Stonefish – Sting, Information and Characteristics

Stonefish are found on shallow reefs; its scientific name is Synanceia horrid of the Synanceiideos family. This fish grows up to 60 centimeters maximum; it is almost always in rocky areas near the shore of the beaches.

It has very beautiful colors, adaptable to its environment, making it practically invisible among the rocks, that’s why they call it stone fish. His way of feeding is by hunting small fish with ambushes, since he swims very short distances and generally at night.

On the other hand, this fish can be out of the water for up to 24 hours and can move by jumping until it reaches the water. The stonefish is a 100% carnivorous animal, it does not eat vegetables or seaweed, it also eats small crustaceans.

It can live up to 20 years of age, but its most important characteristic is that it has the most toxic poison in the world. It is a more powerful poison than that of snakes, it has cardio toxins, neurotoxins, phytotoxins; with a single puncture it can kill you in no time.

This fish is distributed on the coasts of the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean;  there is also a large number in the coastal zone of Australia. Generally, bathers step on them on the beaches and are found alive on the shore, this fish has large spines to inject poison.

But you can not only receive the poison by stepping on it, but it also has a mucosa around the body that you receive when in contact with the skin. On the other hand, this fish is also a schist dish but the chef must be very careful with the technique to cook it and not receive a puncture from it.

It is marketed to decorate some aquariums; its cost is between 10 euros and 200 euros. Its manipulation must always be with tweezers and with tools that allow it to be moved from place to place, but without any type of contact with our skin.

Instructions

1. If you found a stonefish on the beach, do not touch it with your hands or feet.
2. Since the poison is not only in its spines but in the mucosa of all its skin.
3. If you are on the shore of the beach and you are bathing and you see a stone, do not step on it, it will not be a stone fish.
4. The herringbone of the fish is so strong that it can easily go through the rubber or the sole of your shoes.
5. If you feel like you stepped on it you have to take your weight off your foot as quickly as possible.
6. Since the longer the thorn lasts inside your skin, the more deadly poison your body will be receiving.
7. You will begin to feel an excruciating pain in the area where I prick you.
8. It will swell and it will be placed on the wound of red and purple color, it will also give you dizziness and fatigue.
9. It will cost you a lot to breathe; you should try to do it as smoothly as possible and without stopping.
10. Your heart rate will start to become erratic, and very fast as a result of the injected poison.
11. Then it will give you stomach pain, diarrhea, vomiting and a lot of nausea, fever and seizures.
12. A person should quickly clean the wound and remove the remains of thorns that you have in the skin.
13. Quickly place the foot or the area of ​​the sting in water as hot as you can stand without burning your skin.
14. The hot water makes the poison lose strength inside your body and decreases the pain.
15. Never apply a tourniquet to the leg or the affected part; this can cause worse damage to the affected limb.
16. They then need to get you to the nearest doctor as quickly as possible.
17. The doctor will immediately prescribe painkillers for the intense pain, almost always paracetamol or ibuprofen.
18. Also, to counteract edema and itching, corticosteroids and antihistamines should be taken.
19. And finally, a special treatment for the infection caused by the poison with antibiotics such as ciprofloxacin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and amoxicillin – clavulanate.
20. It is recommended to inject a Tetanus Toxoid to avoid risks of tetanus in the wound.
21. You must be aware that in some cases the infection is so serious that the person can lose the leg.
22. When the fish bites the person’s skin turns black as if you had been burned with boiling water.
23. And on the sides of the bite some blisters with a lot of liquidlike when a snake bites you.
24. Subsequently, you will be resting for 30 days until the wound heals because if it does not, it can become infected and get complicated.

Home remedies for stonefish sting

1. Wash the wound with soap and warm water.
2. Put pure lemon juice and then put powdered sugar on the wound.
3. You can crush garlic with sugar and place it on the wound for several days, it is the best antibiotic.
4. Turmeric powder is a healing agent that also works as an antibiotic.
5. In the part where the liquid blisters come out, you should wait for it to release the liquid.
6. Then, place aloe Vera on the most affected part every day for at least 2 hours.
7. Wash with oatmeal soap the entire affected part with a sponge very gently.
8. If you see that you want to infect another point away from the bite, apply sugar dissolved in water.
9. These infections usually occur after the sting outside because the venom spreads through the skin.
10. Bee honey also helps a lot to heal and reduce pain as the dead skin from the poison stiffens.

