lionfish breeding Q?

Just curious, I know it has never been done, What do you guys think about attempting to breed fu manchu lions. I have read EVERYTHING there is to read about these fish and am sucessfully keeping one at the moment. i would like to breed these guys and hopefully make some that are a bit hardier...but I would like some opinions. I do not want to dive into this as it would cost a great deal....apreciate any imput

 

If its goin to cost a great deal than how is it worth it?

 

has any lion be successfully breed in captivity before?
do you know the animal whole life cycle?
do you know how to mix to lionfish together?
most fish should be in a species tank to breed?
are you willing to fight 2 lionfish to get the eggs away?
do you have the culture need to feed fry?
just some stuff to think about

 

I get wholesale so that helps with the cost. All of these fish are collected from the wild Id love to be able to give away some hardy 'home grown' fish.
thanks for the questions. I think I have read everything possible on these fish. I am now researching the area they are from, common corals and inverts. Everything I have read suggests not to put two together, they have never been bred in capt. and there is no way at the moment to tell the sexes. . I dont want to kill these fish so I will not start this project untill I feel a bit more confident in my knowlage of these fish and the complete breeding process. thanks again for the Q's

 

You will probably require hormone injections like many freshwater synadontis require.

 

All breeds of lion have been known to be extremely hard to reproduce in captivity, to the point where "impossible" is often thrown around. They are most often snagged out in the wild when they are very small, 2" or so. They are very hard to sex, so finding a male/female pair is very hard.

 

Lionfish HAVE successfully been bred in captivity, though only with the shortfin species.
Breeding of the lionfish is done in a haremic, meaning one male rules over many females, spawning with them all. To do this you will have to have them sexed, which is possible if you can find a biologist with an ultrasound Also, the tank will have to be large enough for all these fish to feel natural. A good start would be 600-1000 gallon tank, and have it a species tank (no other fish but the lions). The main problem would be that they are not egg layers. They will release the egg balls into the water column to float off and hatch on their own, which will make removal of the fry very difficult. You will have to ensure you are there ready to snag the eggs the moment they are released, which usually occurs in the middle of the night.

 

what does a fu manchu lionfish need to be kept in a tank ive heard there difficult to keep

 

wow, thanks everyone...This may be to big of a project for me!

 

Some of this being true, I believe the important part of breeding these animals would be the Fu Man Chu and Fuzzy Varieties as these are the two main aquarium varieties other than the Volitans which is a huge pest and the less in the ocean the better.

The problem with Fu Man Chu breedings is that even sexed pairs will usually harass each other until one becomes sick and dies.

The Dwarfs have been tried by hobbyists because they can be sexed by counting the stripes along the fins "3.3 – Sexing:
Adult male Dwarf Fuzzy Lionfish (D. brachypterus) are readily identified by having a larger head, longer pectoral fins (the fin tips reach past the caudal peduncle), and have between 6 to 10 bands (or stripes) on their pectoral fins. Female Dwarf fuzzy lionfish have only 4 to 6 stripes. " (Marine Ornamental Fish & Invert Breeders Association • View topic - Lionfish Breeding/Spawning Overview - Scorpaenidaeteroinae)

There has been reports of a pair of dwarf lions (no harem) (was on a refugium or similar forum with photos but cant find it right now) in a 350L Tank, which is about 90 Gallons, nowhere near your suggested. His pair were spawning weekly in this setup and did NOT release eggs into the water coloumn which could be because of the species. If you read on Marine Ornamental Fish & Invert Breeders Association • View topic - Lionfish Breeding/Spawning Overview - Scorpaenidaeteroinae you can see that the different species are categorised based on whether they have free eggs or like the species I am talking about, laid an egg sac containing a few thousand eggs.

The problem everyone has with these fry is that when they devour their egg sac in the first two days there is then nothing to feed them given that they have no mouth, I believe the above mentioned was trying to use S Rotifers, but he has not reported any success. I think breeding of these varieties in particular the red or even better the yellow D. brachypteru could be amazing for the aquarium trade and preserving/improving the natural population.

My apologies if this is an old thread but I am researching into a breeding setup for these at the moment and anyone with fresh information or potential success should definitely post up!!