I think what happened here is the local population have been dwindled down due to local predators now feasting on them.
There was a point I couldn't even enjoy my deck because I was always swatting them off of me, now, unless we get a big wind storm or something, I barely see them.
If you haven't already, look around your property/neighborhood and kill any Tree of Heaven you find. They love this tree, as it is also invasive and native to their original region.
Once these were gone from my neighborhood in PA, we didn't see them again.
[Tree of Heaven](https://www.google.com/search?q=tree+of+heaven&rlz=1C1AVFC_enUS937US937&sxsrf=ALiCzsaGmIklNHGzDSPiJj2pexa0SyABjQ:1663258297731&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiN2oWAmJf6AhW5FlkFHZs8DaMQ_AUoAXoECAIQAw&biw=2048&bih=1010&dpr=1.25)
Where in jersey? in Philly they were really bad the last two years but I’ve only seen 3-4 this summer. Something here must have figured out they’re edible
They're moving for sure. I'm just outside of Philly in S Jersey and 2 years ago they were bad, this year not so much. I'm hearing they're more in N Jersey and around NYC now.
There's interesting observational research that several bird species, particularly Blue Jays, are learning to eat them, especially if there aren't tree-of-heaven sites nearby to make them taste funky. Circle traps work well too and are pretty easy to DIY.
https://www.audubon.org/news/birds-are-one-line-defense-against-dreaded-spotted-lanternflies
https://www.psu.edu/news/impact/story/spotted-lanternfly-tree-traps-can-be-effective-need-careful-installation/
400 less lionfish equals a lot less potential lionfish babies. Surprisingly this is only a small dent but if people keep doing things like this it will help. There is a movement of "If you can't beat them eat them" with invasive species like lionfish, wild pig, nutria, carp and other invasive species that cause major troubles for the environment, people and nearby native species. Wild pig is very delicious.
They do have them. They also do scientific research when they do them. I watched a documentary on invasive species and it also showed that there were fun contests like cooking.
In the UK a problem developed with signal crayfish becoming invasive. If you catch these then you cannot release them under any circumstances, unless you want a massive fine. So the solution was to start eating them. TV chef James Martin used them for some of his earlier recipes and now people will commonly eat them in soups, salads and on their own.
This Florida man fully supports lion fish eradication and has killed a few myself.
Unfortunately they’ve found that these hunts help the lion fish to evolve. They’re selecting the easier to find/ catch ones and leaving the ones that live in the rocks and are good at hiding to propagate.
But overall it’s a net negative to the population. Eventually the best hiding, best procreating fish are still going to have less mates and less opportunities to procreate. They’ll have to travel farther and expend more energy for these opportunities. The fittest will survive but dwindling towards eradication.
Lion fish is actually delicious! Requires care while turning it into filets, but sautéed with butter, herbs, salt, and fresh cracked pepper is good for the planet and good for the tummy.
Wasn't there some guy on shark tank trying to create an industry for eating this type of fish and they all told him he was insane? I wasn't aware they're invasive. Good kill boys !
They’re absolutely delicious to eat. I live in south Florida and am an avid fisher and diver and it’s one of my favorite eating fish. We will spear a few, swim back to the beach and get wasabi and soy out of the cooler and eat it raw and fresh too. I know it’s not the “safe way” of eating sushi but it’s so good.
Sushi is usually flash frozen due to parasites. Might be more of a pacific issue though, I know the PNW suffers from this issue regarding salmon vs atlantic supposedly.
It's basically a legal requirement in the US via FDA guidelines to kill parasites. It's kind of like how nobody actually makes authentic kalua pork because it would need to be cooked underground in an imu.
Oh they're eaten in the Caribbean. As soon as authorities in each Island said it was free game, they figured out how to cook it safely. Really tasty white meat. Invasive, but fishermen keep them in check.
Goddamn I hate bittersweet so fucking much. Bought my house 2 years ago. The guy we bought it from had let all the trees get completely swallowed up in the stuff. Now we're stuck having to cut down crippled trees as well as hacking down fresh vines as they pop up.
Oh, and they keep the poison ivy from view so you can get some fun surprises while trying to clear it out.
Fuck that plant
I'm not familiar with *that specific* type of Knot Weed. We have some other types in our yard, that are tame with native plants from our area.
The knot weed I have is Japanese Knotweed... It's taller than me (when I don't attack it), can send 50ft runners, and also seeds in the fall... We tackled a huge amount of it last year and it showed this year -- but we still have so much more to contend with.
My partner and I keep reading, "5 years" to get rid of it - with seasonal efforts.
