Re: NANFA-- Fw: Aquaticinfo: Fw: Lionfish Observed Off North Carolina

Moontanman_at_aol.com
Sun, 13 Jan 2002 12:12:39 EST

Oh well, I can't really say I am surprised. I have known for a long time that
lion fish are a lot more cold tolerant than most people give them credit for.
they do occur in temperent water off the southern Australian coast. It was
just a matter of time before someone decided that their pet lion fish had out
grown their aquarium and decided to turn it loose. we get a lot of tropical
species off shore and inshore in the summer. There are even reefs off shore
in deep water with angels and butterflies the don't release your aquarium
fish into local waters should apply to marine fish as well as freshwater.
Personally I have been looking for panther groupers and other marine fish
likely to out grow their owners for some time. I kinda figured leopard sharks
might be released as well. they resemble our native smooth dogfish in all but
their coloration and prefer cool water. It would be a lot easier to establish
non native marine fish in NC than freshwater because the ocean stays warm off
shore year round but the freshwater gets too cold for a few short weeks.

Moon

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