Hi John-
This fish is collected occasionally and has shown up in houston a few times.
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PARAPTEROIS HETERURA
Common Names: Blackfoot firefish, bluefin firefish, gurnard lionfish, threadtail firefish.
Size: 9 inches (23 cm)
Range: Indo-West Pacific, from east Africa to southern Japan.
This bottom-dwelling lionfish is marked similarly in coloration to D. zebra except that the axillary side (inner surface) of the pectoral fins is solid black with neon florescent blue flashes. The Bluefin lion is unique in that it possesses elongated upper caudal fin rays that extend well past the tail. It has a truncate (squared off) caudal fin and two dermal appendages that extend past its lower lip, similar to what is seen in D. biocellatus. Thus this fish appears to be a fusion of a Fu Man Chu lionfish head with body of a dwarf zebra lion in shape and coloration. The beautiful blue broken bands on the axillary side of the pectoral fins are not visible when the animal is resting, as the fins are kept close to the body, but when it gets excited it rapidly extends its fins, displaying a black surface with flashing neon blue stripes. If a bluefin lion gets spooked or feels harassed its puts on anThis is truly an amazing visual display. First the fish rears up from its pit and extends its dorsal spines towards the attacker. Next, it flicks its pectoral fins and rotates its body 360 degrees.
Found in temperate waters to 300 meters deep, this is a unique lionfish in that it remains substrate hidden and attached. Du, and during the day itsis frequently found half buried in a silty or sandy pit that it excavates. Additionally, the fish will remain in open reef flats, coastal bays, in fine sand or muddy habitats and in zones of clear sandy bottoms, with minimal hiding areas. At dusk it is more active, hunting for small fish and crustaceans. This is a rare and elusive fish; most specimens are observed from trawls by commercial fishing vessels on muddy bottoms at depths over 40 meters. There are no reports about its diet or its social organization.
This is a new introduction in the marine hobby, and therefore we have very limited hands-on husbandry information. The primary reason why it hadn’t been collected for trade is its requirement for cool water. In 2005, a few shipments of bluefin lions collected from the Philippines were brought into the USA, and from these limited fish a number of hobbyists provided anecdotal reports. Essentially, the husbandry for this fish is the same as for mid-bodied Pteroinae lionfish with the 2 major additions of including sandy substrate and cool water. In the home aquarium the bluefin lionfish will find an appropriate site and begun to excavate a shallow depression, once the pit is created the lionfish will hunker down in this pit. Initially, of course, they required live foods, but a number of hobbyists report being unable to wean these fish onto prepared marine foods.
To date there have been no hobbyist reports of successfully keeping of these fish long-term. Of the few hobbyists that did have success getting them to eat prepared foods, no reports suggest they were able to keep the fish longer than a year, and most perished within three months of purchase. It is unclear what the reasons why this fish is proving to be so difficult to keep. Since its initial description this lionfish has been considered a temperate-water fish; their collection from the Philippines suggested that a warm water tolerant population was being collected, but dive reports indicate that the fish are located in the areas of coolest water, near cold water upwellings. Still, hobbyists using temperate tank setups with chillers also reported their bluefin lionfish perished within a few months. The collection of these fish could also be responsible for its shortened life span, as many collection stations are not set-up to handle temperate water fish. All fish are placed into tropical water, and this may unduly stress the fish. This phenomenon is also observed in the temperate water Catalina goby Lythrypnus dali, a small colorful goby found off Catalina Island, where collection and holding occurs under tropical water conditions and shortens the life span of the fish even if they are subsequently kept at the right temperature. Whatever the case may be, these fish do poorly in the home aquarium. While spectacular, they cannot be recommended for the home aquarium until more is learned about their specific needs.
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Taken from here
http://www.amazon.com/Lionfishes-Ot...=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1265656732&sr=1-3