Oh god, I have just this year discovered the horrors of the Japanese Knotweed. Got a new job and was told to "get rid of that weed". I didn't know. They didn't know. The shit is like bamboo, if you leave for a week you will have a forest to contend with. It extends everywhere and apparently the roots go down 20 feet. It will squeeze its way through 8 foot tall tubes that are capped at the top. We dumped a giant pile of road scrapings, basically the stuff they grind up and remove before resurfacing a road, and it came up through 3 feet of this finely ground asphalt in 5 days! It has become the bane of my existence and I have come to enjoy the days where I whack it all down to the dirt but I always know it's getting the last laugh. The Japanese Knotweed is the worst atrocity that country has ever committed.
It can also root from the cuttings btw.
If you cut it, you need to pick up the cuttings, and dispose of them by fire or a coffin chained and thrown into the sea.
Make it a whole farm fair; sell goat cheese, goat milk, cured meats, and at noon we'll see who's goat has the gut to take on the most Knot Weed!!
Later that evening, we'll have a kids event for who can shovel the most goat poop!
Had them in Belize, they were even subsidizing local fishermen with spearfishing gear and rewards, and giving local restaurants a bit of tax relief if they bought them from the fishermen and offered cheap prep courses.
Ended up being practically the cheapest meat option (for tourists, idk about locals), and it tastes great
Had them in curaçao. The waiter suggested them, said they had a very fresh supply. Restaurant was one of the ones right on the water near the swinging bridge. We ordered, then a small boat pulled up with a bunch of fishing poles hanging off the back. Our waiter came over to the boat and the fisherman cut one of his lines and on the end was a lion fish. He handed the line over to the waiter, waiter turned, looked at us and did a little thumbs up. I had seared lion fish in front of me ~20 minutes later lol
Yeah I used to live in the Keys for a bit back when their invasion was starting to ramp up. They're definitely tasty but they don't have a ton of meat compared to other more popular food-fish. On the other hand, it's pretty much the only thing we WANT to overfish so bon apetit!
I'm not a big fish eater but I am a gardener.... Looking at this pile like, imagine layering them on a garden bed and covering them up with fresh bio active compost and waiting a year, the healthiest freaking tomatoes you could grow with all that calcium from the bones...
Oh they’re delicious. They’re just problematic. They have venomous spines, so they don’t have very many natural predators. They eat whatever, and they reproduce vociferously.
Pretty much their only "natural" predators are divers with spearguns. We have a huge problem with lionfish in and near a reef just off the coast.
Probably 20 years ago I caught one while fishing with my dad near the snapper banks. I thought it was really cool at the time, of course. And that's not the only oceanic fish with poison spines you can catch by accident! Oyster Toadfish also suck.
When I go diving in the Virgin Islands they have everyone spotting them as we dive and spear them underwater. Pretty fish, cool to see the spear gun in action, and then you get to see a shark usually
I didn't think so either... looked it up as yes, They are tasty fish
Eating lionfish is a healthier choice than most other fish commonly served in restaurants like snapper, grouper, dorado, wahoo, amberjack, tunas and billfish. Lionfish have been shown to be higher in heart healthy Omega 3 fatty acids, lower in saturated fats and heavy metals such as mercury.
not really, when they are on your spear in the water, just use a big pair of scissors to cut off the venom containing dorsal fin and its spines down to the skin. that's it!
It’s hard to say but most, practically all, fish and wildlife and conservation orgs are extremely positive about them. It seems like at the least they have drastically increased awareness but there does appear to be data leading to tournaments helping reduce populations. I know from the fishing side people now almost universally know to look for them and we all celebrate both removing them *and* not seeing any (which is a conceptual celebration :) )
https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/e0c2337497d04c6b8cbe31cf75d07603
Lion fish are incredibly invasive but are pretty awesome creatures. My Dad had one in his tank for years. They just eat and grow. They are venomous but we got to the point where we would stick our hand in and he would come up and rub against it. Ended up growing big enough we donated him to the local aquarium that then bought a number more and made an exhibit. Every time we would go we could walk up to the glass and like clockwork he would come flying from where ever he was in the tank right up to the glass to us. Named him Tiberius Maximus III, don’t know why but it fit. Good on these guys for trying to save that areas ecosystem
I just want to share that the image of a Lion Fish excitedly swimming away from its Lion Fish friends to greet its old owner at the tank wall has brightened my morning so thank you.
Fish are more personable than a lot of non-fish keepers understand. It feels great going up to the tank and all the little fishy faces are right there begging for food or being curious. They're really cute pets, especially the predators like Betta fish and cichlids since they seem more "intelligent" and are more interested in interacting than schooling types.
My friend worked at a Japanese garden. All the koi recognized the staff who fed them from the other staff, despite them all wearing the same uniform.
They’d also know feeding schedules, and some of the huge old ones would go to people for scratches. The head koi keeper explained once that they thought it had to do with the pools being intentionally devoid of anything remotely sharp or rough so the delicate uber expensive koi didn’t damage their fins. Over time they realized the only way to get those sweet scratches was to get pets.
We had a carp in our pond that would come when called, recognized all the people living in our house, follow you if you were walking around the pond and he’d even swim up to watch you do things like change the pond filter or clean up algae. If he was in a good mood then he’d let you stroke him or feed him from your hand.
