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This week's is actually spur of the moment. The plan was another fish, but in light of a PM containing a question I got, I decided to not only answer it, but answer all other questions one might have about the famous fish.

RFotW #6 -- Rhinopias aphanes -- Merlet's Scorpionfish, Lacy Scorpionfish



Rhinopias are some of the most awesome fish ever. They are awfully rare, but they also look really darn cool. These fish are not only wanted by aquarists, but divers also will shell out money just to see them in their natural habitat. Indeed these are awe-inspiring fish.

This is actually the rarest species of Rhinopias; there are several species, but generally care is the same. Being the rarest and most extravagant, Rhinopias aphanes can catch a price of up to $8000 (so far as I have heard). The more common species R. eschmeyeri and R. frondosa are less decorated and also cheaper. Both will cost about $1000. Some Rhinopias species like R. xenops are pretty much never seen in the trade. Even just the wholesale price on all of these can run at $500, so seeing it at a low price such as $350 is... just awesome.

Rhinopias can get nearly a foot long, but don't let that stop you from keeping them in a tank as small as 40 gallons (or maybe less!). These fish hardly ever swim. In fact, not only do they rarely swim, they've actually been seen perching in the same place for months in their natural habitat. Months. Obviously Rhinopias don't find the need to swim very much. Of course more water volume will keep the water quality more stable, though.

Doing a quick search of images on a search engine, it's also obvious that Rhinopias can come in all sorts of pretty colors; my favorite is the golden morph of the Merlet's Scorpionfish (pictured, of course!), but there's pretty much a color to satisfy everyone. This type of adaptation is reflected in other ambush predators such as Frogfish. These colors help the Rhinopias blend into the environment, possibly looking like some sort of crinoid (feather star). Also, the eyes can be somewhat hard to pinpoint by anything that swims past, further helping to disguise the fish. In an AFM magazine article, it's also written that the Weedy Scorpionfish (R. frondosa) may have false eyes that make it appear as a smaller fish to prey that might swim past, giving those little fish some false comfort before they are swallowed up.

Despite being so rare, Rhinopias are like most other scorpionfish in care; they are darned easy. Once you get them feeding on dead meats you're pretty much home free. What about disease? Well if you can afford a Rhinopias you probably can afford a UV sterilizer, but these fish are actually quite resistant to disease. This goes back to their sedentary life. Not moving much, fish may actually grow algae and such on their skin. Some scorpionfish use this to their advantange and even have fertilizer in their cuticle (a layer on top of the skin) to aid the growth and further their camouflage. However, the cuticle has another use to the Rhinopias. The cuticle can catch algae and parasites and such that try to attach, and then our undamaged scorpionfish can shed it later (and they can shed it as often as every two weeks, but it'll depend on the fish). However, too much shedding may be a sign of distress, just like too much skin slime on most fish.

Unfortunately, there is one downside to these fish. It is currently unknown why, but these fish seem to have a short life span. Currently there aren't really any old-aged Rhinopias in the hobby, though it is true that they haven't even been sold enough so many can have old ones. Hopefully as these fish are kept more we can find what will help sustain these fishes' lives.

Links:

http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?ID=12898&genusname=Rhinopias&speciesname=aphanes

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/may2003/Fish.htm <-- a more extensive article about these fish! A good read!

http://www.theaquariumcity.com/saltwater/Fish/rhinopias/rhinopias.htm[/font]

Past RFotW:
1. Polynemus paradiseus -- Paradise threadfin
2. Anableps anableps -- Four-Eyed Fish
3. Hypancistrus zebra -- Zebra Plec
4. Potamotrygon sp. -- Pearl Ray
5. Merodontotus Tigrinus -- Tigrinus Catfish, Zebra Shovelnose

Last edited by Shinigami at 10-Oct-2004 16:36

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

Wow! Amazing fish again Shini. Now if only I had another tank to keep a fish in, if I did have enough money (and space) I would buy loads of tanks and just use these reports to fill the tank (after I have cycled it properly of course!). Either that or get Shini to come over and stay and give him lots of money to buy tanks and look after them for me.

*goes searching for that winning lottery ticket*

Me wants it, precious ...

-Molly
Visit shelldwellers.com!

Once again, an awesome fish shini! This is trully one of the most beautiful out there! Now, if only I had SW experience and a spare 8000.

i like the pink one better, i think it's eschmeyeri or something. anyways, great fish of the week.

Dojo, do you mean this one?

i like the pink one better, i think it's eschmeyeri or something.

There are pink aphanes and frondosa as well, not just eschmeyeri.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

Just found some pics of these (when I discovered the RFotW article, the pic link was broken - sigh).

That is one truly amazing fish.

This link has some good (if small) pics ...

http://www.amonline.net.au/fishes/students/focus/raphanes.htm

This link shows a pink one ...

http://www.waterworxbali.com/rhinopias-aphanes.shtml

Or how about an orange one???

http://owen.nhm.ac.uk/piclib/www/image.php?cat=2&img=91336

And you say you have one of these Shini? Wow. CAn I have 5 minutes' access to your bank account?


Last edited by Calilasseia at 17-Feb-2005 13:44

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Erm, no I don't have one...Gosh, I wish I did.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.