What is dangerous about the scorpionfishes?

Their name may give you a clue as to why these fishes must be handled very carefully. These striking fishes are popular in marine aquariums. Drifting through the water with all their fins fully extended, they look wonderfully majestic. The fins are composed of long, separate spines and it is eighteen of these that are potentially very dangerous. The spines have poison glands and if you are unlucky enough to be pricked, venom is injected in to the wound, causing great pain for several hours.