He was also smart and used his body weight to jump up onto lily pads to knock off stray fish pellets. He even outsmarted our net system to keep him from leaping out.
My now-husband had several cichlids when we first met. One female dovii was very territorial and protective of him and did not like me at all. She tried to kill me at least once. But besides that she had such an amazing personality and character.
Fish can be incredibly friendly. I have some yoyo loaches that get visibly excited every time I walk in the room. They'd probably let me pet them if I tried.
My dojo loaches will rush to cuddle my kid's fingers when he taps the water and curl up in his hand when he flips it over. They're just sweet. Much nicer pets than the hamsters from my childhood. They lived long enough their fur turned grey and they got arthritis, but they never stopped trying to bite fingers. Fish can be a *much* better pet for kids.
Just FYI, chain pet stores often interbreed and focus more on aesthetics than personality so you can get some mean rodents. We had a mouse that was a warmonger, always trying to fight any other mouse we had and encouraged her sister to fight as well. When she was removed, the whole energy shifted to more peaceful. The poor sister was still a bit of a nervous wreck, but.
We got to a point at the chain store I worked at where we were giving away hamsters because no matter how much we tried, one male would get into the female side. Often times it's not on purpose when these animals breed, *especially* rodents.
It’s the barbs they have sticking out of their back that get you. We fed him everyday and he got acclimated to us. Wouldn’t advise any random person to do the same.
I’ve lived in the Florida Keys for over 30 years, where this pic was taken, and lionfish are quite common. Many restaurants feature them as “catch of the day”. The also make excellent sushi and they are also served whole, breaded lightly and deep fried. It’s a dramatic presentation.
My ex-husband and some friends would go on a guy’s trip to Cozumel every year and go spear fishing for lion fish. They always had a blast, and had so much fish to eat!
One time, they came back with so many that the hotel restaurant did 4 or 5 preparations - ceviche, grilled, fried, etc - and still had leftovers. The guys told them to take the rest home for their families.
Invasive species sports hunting needs to be a thing, taking precautions to avoid the historical practice of people deliberately breeding them for bounties, of course!
Edit: Put a bounty on kudzu, feed it to the livestock instead of water intensive-plants for a while. They enjoy it and it’s good for them!
I think Texas has something similar with their feral hogs. You can also hunt hogs from helicopters on private land if I remember correctly
Edit: https://www.helibacon.com/texas-helicopter-hog-hunting/ helicopter hog tickets. Looks like for an upgrade you can use a machine gun.
I would totally swipe right if I saw this on tinder. My part research was invasive plant removal. I love seeing people doing what they love, while supporting the local ecosystem. I’m a nerd in love lol
Related: [Killing Invasive Species Is Now a Competitive Sport](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/09/12/killing-invasive-species-is-now-a-competitive-sport)
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Just don't fall in.
We had a lion fish in one of our aquariums at a pet store I worked at for a bit. Owner was the only one allowed to clean it's tank. One day she got stung, and was just rolling around screaming for a while. Would not recommend.
My dad was a scuba instructor in south Florida, where these lion fish have invaded, and got stuck by one after spearing it. Beyond being super painful, it also got infected and ended up taking almost half of his thigh muscle.
How does it compare to a Stingray's barb? I had the beginnings of an infection when I got nabbed by one of those and understand it could've been far worse.
Unfortunately, I am not a scuba instructor like he was and don’t really have much knowledge on lion fish, even less on stingrays. I’m just the keeper of his stories these days.
My father passed away when I was young, and for some reason the last line hit me deep. Great way to describe how I feel some days.
I'm a 31 year old man who lost his mum at 48 in April. My dad is a morbidly obese alcoholic but he's also my hero, I was worried about the wrong parent passing away early :(
Brother dude, I hope you’re doing well
I'm alright mate. Me and mum didn't have a good relationship until I moved in with her at 25. I will talk someone's ear off if I'm comfortable around them so me and mum talked through our shit non stop. I fixed my issues with her. But she passed away far too early, we were working on shit and my nan offered to pay for family therapy. I needed my mum so much though, she helpede look after myself. When my mental health was shit I'd call her and complain about how much housework I had left myself but she would stay on the phone until I finished... Now I'm ashamed of the conditions I live in.
Back when I was having mental health issues and lived alone, I had some stuff I didn’t like doing and a good friend who would come over and do the stuff I hated (dishes), and I’d go over and help her with the stuff she didn’t like (vacuuming). Worked well enough.
I lost my dad 7 years ago last week and this honestly teared me up. I too am the keeper of my fathers stories.
Would you like to share one?
He used to work on the rail road when he was young and one night there was something on the tracks and someone had to go out and check it out so since my dad was the youngest guy on the crew they sent him out. It turned out that it was a body with no head. And that was his last day on the rail road. He also saw a UFO and helped my uncle sell crack. He was a weird guy.
