Lionfish & corals

I got awesome deal on craigslist on 55g hexagon tank,stand along with aqua remora skimmer, 175w metal halide(single ended) + coralife power compact, rena canister filter and two emperor 280 filters. also 40 lbs of live sand and few pounds of live rock. all these for 75$. already sold emperor filters and need to get rid of canister filter too. i have aquaclear 110 which can be used as hob fuge.

planning to setup only one lionfish and corals. what do you guys think, all corals are OK with lionfish?? any pretty lion fish suggestions ? planning to buy some dry rock and sand from marcorocks.

 

fu man chu is my personal favorite of the lions, i think most species would be alright in a 55 except a Volitans i know would need a larger tank in a short time frame.and i honestly am not sure about the lion/coral combo but i see no problem with it, definitely love the idea though!

 

Those fish are specialized feeders and go after small fish and shrimp. they wont bother your corals at all.

 

thanks, i too like fu man chu. my idea to let tank cycle for month or so and add corals first and lionfish at last. this tank planned to setup specially to have only one lion fish, does lionfish can handle 20x of tank flow ? i heard some lionfish are noturnal and always hide. we need something which will be active and swimming out during day time, fu man chu does that?

 

yeah sell all that crap filtration and get a good sump/fuge. as for lionfish its going to be difficult to keep the tank looking nice because what keeps out tank looking nice? cleanup crew, what do lionfish eat? cleanup crew. any small fish or mobile inverts will most likely fall prey to the lionfish. i would suggest getting a couple of the dwarf varieties. a fuzzy and a fumanchu. or another type.

 

I heard lionfish won't bother hermit crabs or snails, they eat only ornamental shrimp and crabs. not sure if its true !

 

For the most part that's true, unless of course the hermit or snail gets flipped and you're not there to flip it back over :

 

If they are hungry they will. I've seen both lions and triggers flip hermits and snails over for a snack.

 

I am OK not keeping crabs/shrimp, just need beautiful lion fish and corals.

 

Lionfish mostly eat true crabs, hermits are only food when they are really hungry.