Lionfish species help!!!

[Ananth]

What species in this lionfish?

 

[exnisstech]

Look like the volitan lionfish I have seen but I'm not a lionfish enthusiast so I may be wrong

 

[lion king]

Likely a volitan, may be listed as a miles, as the two can be mistaken. The volitan is more common but some lfs try and be fancy by acting like they have something different. You can tell by the number of dorsal rays and anal rays, I can't remember off hand, if you count them I can tell you for sure. They will end up about the same size in captivity and require the same care.

 

[Ananth]

Thanks. I can see antenna like spike above the eyes, do volitans have them?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

What species in this lionfish?

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Telling the two similar species apart is very difficult, as said, they is either Pterois miles or Pterois volitans. The only 100% reliable way to tell is through DNA testing. The fin ray counts can sometimes be used, but the numbers can overlap. I used to think coloration could be used, as well as the length of the "horns" above the eyes, but that isn't correct (I used to call dark lions with long horns volitans, and red lions with short horns as miles - but that isn't always accurate).

If you can count 12 dorsal fin rays and 8 anal fin rays, it is a volitans. However, less than that and it can be either species. You also need to avoid counting the spines, and there is a short spine, right before the rays start that is tough to see in pictures.

Here is a thought though - the range for these two species is a bit different. Your location on R2R is listed as "India". Were these fish collected locally or in Sri Lanka? The far Western Pacific and Indian Ocean, to Africa is the more common location for miles, while volitans are found more from Sumatra, to the east. There is some range overlap I think.

Jay

 

[Ananth]

Thanks Jay, The fish is probably collected near India or Srilanka. More chance that it's Miles. With most requirements being similar doesn't make big difference