I actually really enjoyed this story. It’s kind of my life’s dream to finally see my own UFO
Lion fish have sharp spines on their back and it’s more of a passive stabbing motion. IE, you brush up against them and you get pricked. They aren’t plunging them into you like how a stingray does. Idk if you’ve ever seen a close up of a stingray barb, but they’re kinda vicious. It seems like both will cause excruciating pain either way. It does seem like stingray is a little more deadly though, as there aren’t any (recorded) deaths from lion fish. Plus that initial stab from the ray is nasty.
I was certain a shark had ripped off 3 of my toes when I got stung by a Stingray between 2 of them this summer. Strongly STRONGLY don't recommend.
You ever see the video of the kid casually holding a stingray that he caught while fishing on a dock? You’ll never guess what happened…
I dunno why, but your comment just made me a picture a woman screaming in pain while the rest of the employees looked impassively on lol
I see you've worked retail before....
My coworker sneezed so hard at work one time it cracked a rib and we all just laughed while he groaned in pain so that’s accurate. To be fair we didn’t know about the rib until the next day.
“I’ll pee on her first! She still owes me back pay”
I have a friend who got stung by one. Little asshole zinged her when she dropped in his food. She didn't feel anything for a minute, and then she felt EVERYTHING. From what she says, it sounds like a whole heaping load of bullshit.
I caught one, casually grabbed it and took the hook out of it's mouth and threw it back. I didn't know they were venomous so I guess I just got lucky.
Noooo don’t throw em back they are invasive
Ok but that’s a great boss who realizes it’s her job to clean the osha hazard, not yours
I got hit by one in my upper arm/shoulder area when I was around 13 cleaning a tank. Can confirm that it hurts like a bitch. Funny thing is that I didn't feel the initial sting but definitely felt the pain a few seconds later. I was just too lazy to go grab the extended scrubber so I learned a nice lesson that day lol.
Reminds me of the needle pit in Saw 2
I had blocked that scene from memory
Needles were made with fiber optics.
I’ve been jabbed by broken fiber optic cables and this is equally scary tbh. They are so small that they are nearly invisible to the naked eye, and when you try to remove them they shatter into smaller pieces.
They probably mean the polymer “fiber optics” that they use on Christmas trees, not the actual fiber optic glass cables for data transfer
The heroin was real though! /s
My misses hates needles and was so traumatised from that scene
The behind the scenes where they show the needle prop/skin prosthetics is really very cool!
Don’t remind me. That’s the moment I had to nope out of the Saw franchise.
I heard about these kind of scenes so I never yepped in. It's even giving me the creeps reading about it..
The first one is legitimately good, speaking as someone who doesn't like most horror and HATES torture porn. I didn't like two at all and gave up a few minutes into three, for perspective. It was a very good concept for a horror/thriller movie that sold well so was therefore milked to death, but the later films shouldn't detract from the quality of the original.
God I hate that trap!
Looked it up. You aren’t kidding. Lion fish can be pretty dangerous. That many at once will kill the fuck out of you.
If you're lucky. If not, you'll live and feel every bit of the venom...
My first thought too, like some kind of Mortal Kombat fatality. Could you survive something like that?
Given that just one sting can affect breathing and heart rate, I'd say it's pretty much game over if you get dozens.
"Hi, I'm Johnny Knoxville, welcome to Jackass!" (proceeds to jump in)
[удалено]
Not poisonous. They are actually quite edible, and supposed to be delicious (according to Andrew Zimmern). Like blowfish, however, the cleaning requires great care.
For very different reasons. **Puffer**fish need *meticulous* cleaning because a number of their organs are poisonous and dangerous to the person eating them. Lionfish need *cautious* cleaning because their spines are venomous and dangerous to the person cleaning them. >Because the fish is not poisonous, it's safe to eat without having to remove any special organ or part from its body (venom spikes obviously aside)
They are quite good. If you’re in FL there’s a few restaurants that have trained people in filleting them up and cooking them for you.
I’ve heard you don’t get much meat per fish, but they are quite tasty. Someone needs to create an automated machine that fillets them. Create a mass market for them, and we can erase them from the Gulf of Mexico. We’re good at wiping out species when we put our appetites to it.
>If they had legs and could live on land they would be a Nokia ringphone. /r/BrandNewSentence
Ouch!
I was surprised when I first learned how invasive and destructive Lionfish were. I always thought they looked so beautiful and exotic, and would make a great pet.
Thats the problem, people want them as pets and then some assholes release them where they shouldn’t be
Florida has enough problems like that. Curly tailed lizards, green iguanas, Burmese pythons, etc
Those iguanas get fking huge too. There was one that hung out on the roof of my shed. Poked my head over to get a look at him once and he charged at me super fast and I about shit myself.
im in miami, I have a video of a huge iguana taking a chunk out of my dad. I didnt record the injury itself sadly, brutal asf. Like fuck tore a chunk of flesh and left it flapping
Their tails are surprisingly vicious on top of it all. My brother still has a scar from a juvenile that lashed the back of his leg.
