Red Leaf Scorpionfish (Taenianotus Triacanthus)

Species Name : Taenianotus Triacanthus

Care Level : Moderate

Temperament : Semi-aggressive

Color : Red

Diet : Carnivore

Reef Compatible : With Caution

Water Conditions : sg 1.020-1.025, 72-78° F, dKH 8-12, pH 8.1-8.4

Max. Size : 4"

Venomous : Yes

Origin : Indonesia

Family : Scropaenidae

Minimum Tank Size : 30 gallon

The color of the Red Leaf Scorpionfish (Taenianotus Triacanthus), also known as the Leaf Fish, or Paper Fish, varies between red, yellow, brown, or blue. The head and mouth are large. Through their eyes is a dark line. The skin often has blotches that enhance a camouflage effect. To enhance this camouflage, it even makes gentle sideways movements in its pelvic area which make it resemble a drifting inert object. This fish has appendages around the mouth, and sometimes real algae and hydroids grow on its skin. This fish molts every 10 to 14 days, and can change colors after the molt. Taenianotus Triacanthus is about 10 cm (3.9 in) long fully grown. 

The spines of this fish are venomous and can deliver an unpleasant sting, so it is important to be very careful when aquarium maintenance is carried out inside the tank. The venom of the leaf scorpionfish is considerably weaker than that of the lionfish and stonefish. 

The Red Leaf Scorpionfish should ideally be kept in an aquarium with plenty of live rock. Using an aquarium smaller than 30 gallons is not advisable.

This species is normally kept in groups consisting of 2-3 Leaf Scorpionfishes and it can be combined with other peaceful fishes in a friendly community aquarium. IIt is a reef safe fish that can be kept in reef tank with no harm to corals. But it is a threat to mobile inverts like shrimps and crabs, including much smaller fishes. It is best kept in peaceful community tank or a small reef tank that does not contains aggressive or picky fishes like triggers and Butterflyfish. Good tank mates are lionfish, squirrelfish, etc. Beware that these fish get to eat enough if housed with more aggressive mates.

These fish are voracious predators. Most species will wait for potential prey to come close before snatching it for a meal. Try to mimic the natural diet of the Red Leaf Scorpionfish in the aquarium. Lionfish and Scorpionfish can be fed a variety of frozen and prepared meaty foods like shrimp, clams, scallops, krill and other similar foods, but some may need live food like small feeder fish or ghost shrimp to trigger a feeding response. Those that dwell in rock or on the bottom of the aquarium may need to be target fed with tongs or a feeding stick to make sure they get adequate amounts of food. In many cases, you must first feed it some live food to trigger feeding before you add dead food to the water. You can also try placing dead food in a net and move it in front of the fish. Don’t feed them large amounts, keeping in mind that they do not need the amount of food as in nature.

Size: Small; 1-1/2" to 2" Medium; 2" to 3" Large; 3" to 4