Stargazer Fish taste great in soups, stews and ethnic dishes with flavor similar to lobster. Enthusiasts enjoy the range of possible recipes. The whitefish stargazer on the ocean floor resembles a sunken treasure. This burrowing helps adaptation. Stargazers eat small fish, crabs and crustaceans by burying themselves in sand with eyes and mouth protruding to look for prey. Once prey swims by, the stargazer creates a vacuum with its large mouth to suck it up. The sand stargazers live in New World tropics, both Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The northern stargazer has a blackish-brown body with gradually bigger white spots from head to tail. Its flattened body grows up to 22 inches, averaging 8 to 18 inches. Its mouth and upward facing eyes locate on the large head.
Stargazers are nocturnal, sleeping on ocean floor during day and feeding at night. They are ambush predators using camouflage to sneak up on prey. Sitting motionless with mouths open wide, they catch unsuspecting smaller fish swimming by. Stargazers also nudge food into their mouths for easy swallowing. The upper brown painted part of fish goes unnoticed during hunt. Small scales cover the shade merging body to make predator invisible for successful hunt. Looking awesome with bulging upward eyes, open mouth with small sharp teeth. The Atlantic stargazer lives 5 to 6 years. For safety, caution is advised when handling the northern stargazer’s electric organ just behind eyes producing high voltage shocks used defensively. Although not as powerful as stonefish and scorpionfish, stargazer venom from two large spines above pectoral fins causes extreme localized pain, swelling and shock. In dishes requiring cubed fish added in last 5 minutes before serving to prevent overcooking and drying, try yellowtail kingfish instead of stargazer. Sold as ‘Monkfish’, the name is incorrect for the Southeastern Australian and Great Australian Bight trawl fisheries bycatch.
Are Stargazer fish safe to eat?
Stargazer fish is safe to eat. Remove poisonous organs. Venom non-toxic when eaten. High in protein. Good seafood choice.
Venomous, not as powerful as stonefish. Venom causes pain, swelling, shock.
Live in shallow Atlantic, Mediterranean waters.
Weird looks. Buried in sand to ambush prey. Strong electric shock. Up to 220 volts. Stun or kill small animals. Not all have electric organs. Pets often have electric organs removed. Harmless.
Eat small fish, crustaceans, squid, crabs. Hunt by ambush from sandy ocean floor.
World’s most venomous fish is stonefish. Venom can kill adults.
Large head. Flattened body with white spots. 8-22 inches long. Eyes and mouth on top of head.
Propel from water at 35 mph. Not true flight.
Strange looks. Large head. Deep Chesapeake Bay waters.
Electric shock organ behind eyes. Caution advised when handling.
How big can a Stargazer fish get?
A stargazer fish can grow from 18cm up to 90cm. The largest stargazer fish species is Kathetostoma giganteum that grows about 90cm long. They are called stargazers because of the position of their eyes, which are located right on top of their heads. This way, it appears as if they constantly look upwards instead of straight ahead. What makes stargazer fish potentially deadly is their ability to deliver a strong electric shock. Stargazer fish have large electroplax organs near their eyes that can generate a electric field of up to 220 volts. When threatened stargazer fish will arch their backs and direct this electric field towards their attacker. The shock is strong enough to stun or even kill small animals. Stargazers use ambush techniques in order to capture their prey. They lay in wait, buried underneath the sand, for a suitable meal to pass over their heads before using their relatively large mouth like a vacuum. Their upward-facing eyes and mouth make latching on to a passing smaller fish or a crab very easy. Stargazers eat a variety of prey, including small fish, crustaceans, squids, and crabs. These various marine animals are easy to come upon, especially as the stargazer uses its preferred hunting method of burying itself on the sandy ocean floor. The intriguing moniker “stargazer fish” is derived from the creature’s distinctive eye placement. With their eyes facing upwards, these fish exhibit a celestial gaze, as if they are perpetually admiring the stars above. This unique physical attribute not only sets them apart from other fish species but also contributes to their enchanting and memorable name. Despite such a loud and promising name, the stargazer does not shine with beauty and an intelligent look, to say the least, and she does not consider stars in the sky. A beautiful name is not a guarantee of a beautiful appearance: it’s about a stargazer. The fish got its name due to the fact that with the help of its huge, bulging eyes, it follows everything that happens around, raising them clearly up.
How strong is a Stargazer shock?
Stargazer venom can cause paralysis, respiratory failure, and even death. Seek medical attention if stung. This fish can generate 600 to 1,000 volts to stun humans. Stargazers are found in the Indopacific: Red Sea, Indonesia, Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga. They eat small fish, crustaceans, squids, and crabs. Their eyes look upwards, hence the name ‘Stargazer’. Stargazers have a mottled olive green/brown body above and a white body below. Their body is long and flattened with a prominent head. What makes them potentially deadly is their ability to deliver a strong electric shock up to 220 volts to stun or kill small animals. However, not all stargazers are programmed to deliver this shock. In fact many kept as pets have had their electric organs removed. Stargazers typically found in shallow Indo-Pacific waters. They have upward-facing eyes to hunt prey buried in sand. They also have venomous spines that can cause painful stings if handled improperly. Stargazers use ambush techniques, laying buried in sand to capture prey passing over their heads with their large mouth. Two poisonous pectoral spines produce electricity capable of severe shocks. Their eyes located on body top, large mouth upward facing. Some lack dorsal fins. They eat various fish and crabs in marine waters. Astroscopus and Uranoscopus can shock you with electrical organ in eye muscles. So avoid touching that area or face 50 volt shock. Their poisonous spines and shocks may not kill humans but can cripple prey. Most of 50 species are in tropical and temperate waters. Although beautiful, one should not be fooled. Stargazer lives in shallow Atlantic and Mediterranean waters. A bony Uranoscopidae fish. Their burrowing tendency itself may be an adaptation. Stargazers have two venomous opercular spines above pectoral fins. Astroscopus and Uranoscopus also cause electric shocks. Shocks definitely true as they can shock captured.