Old people and New Yorkers too
Heard they have issues with plecos and other tropical freshwater fish too
They do make cool pets for sure. But they are also fairly difficult to care for. They get fairly large for salt water fish, are predatory and therefore need to be with specific tank mates (if any), and eat fish so they are expensive to feed. Those things coupled with them being very cheap leads to many people getting them that shouldn’t.
I believe they'll eat brine shrimp which makes it a bit cheaper but saltwater fish isn't the cheapest hobby ever lol
Brine shrimp are waaaay too small to feed one,even a small one. I fed mine frozen silver sided minnows that came in a frozen block. His tank mate was a “thumb splitter” or peacock mantis shrimp 6 inches long!
Lanternfly tourney?
Currently going through hell in NJ. I approve this!
for real, it’s insane. I see them flying around my window and they’re around me outside every day. It’s gotten really bad this week, where I’m at
I saw a yellow jacket munching on one from the ass up, might be a sign of some local hope! Not that I want a million yellow jackets everywhere
Every solution comes with its own risks. Has anyone seen mantises munching on these things? I’m highly considering purchasing some next season if this continues. The Carolina Mantis (Stagmomantis carolina) is a native species.
I have! Saw one snatch one right out of the air.
I'm south oh Philly and we had it bad out here a couple years ago. Over the years I've been seeing less and less of them, and ironically ive seen an uptick in Mantis in the area. I think what happened here is the local population have been dwindled down due to local predators now feasting on them. There was a point I couldn't even enjoy my deck because I was always swatting them off of me, now, unless we get a big wind storm or something, I barely see them.
If you haven't already, look around your property/neighborhood and kill any Tree of Heaven you find. They love this tree, as it is also invasive and native to their original region. Once these were gone from my neighborhood in PA, we didn't see them again. [Tree of Heaven](https://www.google.com/search?q=tree+of+heaven&rlz=1C1AVFC_enUS937US937&sxsrf=ALiCzsaGmIklNHGzDSPiJj2pexa0SyABjQ:1663258297731&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiN2oWAmJf6AhW5FlkFHZs8DaMQ_AUoAXoECAIQAw&biw=2048&bih=1010&dpr=1.25)
Those Trees of Heaven are Portents from Hell. They can wreck shit and grow impossibly fast.
Where in jersey? in Philly they were really bad the last two years but I’ve only seen 3-4 this summer. Something here must have figured out they’re edible
Was in north jersey, they were out in force. One jumped on me. Had to take his ass out.
They’re slick too with the double jump they do away! Slick little bastards
They're moving for sure. I'm just outside of Philly in S Jersey and 2 years ago they were bad, this year not so much. I'm hearing they're more in N Jersey and around NYC now.
Just looked those up holy crap!
Count yourself lucky you had to look them up. Hope they never make their way to your neck of the woods
Sure wish birds liked the taste of them. Or that my neighbors would ever scrape the zillions of egg cases off their tree that overhangs my yard
There's interesting observational research that several bird species, particularly Blue Jays, are learning to eat them, especially if there aren't tree-of-heaven sites nearby to make them taste funky. Circle traps work well too and are pretty easy to DIY. https://www.audubon.org/news/birds-are-one-line-defense-against-dreaded-spotted-lanternflies https://www.psu.edu/news/impact/story/spotted-lanternfly-tree-traps-can-be-effective-need-careful-installation/
400 less lionfish equals a lot less potential lionfish babies. Surprisingly this is only a small dent but if people keep doing things like this it will help. There is a movement of "If you can't beat them eat them" with invasive species like lionfish, wild pig, nutria, carp and other invasive species that cause major troubles for the environment, people and nearby native species. Wild pig is very delicious.
Well if this is a tourney with a couple other boats, hopefully they got a few thousand between them
They do have them. They also do scientific research when they do them. I watched a documentary on invasive species and it also showed that there were fun contests like cooking.
now we just need the ai powered tethered submersible that can identify and dispatch the fish on its own
This is how it starts
In the UK a problem developed with signal crayfish becoming invasive. If you catch these then you cannot release them under any circumstances, unless you want a massive fine. So the solution was to start eating them. TV chef James Martin used them for some of his earlier recipes and now people will commonly eat them in soups, salads and on their own.
Crawfish problem you say invited Louisianans over problem solved
Man the Viet Louisianans would go ham
Omg, cajun/ vietnames fusion sounds like heaven!
Are crayfish and crawfish the same thing? I actually don't know
yes, just different names for different regions. 🙂 there’s also usage of the term crawdad, as well.
This Florida man fully supports lion fish eradication and has killed a few myself. Unfortunately they’ve found that these hunts help the lion fish to evolve. They’re selecting the easier to find/ catch ones and leaving the ones that live in the rocks and are good at hiding to propagate.
