Where Did they come from?

        Many theorize that aquarium trade is the primary cause of the initial introduction into Florida/Caribbean  waters. Hurricane Andrew may have destroyed ones aquarium, allowing the introduction to take place. Others believe   a Lion fish owner had released the fish into these waters due to the inability to take care of it.

Why is this a problem?

       Lion fish are native to Indo-Pacific waters where they have many natural predators. These predators are able to keep the Lion fish population at bay. In the Florida/Caribbean waters, they have no Predators. The very first Lion fish  sighting was documented in 1985 at Dania Beach, Florida. Today, there are documented sightings almost every day, each sighting includes 3 or 4 Lion fish at a time.

       These Lion fish now graze our coral reefs. Their diet consists of Basslets, Cardinalfish, Grunts, Damselfish, Wrasses, Parotfish, Blennys, Grouper, and Snapper.  Once they feed on a certain area of the reef for a length of time, their pray will stop showing up, damaging the ecosystem of the reef. These Lion fish will then move on, until they find more food, permanently destroying more of the coral reef. These fish are sometimes considered to be a virus of our waters.