What do you need:

• Hot water in a container.
• Pain relievers such as paracetamol or ibuprofen.
• Antibiotics: ciprofloxacin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and amoxicillin-clavulanate.
• Lemon.
• Sugar.
• Garlic.
• Soap.
• Turmeric.
• Oat soap.
• Honey bee.

 Tips

1. When you go to visit any beach in the world, never go into the water barefoot as people usually do.
2. Use special shoes because if you only use sports shoes, they will not protect you.
3. If you see a stone at the bottom of the water on the beach, don’t step on it because it may be a stone fish and it will prick you.
4. When you walk along the shore of the beach and see a fish jumping, brown and gray in color and similar to a stone, do not touch it.
5. If you touch with your hands or any part of your body you can receive the deadly poison.
6. There are people who think that the poor fish is going to die because it is jumping.
7. Trying to reach the shore of the beach, do not touch it; this fish can last up to 24 hours out of the water.
8. Fishermen sometimes find it when hook fishing because it is carnivorous.
9. But they can only be removed from the hook and handled with special thick protective gloves.
10. Others prefer to let go and cut the fishing line because they don’t have their gloves at hand.
11. This fish is an exquisite dish, it is usually prepared fried.
12. Its preparation is very delicate due to the amount of poison it has on its skin.
13. The chefs first boil it and leave it for about 15 minutes; this is only to remove the skin and the head very carefully.
14. Then, the viscera are removed and only the meat of the tail part remains.
15. Afterwards, the pieces of the already cleaned and dried tail are placed in hot oil to fry to taste.
16. Another delicious dish, prepared with the tail of the stone fish, is original sushi from the mountains of Japan.
17. Not being generally as we know it a gastronomic dish made with raw fish.
18. The origin of the ancient word sushi comes from the Japanese mountains of the fourth century BC
19. This word divides its meaning into two; sushi, (us) means vinegar and (she) means rice.
20. This was because at that time fish was preserved in vinegar with rice.
21. But currently it is one of the most delicious international dishes and with many ways of preparation.
22. On the other hand, this fish is also used in aquariums to be exhibited as pets.
23. Only if you are going to use it as a pet it is important that you take into account the type of aquarium and the weights of it.
24. If you put the stonefish in an aquarium you must put a lid and a motor to oxygenate the water.
25. If you have fish in the aquarium, they must be larger than this fish because if they do not eat them all.
26. To feed it you must do it with small fish, crustaceans and shellfish.
27. You must have the indicated tools and take the security measures to be able to manipulate this poisonous fish.
28. It is important that you place sea rocks at the bottom of the aquarium so that the fish feels safer and more protected.
29. If your aquarium has lighting lamps, you must turn it off at night so that the fish eats since it is a nocturnal animal.
30. Put a water filter in the aquarium because this fish eats a lot and defecates the water a lot, this is to prevent it from becoming contaminated and dying.
31. When servicing the aquarium and handling the fish you should have your local emergency phone numbers handy.
32. Remember that a sting from this fish can take your life in seconds and you should put the hospital number near the aquarium.
33. If you go to the beach with your young children, you should alert them to the danger they run if they come across this fish.
34. Information and guidance as a safety measure can prevent many tragedies and save the lives of many.
35. Be careful with the children. Generally, out of curiosity they tend to want to touch and play with the fish that is almost always on the shores of the beach.
36. As a tourist you should always take measures and carry a first aid kit. I remind you that the bite of this fish is worse than that of a black cobra.
37. For no reason put a tourniquet after the bite because this does not allow blood flow.
38. By trapping the flow of blood with the tourniquet and mixing the poison with your bloodstream, chances are that by the time you get to the hospital. They’ll have to amputate your leg or the part where the fish stung you because of gangrene.
39. On the other hand, hot vinegar is also very good for disinfecting the stonefish sting wound.
40. These fish reproduce by placing their eggs in the holes between rocks and the males fertilize them.
41. Their main predators are sharks and whales and sea snakes.
42. Some people breed them in aquariums at home and sell them to generate income.
43. On the other hand, there are now many Chinese restaurants that have them in aquariums and offer them to diners.
44. In this way, people can choose the fish they are going to prepare in the most exquisite and fresh dishes.
45. Every Chinese chef already knows the toxicity of this fish and how to handle, prepare and serve it.