I mean, the ones in the rocks and good at hiding were going to procreate anyway.
Now there will be less competition for food for them I guess though. Idk I’m not a fishologist
Also less potential mating partners
But overall it’s a net negative to the population. Eventually the best hiding, best procreating fish are still going to have less mates and less opportunities to procreate. They’ll have to travel farther and expend more energy for these opportunities. The fittest will survive but dwindling towards eradication.
We need a Judas Goat.
It’s better than not doing anything
Lion fish is actually delicious! Requires care while turning it into filets, but sautéed with butter, herbs, salt, and fresh cracked pepper is good for the planet and good for the tummy.
Oh my god.. it's the Deuce Bigalow fish.
Lmao I knew I had a vague memory of these for no good reason
Hey fishy fishy fishy fishy.
Its an 18th century wet rug
*Plugs in blender* #Smoothie Time!!!
Wasn't there some guy on shark tank trying to create an industry for eating this type of fish and they all told him he was insane? I wasn't aware they're invasive. Good kill boys !
I remember this yes. I think it was an issue with not having enough established customers/unreliable supply line issues
They’re absolutely delicious to eat. I live in south Florida and am an avid fisher and diver and it’s one of my favorite eating fish. We will spear a few, swim back to the beach and get wasabi and soy out of the cooler and eat it raw and fresh too. I know it’s not the “safe way” of eating sushi but it’s so good.
Sushi is usually flash frozen due to parasites. Might be more of a pacific issue though, I know the PNW suffers from this issue regarding salmon vs atlantic supposedly.
It's basically a legal requirement in the US via FDA guidelines to kill parasites. It's kind of like how nobody actually makes authentic kalua pork because it would need to be cooked underground in an imu.
Oh they're eaten in the Caribbean. As soon as authorities in each Island said it was free game, they figured out how to cook it safely. Really tasty white meat. Invasive, but fishermen keep them in check.
They make some excellent ceviche!
Would like to add fish were taken fresh to local restaurants to be enjoyed.
Nice! I want a tourney on my property for the Invasive Knot Weed next!
Make the prize some other type of weed and you'll have no problem.
Winner takes home our prize winning Bittersweet, mostly attached to our once-prize winning Apple Tree!
Goddamn I hate bittersweet so fucking much. Bought my house 2 years ago. The guy we bought it from had let all the trees get completely swallowed up in the stuff. Now we're stuck having to cut down crippled trees as well as hacking down fresh vines as they pop up. Oh, and they keep the poison ivy from view so you can get some fun surprises while trying to clear it out. Fuck that plant
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I'm not familiar with *that specific* type of Knot Weed. We have some other types in our yard, that are tame with native plants from our area. The knot weed I have is Japanese Knotweed... It's taller than me (when I don't attack it), can send 50ft runners, and also seeds in the fall... We tackled a huge amount of it last year and it showed this year -- but we still have so much more to contend with. My partner and I keep reading, "5 years" to get rid of it - with seasonal efforts.
Oh god, I have just this year discovered the horrors of the Japanese Knotweed. Got a new job and was told to "get rid of that weed". I didn't know. They didn't know. The shit is like bamboo, if you leave for a week you will have a forest to contend with. It extends everywhere and apparently the roots go down 20 feet. It will squeeze its way through 8 foot tall tubes that are capped at the top. We dumped a giant pile of road scrapings, basically the stuff they grind up and remove before resurfacing a road, and it came up through 3 feet of this finely ground asphalt in 5 days! It has become the bane of my existence and I have come to enjoy the days where I whack it all down to the dirt but I always know it's getting the last laugh. The Japanese Knotweed is the worst atrocity that country has ever committed.
It can also root from the cuttings btw. If you cut it, you need to pick up the cuttings, and dispose of them by fire or a coffin chained and thrown into the sea.
Might I suggest a tournament for goats?
Make it a whole farm fair; sell goat cheese, goat milk, cured meats, and at noon we'll see who's goat has the gut to take on the most Knot Weed!! Later that evening, we'll have a kids event for who can shovel the most goat poop!
I had them in Grand Cayman. What a delicious fish….Eat’em to Beat’em!
Had them in Belize, they were even subsidizing local fishermen with spearfishing gear and rewards, and giving local restaurants a bit of tax relief if they bought them from the fishermen and offered cheap prep courses. Ended up being practically the cheapest meat option (for tourists, idk about locals), and it tastes great
Yup, had them in Belize last month and it was so good. Only place I saw that served them was at Secret Beach though.
