Hey lionfish lair any help

Discussion in 'Lionfish Lair' started by skyvern2130, Mar 25, 2013.

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  1. skyvern2130

    skyvern2130 Stylophora

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    Punta Gorda FL
    yes lion fish lair i have a 72 gallon bow front i was thinking of putting up as a predator tank, i wanted to know your recommendations, and if you had a how to on how to care for and such.

    i plan on getting basic led lights cheap somewhere (no ebay ones lol) just for light dont plan on putting coral in this tank, or would you recommend a diff type of light to bring out their predator beauty, i plan on have a fug with skimmer and a carbon/gfo reactor. just hey any info on this would be nice
     
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  3. Chance

    Chance Bubble Tip Anemone

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  4. DevinH

    DevinH Montipora Capricornis

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    One does not simply, ask for Lionfish lair. You must summon them.

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    [​IMG]

    Arise lionfish lair, arise.


    But seriously, I think LEDs will be just fine for bringing out the colors.
     
  5. Renee@LionfishLair

    Renee@LionfishLair 3reef Sponsor

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    Do I smell ghost shrimp? :)

    A 72 gallon is a nice tank for some great medium lions and scorps. When you go about your rockwork, keep in mind caves/overhangs, areas of open swimming areas for those long pectoral fins and then some substrate real estate for those bottom dwellers.

    Critter recommendations are always based on adult size. You have to be careful that one cannot eat the other while they are still growing.

    Lionfish Careguide

    Any of the small and medium bodied lions in this article will be great in your tank. Do not get 2 of the same species unless it's a properly ID'd male and female fuzzy.... or two females and a male. You'll find descriptions out there as to what constitutes a male and what is a female. It's not as easy as it may seem in print and it's not applicable until they are full grown. Right now, my female looks like a male, according to the common description. I happen to know it is a female because she just laid her first egg mass. I also have 2 friends who have mating pairs, so we'll soon have more about the transitional appearances and how they change when they grow.

    Our barberi lionfish is very aggressive towards our mombasae. He grew up with a fuzzy dwarf and was fine. Then he went in a tank of his own for awhile and then in with the mombasae. I don't know if it's that particular mix or if the barberi is indeed an aggressor. I've also found zebras to be rather bold, but others have them mixed in a common lion tank. Just keep that in mind when selecting your favorites.

    Right now we have a radiata, sphex, a couple of fuzzies in a 100g, along with a scorp and a waspfish.

    Waspfish generally have smaller mouths, so you don't usually have to worry about them eating tankmates. Some of mine can only eat something the size of a ghost shrimp.

    You have to be careful of scorps. They are often mis-ID'd and instead of ending up with a predicted 4" fish, you'll wind up with a 1 footer! Some of the more common ones found at the LFS are the larger species. Their mouths can be incredibly large when unhinged.

    Scorpionfish Careguide

    Waspfish Careguide is in the works :-/

    I love LEDs. We run them whenever we can. We actually have rope lights in one of our JBJ hoods. Go with enough light so it is pleasing to the eye and no more. You'll have less issues with nuisance algae and you won't have to clean the glass very often. It's best to keep your hands out of the tank unnecessarily. :) Some lions prefer less light. Don't get anything too yellow and if your like the look of actinics, blues can really make their colors pop.
     
  6. skyvern2130

    skyvern2130 Stylophora

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    Thanks for the help ill be sure to bring the ghost shrimp next time lol