Venomous ambush predator...?

[jenpoo]

So me and the family visit this LFS for the first time and my 7 year old son stumbles upon a very exotic looking fish, resembling a stone.
We ask the sales lady about it and she promptly replies its a Stonefish and its not a community tank fish. The Stonefish is about 10cm, and after asking how big it gets, she replies, 'o, not much bigger than that'. She then proceeds to tell us how she sold the fish to another lady, after claiming its very docile and could be kept in her community tank. After making a meal of a fellow tankmate - clown loach - the lady returned the fish to the LFS.
My thoughts was that if the stonefish does not get much bigger, perhaps it could be kept in a type of nano tank, or a smallish tank with just him in it for my son, as he was fascinated by it. Being new to the fish hobby we decided to first search the internet for more info on it, and the little info we got was quite startling...!
For a start it can grow up to 30cm!! Is an ambush predator with the preffered food being live fish. And don't let his 'stone-like' appearance fool you - he can be very quick if he has to.
And imagine our surprise to find out it's venomous and could apparently kill you within 4 hours?! It is also commonly called stonefish / toadfish / frogfish. These fish are also scarce and this particular stonefish is WAY underpriced for such an exotic fish, in my opinion. Well, we decided that we will definitely NOT get this fish and notified the LFS that the fish is in fact poisonous and only an experienced aquarist should try his/her hand at keeping a fish like this. They did not know that it was poisonous and thanked us for informing them...which leads me to these uninformed LFS that will sell you anything without having any information. I mean realy, would it be too much to ask that they make a little 'info-card' to stick onto their tanks, with a profile of the specific species that are in the tank, showing adult size, water parameters, foods and compatibility.
Does anyone have more info on the stonefish - can it realy kill you?? Is there an 'anti-dose' to their venom? Info is realy limited on these fish.

[Ah_ZhaN]

Hmmm, for freshwater wise (brackish actually), you might be referring to Batrachus Trispinosus?

I've kept this before but never handled it with bare hands though. With regards to venom, I have not much idea about it, but I think it looks painful to be poked by their spiny spikes.

Or perhaps you are referring to BULLROUT – Notesthes robusta instead ? This guy looks nasty~!

BULLROUT – Notesthes robusta by Rob McCormack

Here a general info on TOXINS IN FISH, INVERTEBRATES AND AMPHIBIANS

[stormhawk]

Wow, thank goodness you didn't get that "stonefish" or whatever the particular species it was. They are NASTY critters. Had you gotten the Toadfish, or that Bullrout mentioned by Ah_ZhaN, you might have bigger problems.

If you want a peculiar freshwater fish for your son's nano tank, try the African Butterfly Fish. It's a surface dweller, and should be safe for a species tank alone.

[jenpoo]

Thanx for the info links!
I'm not sure what 'species' this stonefish is - the label just read 'stonefish'. I'm actually thinking I should go back and take a photo of it and upload it and compare with the different species.
We saw some butterfly fish quite a while back at another LFS, and my son also noticed them first, but we have'nt been able find more of them, but I think they will be a much safer bet!

[stormhawk]

They are surface feeders, so I figure baby crickets aka pinheads should suffice. Just drop one or two, and see the Pantodon in action.

You should take the picture of the stonefish, or whatever it may be. An image should suffice to give a rough idea as to what it may actually be. Chances are the LFS got the animal from a person who may have collected it in a brackish stream.

There is an anti-venom to counteract the effects of a Stonefish sting, but quick medical attention is necessary, otherwise the victim may die within hours after receiving that nasty sting.

[benny]

I do believe so some shops sells this fish locall and a lot of times, aquarist bought the fish without much background knowledge. Shame.

Cheers,

[Morgan01]

hi i saw this fish today at jln kayu LFS. wanted to buy it actually cos look so docile and only 2cm big.