Lionfish and friends

Discussion in 'Tropical Fish' started by Wolffvet, Apr 1, 2002.

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  1. Wolffvet

    Wolffvet Astrea Snail

    Joined:
    Apr 1, 2002
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    Location:
    Gatesville, TX
    I am starting a 65 gallon reef tank and want to know about adding a dwarf lionfish and some mroe things (fish,inverts, etc.) that will get along with him and are reef safe.
     
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  3. Matt Rogers

    Matt Rogers Kingfish

    Joined:
    Dec 31, 2000
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    13,466
    Location:
    Berkeley, CA
    Hey welcome aboard Wolffvet!! oh_yeah wahoo!!!!! oh_yeah

    I know the attraction to lionfish, they are pretty damn cool.

    But if you are going to keep them in a reef, be prepared to have not much else in it.

    Dwarf lionfish are 'reef safe' in the sense that they won't eat your corals, but they are meat eaters.

    What this means is that they will eat any fish that fits in their mouth. In a reef, this can be a lot of fish, esp. since they can grow quickly larger than the size you bought them at.

    You can wake up one day and go 'where's my chromis?' or clown, or gramma, etc., etc...

    I have even heard about them eating starfish and crabs.

    Also their diet can cause a strain on the tank to some degree. Although, in moderation, the corals may benefit from second hand feeding I would think. But people tend to carried away with lionfish and like to watch the 'show.' So overfeeding is pretty common.

    I won't go all and say 'absolutely not!' I try not to be that opinionated. There is enough of that in this hobby. If you really like them, it can be done, at the expense of having many other fish. ;)

    Hope this helps and thanks for joining.

    See ya around,

    Matt
     
  4. Wolffvet

    Wolffvet Astrea Snail

    Joined:
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    Location:
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    I sure appreciate the info.
     
  5. karlas

    karlas Fire Goby

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    Feb 20, 2002
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    Location:
    berwick, PA,Pennsylvania
    try to get fish that get about the same size or a little bigger. if fo you could go with an med size angel, maroon clown, or butterfly of some type. they all have beautiful color and get about the same size as the dwarf. if you want shrimp you could try a cbs (not positive) but they do get large and your dl might leave him alone.
     
  6. Guest

    Guest Guest

    I have a dwarf lion he.s about 4.5"-5" I feed him assorted
    frozen food(dont forget lion's are venomous),2 false perula
    clowfish about 1.5"-1.75",1 yellow tail blue damsel -
    1.75",1 lawnmower blenney 3.5",1 mandarin 2.5"
    1 dwarf flame angel 3.5,1 snow-flake moray eel 6".&
    about 15 corals.
    When I first got the lion I think he eat a yellow tail blue-
    damsel. It was hard to get him off live food but I
    dont feed him live food any more.The moray swims around
    him & raps him self around the lion hes got a good temper-
    ment I do see him eyeing the clowns but has'nt eat them
    yet he gets along with all the fish p.s his mouth is twice
    the size of the clowns & damsel if not more
    I'll let you know if any fish are missing
    Thanks K.P.
     
  7. Benjamin

    Benjamin Astrea Snail

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    I agree, it seems that once you get the lions off of the live food they are not so aggressive. Mine eats out my hand, he is very gentle. I know they are venomous, but he is just so cool, I couldn't help but buy him and now I am glad that I did. As for him eating any of my other fish, I have been lucky so far, but then again I have a yellow tang, koran angel and panther grouper in tank with him, also there is a 3 striped damsel, but he can hide like you wouldn't believe.

    As for angels in a reef tank, be very careful, they like to nip at corals and such, from what I have heard.

    Benajmin
     
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  9. Matt Rogers

    Matt Rogers Kingfish

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    13,466
    Location:
    Berkeley, CA
    Cool. Good to know someone else with a Lion fish. Keep us posted as you observe more about them... wahoo!!!!!
     
  10. Benjamin

    Benjamin Astrea Snail

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    If anyone does get a lionfish, do not be alarmed if you see a white milkish string looking thing in your water. This comes off the lionfish's fins I believe and your filters will get it. I am trying to get a picture of mine, but he seems to want to be Mr. Shy whenever I get close to the tank with the camera.

    Benjamin