It`s him. He`s here. The worst fish.
Sorry if I`m being rude, but I HATE the Reef Stone Fish. In fact, I hate the stone fish genus as a whole!
Around 14 - 20 inches long (35-50 cm) and weighing in at 5 pounds (2.3 kg), this rude customer has some insane camo. If you`re not looking for it, this little sucker is almost impossible to notice, which is one of the reasons I hate it so much.
You see, it`d be fine if they just had great camouflage, that`d be understandable, but they also happen to be venomous. Like, really venomous. Like, THE MOST VENOMOUS FISH ON EARTH venomous. That`s not hyperbole, Reef Stonefish venom has been known to kill adult human in less than an hour. This venom is administrated via one of thirteen spines along it`s dorsal fin. There are actually 5 other spines, but they are usually hidden. Venom is stored and produced in glands located at the base of each spine, and is secreted when pressure is applied to it`s respective spine. The amount of venom secreted is directly proportional to the amount of pressure applied.
So, imagine you`re just walking around on the ocean floor, as you do, and you step on, or hell, even just bump into what looks to be part of a completely normal reef, only to be stung so bad you could die! How incredibly rude.
This venom is intensely painful from the moment it is administered. Localized swelling is common, and is sometimes occupied by a blueish discoloration of the skin around the envenomation site. If not treated, it will cause heart failure and breathing difficulties, eventually resulting in death. Other symptoms include seizures, muscle paralysis, tissue necrosis, and shock. Reef Stonefish stings require immediate professional medical attention, so the first thing you should do if you or someone with you have been stung is call the hospital. While waiting for an ambulance, soak the affected area in hot water to relieve pain, though be careful not to burn yourself. Do not remove any spines stuck in the envenomation site, as doing so could possibly result in substantial blood loss. Instead, pad the areas around where they enter the skin. Reef Stonefish venom is localized, so do not try to apply a pressure immobilization bandage. If the affected person is unresponsive and not breathing properly, perform CPR if you know how.
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Rapidly-Progressive-Necrotising-Fasciitis-following-Tang-Fung/d698f606ee034c51e05c057b99b42053eee19649
Reef Stonefish are carnivorous, subsisting off shrimp, various crustaceans, and other smaller fish. It hunts by lying motionless on the floor until something tasty comes close enough, then it bolts at it, capturing it`s prey. The striking phase of this hunt is so fast it can be difficult to film, as it can snap up a small crab almost entirely within a 0.15 second timespan. Despite this, they are often prey to larger sharks, rays, and sometimes even sea snakes.
They have been known to live both in groups and alone, and usually live for between five and ten years in the wild. They normally live in reef flats and shallow lagoons in the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asian Pacific, and can allso be found in the Red Sea. They almost never go deeper than the 30 meter mark, 50 meters at the deepest. Unlike most other fish, the Reef Stonefish can survive up to 24 hours outside of the water, a fact I wish I never learned.
Did I mention that they can spit at you? Because they can. What assholes.
