Fish with legs, local species to South east queensland.

Obviously there are many fresh and marine fish species that can walk, but this is about three we commonly see when free diving here at sites a short distance from Brisbane in south east Queensland.

The first is the black angler fish or from the family antennariidae, this guy is a giant of this family growing to what I have seen of at least 350 millimetres.
These guys adjust the colour to what is abundant around them at the time and this guy is about the black sponges it will sit near and wave its lure to attract prey then that massive opens and in goes dinner.
The legs on this guys are with in the flesh of what looks like pectoral fins and aim down and not out, in these are what appears like two leg bone sections and a knee for ease of walking.
Great in predator tanks.
They use their legs a lot!


The next is the fingered dragonet or dactylopus dactylopus, they grow to the largest I have seen at 310 millimetres.
These guys usually live on sand next to the reef and though they move initially quite slow, they are very fast when they want to be.
Like all dragonets including mandarin fish, they feed predominately on benthic life.
The finger part of their name refers to two long dorsal pines that appear like a two finger peace sign when erect.
The legs with these guys are used for some motion and has no obvious knee, but they are more so to hold its position in swells and current.
Great in large reef tanks that have lids, you see they fly out if you let them!

A video of this species
https://youtu.be/kGoZKPNSgdI

This guy is the ugliest of the three being a Caledonian stinger or Inimicus caledonicus and though a few are here and there, they are quite common at only one site in SEQ.
There are both the caledonicus here in SEQ the other being didactylus, but this guy is ugly enough, lol.
They act like stone fish, though with one exception their legs enable them to hold onto rocks unlike stone fish, and they are not stone fish, a scorpion fish, for sure! but they are not stone fish!
The spines on top are quite nasty and these fish are usually quite lethargic, but with that much poison like a lion fish in those spines, they command respect.
Like stone fish and lions, that mouth can take in a large fish or invert for dinner.
In a predator tank, very easy to keep.


Pink Taenianotus triacanthus or leaf scorpion fish
https://youtu.be/RHas082uCug