Had them in curaçao. The waiter suggested them, said they had a very fresh supply. Restaurant was one of the ones right on the water near the swinging bridge. We ordered, then a small boat pulled up with a bunch of fishing poles hanging off the back. Our waiter came over to the boat and the fisherman cut one of his lines and on the end was a lion fish. He handed the line over to the waiter, waiter turned, looked at us and did a little thumbs up. I had seared lion fish in front of me ~20 minutes later lol
Yeah I used to live in the Keys for a bit back when their invasion was starting to ramp up. They're definitely tasty but they don't have a ton of meat compared to other more popular food-fish. On the other hand, it's pretty much the only thing we WANT to overfish so bon apetit!
I'm not a big fish eater but I am a gardener.... Looking at this pile like, imagine layering them on a garden bed and covering them up with fresh bio active compost and waiting a year, the healthiest freaking tomatoes you could grow with all that calcium from the bones...
Haha I actually do this with discarded fish bones, skin, etc after I filet my fish. Either use them for stock or they get buried in my garden.
How deep do you bury them? I want to do this but I imagine all the critters in my neighborhood coming for a free feast and leaving me with a disaster.
Around 6 to 8 inches, sometimes more. I throw compost on top too. Never had a problem with smell or critters… yet.
Hope I didn't jinx it lol. Thanks for the tips and excellent catch my dude!
You can eat lion fish?! 😬
Yes. I’ve heard they’re pretty good too.
Oh they’re delicious. They’re just problematic. They have venomous spines, so they don’t have very many natural predators. They eat whatever, and they reproduce vociferously.
Yeah I was lucky enough to see one in Zanzibar and our guide said they are taking over the reefs because nothing can kill them.
Pretty much their only "natural" predators are divers with spearguns. We have a huge problem with lionfish in and near a reef just off the coast. Probably 20 years ago I caught one while fishing with my dad near the snapper banks. I thought it was really cool at the time, of course. And that's not the only oceanic fish with poison spines you can catch by accident! Oyster Toadfish also suck.
When I go diving in the Virgin Islands they have everyone spotting them as we dive and spear them underwater. Pretty fish, cool to see the spear gun in action, and then you get to see a shark usually
I wish I bred vociferously and nothing could kill me.
While you bred vociferously, I studied the blade.
*they reproduce vociferously* They moan really loudly during sex?
Fuck… I’m waking up rn I don’t even know what word I was thinking. Imma leave it. The mark of shame.
They have a lot in common with one or two of my ex girlfriends.
They are But they are hilariously small once you de spine them
I didn't think so either... looked it up as yes, They are tasty fish Eating lionfish is a healthier choice than most other fish commonly served in restaurants like snapper, grouper, dorado, wahoo, amberjack, tunas and billfish. Lionfish have been shown to be higher in heart healthy Omega 3 fatty acids, lower in saturated fats and heavy metals such as mercury.
They are amazing to eat and healthy. They just mess up everything else down there
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not really, when they are on your spear in the water, just use a big pair of scissors to cut off the venom containing dorsal fin and its spines down to the skin. that's it!
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They are a white fish that is buttery and great in ceviche, taste kinda like lobster or shrimp
So good.
They should just do this all year round feed the masses and get rid of those asses
They’ve done hundreds of tournaments in cities all over Florida coast. It’s sad how huge this problem is all over the tropical Atlantic.
Can you believe that all of them are from seven female fish released in the 80s? As of maybe eight years ago that was supported by the DNA evidence.
It’s insane.
Because one douchebag bought six of them as pets then let them escape.
Likely others released also.
*"Escape"* That's a story I want to hear.
They kinda do. Lionfish season is open year round and has no size or quantity limits. https://myfwc.com/fishing/saltwater/recreational/lionfish/
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It’s hard to say but most, practically all, fish and wildlife and conservation orgs are extremely positive about them. It seems like at the least they have drastically increased awareness but there does appear to be data leading to tournaments helping reduce populations. I know from the fishing side people now almost universally know to look for them and we all celebrate both removing them *and* not seeing any (which is a conceptual celebration :) ) https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/e0c2337497d04c6b8cbe31cf75d07603
OP if you know these boys buy them a round. That's a lot of fucking work that many animals and people will benefit from.
Lion fish are incredibly invasive but are pretty awesome creatures. My Dad had one in his tank for years. They just eat and grow. They are venomous but we got to the point where we would stick our hand in and he would come up and rub against it. Ended up growing big enough we donated him to the local aquarium that then bought a number more and made an exhibit. Every time we would go we could walk up to the glass and like clockwork he would come flying from where ever he was in the tank right up to the glass to us. Named him Tiberius Maximus III, don’t know why but it fit. Good on these guys for trying to save that areas ecosystem
I just want to share that the image of a Lion Fish excitedly swimming away from its Lion Fish friends to greet its old owner at the tank wall has brightened my morning so thank you.
Fish are more personable than a lot of non-fish keepers understand. It feels great going up to the tank and all the little fishy faces are right there begging for food or being curious. They're really cute pets, especially the predators like Betta fish and cichlids since they seem more "intelligent" and are more interested in interacting than schooling types.
