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TarantulaWeen 9
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Lizards
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Cool Iguana Pics
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Salmonella
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Uromastyx maliensis
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Misc Lizards 2
Misc Lizards 3
Misc Lizards 4
Misc Lizards 5
Misc Lizards 6
Misc Lizards 7
Misc Lizards 8
Misc Lizards 9


Snakes
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Kids at Pet Expo 1

Kids at Pet Expo 2

Kids at Pet Expo 3

Kids at Pet Expo 4

Kids at Pet Expo 5
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Snakes Alive
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Snakesgiving II
Misc Snake Pix
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Misc Snakes III  

Turtles/Tortoises
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Box, USA
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Water
Western Painted

Live Foods
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Crayfish 3 
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Grindal Worms
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Rosy Reds

Super Worms

Wax Worms
White Clouds

Decorating
Bubbles
Driftwood
Gravel
Plastic Plants
Rocks
Slow Growing Plants

Miscellaneous
Bob's Acclimation

How to Start
How to Add New Fish
How to Keep Healthy
Which Fish Get Along?
10 Questions to Ask
What is Ich?
Under Gravel Filters

Sponge Filters
Cloudy Water
Cool Water Tanks
Gravel Vacuums
Preventing Disease
Feeding to the Max
Frozen Foods
Green Water
Nasty Chemicals
Overfeeding
Power Filters
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Quarantine Tank
Mini-Tank
2nd Av Bait

Pet World Visit
Dandelions

Aquatic Plants
Amazon Swords
More Swords
Sword Plants III
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A. boivinianus
A. fenestralis
A. ulvaceous
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Banana Plant
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Bunch Plants II
Cryptocorynes
Crystalwort
Dwarf Lily
Grassy
Grassy II
Hornwort
Hygrophila
Lace
Java Lance Fern
Java Moss
Moss Balls
Onion
Vermiculite
Watersprite

LA
Attractive paddle-shaped pectorals on the freshwater stonefish, but beware the dorsal fin.

LA
Whatta cutie.  Reminds one a bit of Oscar the grouch.

LA
Three in a pile = three times the cuteness.

Name:  Freshwater (really brackish water) stonefish, aka freshwater lionfish, freshwater toadfish, and freshwater frogfish belong to a curious group known as toad fish.  Probably the “freshwater” in their moniker is to distinguish them from their saltwater cousins. We’ll call them freshwater stonefish because they try to look like a harmless lumpy stone until a swallowable fish swims by.

LA
"What?  Me venomous?"

Venomous?  All of the toadfish cousins are venomous to some extent.  We do not recommend the finger test to find out just how venomous these rascals are.  Experience is the best teacher, but it’s also the most painful and sometimes the most expensive.  Let’s just say you’d best not touch your stonefish (and net him carefully).

LA
Watch out for that dorsal fin.

LA
This stonefish appears to have a problem.

Origins:  You can find (if you look very closely) freshwater stonefish in many countries in the Indo-Pacific rim.  They’re just one more reason not to go wading barefooted.  In the tropics, they fear stepping on corals, sea urchins, stingrays, and freshwater stonefish.  In Des Moines we fear stepping on broken glass and bullheads.

Brackish Water:  Freshwater stonefish or whatever they call them in your neck of the woods come from tropical areas where rivers flow into the ocean (estuaries).  This means they live in brackish water.  When the tide goes out, they live in freshwater.  When the tide comes in, they live in river water mixed with ocean water (brackish water). They are flexible little beasts.

LA
No, this is not ich on a freshwater stonefish.

LA
Maybe sand is not the best substrate.  His tank mate did this to him.

LA
In a "natural" aquarium freshwater stonefish blend into the woodwork.

Substrate:  Sand might not be the best substrate.  Freshwater stonefish show up well over white sand.  However, they kick up the sand a bit and it settles on  them.  If agitated, they really kick up a lot of sand.  On the other hand, they blend into natural gravels.  Experiment with different substrates until you find one that appeals to you.

LA
Six-inch freshwater stonefish squinching into a four-inch clay pot.

LA
Three-inch stonefish not needing to squinch a bit.

LA
Two-inch stonefish skulking in plain sight.

LA
Sometimes you need to pester them a little to get them front and center.

Skulkers:  Freshwater stonefish skulk 98% of the time.  In some cases they get behind bulky objects in their tank.  In others, they wedge themselves into a corner or cave.  Big guys sometimes just loaf on the bottom looking like a big lumpy stone.  Thus the name.

LA
"Who you calling a toad?"

LA
Yes, freshwater stonefish can walk, but they prefer to take a cab.

Walkers:  Upon occasion your freshwater stonefish will stomp around on his specialized fins.  He’s about as graceful as a toad.  Thus the “toadfish” name as the Ontarians in Ontario call them, eh.

LA
Your freshwater stonefish prefers to lurk the day away.

