🐠 Leaf Scorpionfish (Taenianotus triacanthus)
Marine Reef-Safe-With-Caution Ambush Predator • Compressed Yellow Body With a High, Sail-Like Dorsal Fin & Frilly Facial Appendages • Genuinely Capable of a Potentially Fatal Venomous Sting — Please Read Before Buying • Expert-Only Species
 
⚠️ Important Information — Please Read First
We want to be genuinely direct on this one. This species is genuinely venomous, carrying a series of spines on its dorsal fin capable of causing effects ranging from strong irritation to a very painful, and in certain circumstances, potentially life-threatening reaction. We genuinely recommend keeping a poison control hotline number close to the aquarium, and please take real care when placing hands near the tank or netting this species — a rigid container is recommended over a net. If stung, remove any spine fragments and immerse the wound in the hottest tolerable water for 15-20 minutes to help break down the venom proteins, then seek appropriate medical attention immediately.
 
📋 The Leaf Scorpionfish, also known as the Yellow Leaf Scorpionfish or Leaffish, has a genuinely thin, compressed body with a high, prominent, sail-like dorsal fin and frilly appendages above the eyes, and is genuinely named for both its shape and its behaviour of gently swaying side to side like a leaf caught in a light current.
Native to a genuinely vast range across the Indo-Pacific, from East Africa to the Galápagos Islands, north to southern Japan, and south to Australia, this species is genuinely the sole member of its entire genus, found singly, in pairs, or in small groups at depths of 1 to 134 metres.
We want to share a genuinely fascinating fact: this species genuinely sheds its skin like a snake, once or twice a month, and is documented capable of completely changing its colour, even turning from pink to entirely yellow, over the course of just a few days. This is genuinely an ambush predator, patiently waiting for prey to wander close before striking, and though reef safe with corals and sessile invertebrates, it will genuinely consume mobile invertebrates such as shrimp and crabs, along with much smaller fish. We want to be honest that new specimens can genuinely be reluctant to accept prepared foods initially, often requiring live foods such as ghost shrimp or feeder fish to trigger a feeding response.
 
🟡🟤 Highlights
🎨 Compressed Yellow Body With a Sail-Like Dorsal Fin: A genuinely striking, unique-looking predator
⚠️ Genuinely Capable of a Potentially Fatal Sting: Please read our disclosure above before purchasing
🐍 Genuine Skin-Shedding Behaviour: Molts once or twice a month like a snake
🎨 Genuine Documented Colour Change: Can shift entirely from pink to yellow over days
🌿 Reef Safe With Caution: Won't harm corals, but will eat small crustaceans and fish