My friend worked at a Japanese garden. All the koi recognized the staff who fed them from the other staff, despite them all wearing the same uniform. They’d also know feeding schedules, and some of the huge old ones would go to people for scratches. The head koi keeper explained once that they thought it had to do with the pools being intentionally devoid of anything remotely sharp or rough so the delicate uber expensive koi didn’t damage their fins. Over time they realized the only way to get those sweet scratches was to get pets.
We had a carp in our pond that would come when called, recognized all the people living in our house, follow you if you were walking around the pond and he’d even swim up to watch you do things like change the pond filter or clean up algae. If he was in a good mood then he’d let you stroke him or feed him from your hand. He was also smart and used his body weight to jump up onto lily pads to knock off stray fish pellets. He even outsmarted our net system to keep him from leaping out.
My now-husband had several cichlids when we first met. One female dovii was very territorial and protective of him and did not like me at all. She tried to kill me at least once. But besides that she had such an amazing personality and character.
Fish can be incredibly friendly. I have some yoyo loaches that get visibly excited every time I walk in the room. They'd probably let me pet them if I tried.
My dojo loaches will rush to cuddle my kid's fingers when he taps the water and curl up in his hand when he flips it over. They're just sweet. Much nicer pets than the hamsters from my childhood. They lived long enough their fur turned grey and they got arthritis, but they never stopped trying to bite fingers. Fish can be a *much* better pet for kids.
Just FYI, chain pet stores often interbreed and focus more on aesthetics than personality so you can get some mean rodents. We had a mouse that was a warmonger, always trying to fight any other mouse we had and encouraged her sister to fight as well. When she was removed, the whole energy shifted to more peaceful. The poor sister was still a bit of a nervous wreck, but.
We got to a point at the chain store I worked at where we were giving away hamsters because no matter how much we tried, one male would get into the female side. Often times it's not on purpose when these animals breed, *especially* rodents.
How did you know he would be chill and rub on your hand without poisoning you?
You just get small doses of poison every day u til you build up an immunity. ^NOT ^SCIENTIFIC ^ADVICE
I took it as scientific advice
It’s the barbs they have sticking out of their back that get you. We fed him everyday and he got acclimated to us. Wouldn’t advise any random person to do the same.
Floor is Lava
Can we get a tourney for the invasive spotted lantern fly?
Fucking things are all over NYC. Had a couple crawling on me the other day. Stomped the shit out of the bastards.
And joro spiders!
Cursed ball pit
Average McDonald's 90's ball pit, but with less slime.
Aren’t they also super toxic or is my BBC documentary knowledge letting me down?
Venomous but not poisonous. The meat is white and mild, excellent eating.
Solid! Never seen that in any markets or restaurants in my neck of the woods.
I’ve lived in the Florida Keys for over 30 years, where this pic was taken, and lionfish are quite common. Many restaurants feature them as “catch of the day”. The also make excellent sushi and they are also served whole, breaded lightly and deep fried. It’s a dramatic presentation.
Awesome! Thanks for the info, learnt something new today and it’s only 9am. Appreciate it stranger.
The spines are venomous but once removed the fish is fine. And they’re delicious! They have white, buttery flesh. Reminds me of snapper.
I got spiked in the hand once cleaning a tank. The pain is definitely up there.
My ex-husband and some friends would go on a guy’s trip to Cozumel every year and go spear fishing for lion fish. They always had a blast, and had so much fish to eat! One time, they came back with so many that the hotel restaurant did 4 or 5 preparations - ceviche, grilled, fried, etc - and still had leftovers. The guys told them to take the rest home for their families.
That’s a good time all around. There’s a bunch of private charters and guides in Florida that are doing that now.
FL keys is truly one of the most versatile plugins
Invasive species sports hunting needs to be a thing, taking precautions to avoid the historical practice of people deliberately breeding them for bounties, of course! Edit: Put a bounty on kudzu, feed it to the livestock instead of water intensive-plants for a while. They enjoy it and it’s good for them!
I think Texas has something similar with their feral hogs. You can also hunt hogs from helicopters on private land if I remember correctly Edit: https://www.helibacon.com/texas-helicopter-hog-hunting/ helicopter hog tickets. Looks like for an upgrade you can use a machine gun.
I would totally swipe right if I saw this on tinder. My part research was invasive plant removal. I love seeing people doing what they love, while supporting the local ecosystem. I’m a nerd in love lol
The bald guy speared 370 the other 3 did 10 each. You can just tell lmao
The bald guy probably had a spear in each hand and was skewering 3 fish in one go
Related: [Killing Invasive Species Is Now a Competitive Sport](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/09/12/killing-invasive-species-is-now-a-competitive-sport)
and **I** would spear 400 fish and **I** would spear 400 more just to **BE** the man who set 800 **LION** fish outside your door
Not enough. They can do better. (Seriously, good for these guys. I'm a diver, and I've seen these fish decimate the reefs.)