Synanceia horrida (stonefish)
Reproduction
Mating:
Synanceia horrida generally lives as a solitary fish, rarely being found grouped with other stonefish. Mating season is the one time of the year where groups of S. horrida seek out each other. During the mating process the female stonefish will swim along the sea floor and lay her eggs, leaving behind a gelatin like layer of unfertilized eggs. The male stonefish then completes the simplistic mating ritual by swimming over the newly lain eggs and releasing his sperm over them.
Offspring:
The eggs of the S. horrida are fairly large when compared to most other fish species (1.5mm). Due to this larger size when the eggs do hatch, they produce fairly mature offspring that have good chances (compared to other fish) of surviving on their own. The early maturity of the stonefish offspring and the fact that they are eaten as a delicacy in a variety of locations (China, the Philippines, Japan) had this research article stating that they would make them good candidates for farming. Strange to think that the most venomous fish in the world could be farmed just like the domestic cow (Bos taurus)