Scorpionfish

One of the predators of lionfish that eat lionfish is scorpionfish.

Due to its propensity to reside amid rocks along the seafloor, bottom-dwelling scorpionfish have also been referred to as rockfish or stonefish. Scorpionfish excel at being passive predators. Scorpionfish exclusively hunt at night and rest in cracks during the day. Before striking at unaware prey swimming past, they would hide in the crevices of rocks or reefs. Small fish, crabs, and snails that also reside on coral reefs make up their food. The large mouth of a scorpionfish enables it to swiftly suck and swallow food entire in a single bite. In addition, before consuming its meal, scorpionfish may stun them with their poison.Although there are still few predators of scorpionfish, huge snappers, rays, and sharks have been observed pursuing the fish.

Like lionfish, scorpionfish are found in the Indo-Pacific Ocean and are protected from predators by poisonous spines. Both lionfish and scorpionfish are subspecies of the Scorpaenidae family, which they both belong to. Because they are so similar, it is thought that scorpionfish may be somewhat resistant to the venom of lionfish. As a result, larger scorpionfish have an edge while pursuing lionfish. Some scorpionfish species, such the humpback scorpionfish, have the ability to camouflage into their environment and prey on unaware lionfish.