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Some victims have required hospitalization. The best treatment is to immerse the affected part in very hot water, as heat breaks down the venom.

Much more dangerous is the stonefish (Synanceia verrucosa), which carries a toxin responsible for several well-publicized deaths. These animals are masters of disguise, and encrusting algae and bryozoans actually grow onto their skin. When a small fish or crustacean absently wanders within range, it is engulfed by the animal's formidable mouth.

Groupers. The groupers (family Serranidae), are a common family on Indonesian reefs, ranging in size from more than a meter to the tiny dottybacks or pseudochromids, colorful plank-tivores no larger than a man's little finger.

Most of the larger groupers are plainly marked, but some, most notably the bright red and blue-spotted coral grouper (Cephalopholis miniata) and the flagtail grouper (C. urodeta) dire exceptions. One of the largest fish on the reef is the giant grouper (Ephinephelus lanceolatus), which can reach 2 meters and weigh 400 kilos.