Nocturnal:  Some freshwater stonefish will zip out and inhale their lunch as soon as you drop in another smaller critter with fins.  Most prefer to wait for the cover of darkness to dine at a more fashionable hour.  GIGO (goldfish in, goldfish out) overnight.

Breeding.  Probably not going to happen.  Although, Travis’s toadfish (as he calls it, because he’s an Ontarian and can’t help himself) did lay eggs.  One of mine laid a few yellow (possibly immature) eggs.  And Kara Zeinner from Indianapolis also reported white egg production (10).  If I recall correctly, stonefish scatter their eggs.  No fry reports yet.

LA
"Here's looking at you, kid."

Last Words:  Take a look at a freshwater stonefish if you like amusing predators.  LA

And here’s some extra outtakes in the meantime ...

LA

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© 2005, © 2006 LA Productions

Jaguar Spawning II
Jewel Fish
Keo's Flowerhorns
Keo's Flowerhorns II
Kribensis
Odd Couple Spawn
Oscars 1
Oscars 2
Oscars 3
Oscars 4
Oscars 5
More Oscar
More Oscar II
More Oscars III
More Oscars 2007
More Oscars 2007.5
Oscar Spawn
Peacock Bass
Red Devils
More Red Devil
Red Parrots
Red Parrots Spawn
Red Parrot Spawn II
Pikes
Pink Tilapia
Rams
Red Bay Snooks
Red Bay Snook Spawn
Roger Stephen's Cichlids
Severums
More Severums
Severums III
Tanganyikans
Texas Cichlid
Texas Spawning
Texas Spawn II
Uarus
Misc Cichlids I
Misc Cichlids II
Misc Cichlids III
Misc Cichlids IV
Misc Cichlids V
Misc Cichlids VI
Misc Cichlids VII
Misc Cichlids VIII
Misc Cichlids IX

Livebearer  
Guppies
Half-Beak
Mollies
Moons/Platys
Swordtails

Minnows/Tetra 
Barbs
Barbs, Black
Barbs, Gold
Barbs, Rosy
Barbs, Tiger
Barbs, Tinfoil
Danios
Danio Egg Saver
Distochodus
Fathead Minnows
Headstanders
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Killies, Golden
Killies, Peat
Killies, Plant
Misc Mini-Fish
Pacús 
Piranha, Black
Piranha, Red
Rainbowfish

Rainbowfish, Dwarf Neon
Rainbowfish, Irian
Silver Dollar
Tetras, Larger
Tetras, Smaller
Tetras, Spawn
Tetra, Vampire
White Clouds

Pond Fish
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Channel Cat
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More Fantails
Gold. Oriental  
Gold Oriental II 
Gold. Spawn
Kloubec Koi Farm
Koi
Koi II

Koi III
Oranda Spawn
Plecostomus
Shubunkins

Oddballs  
Af. Butterfly
Af. Lungfish
Af. Mudskippr
American Eel
Archer Fish
Arowana
Bichirs
Borneo Suckers
Brackish I
Brackish II
Brackish III
Brackish IV
Brackish V
Michael Troung's Pix
Butterfly/Wasp
Chameleon Fish
Chromides
Chin Alg Eater
Crazy Fish
Crocodile Fish
Datnioides
Dojo
Dwarf Puffers
Electric Cat
Electric Eels
Elephant Nose
Exodon paradoxus
Flounder
Gars  
Glassfish
Goby Bumble
Goby Butterfly
Goby Dragon
Goby Misc.
Half-Beak
Knife African
Knife Clown
Knife Ghost
Loach Botias
Loach Clown
Loach Kuhli
Loach Weather

Longear Sunfish
Moray Eel  
Peacock Gudgeons
Polypterids
Puffers
Ropefish
Scats
Siam Algae Eater 
Spiny Eels 
Snakehead
Stingray
Stonefish
Wasp Fish
Wolffish
Wrest Half-Beak
Misc Mini-Fishes
Misc Odd
Misc Odd II
Misc Odd III
Misc Odd  IV

Misc Odd V
Misc Odd VI

Sharks  
Bala
Black
Bull
Chinese Hi-Fin Banded
Iridescent
Red-Tail
Siam Algae Eater

Pond Info 
Blank Park Zoo
Bob Humphrey's Ponds
Cattails
Maffett Reservoir
DMACC's Pond
D.M. Botanical Center
D.M. Water Works
Dr. Ervanian's Garden
Duckweed
Dwarf Lily
Ewing Park "Pond"
Jan & Chris's Water Garden
John McDonald's Pond
Hall's Four Acres
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Landscaper Effects
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Pioneer Corn's Pond
Pond Fish Predators
Pond on 38th Street 
Pond Pics
Pond Plants
More Pond Plants
Pond Plants III
Reiman Ponds
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Riverview Island
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Selin's Japanese Garden
Tom's Used Cars Pond
Urbandale Duck Pond
Water Hyacinth
Water Lettuce
Wild Ponds