Fuzzy Dwarf Lionfish

[tjp]

Are they safe to put into a reef tank?
I want to get one as small as possible, I understand that NO fish is safe if it can eat it but are they safe to put into a tank?
what's the danger?
can they harm anything else in the tank that they can't eat?
how big do they get?

Thanks
Terry

[luvmylo]

perfectly harmless on a reef. rule of thumb if there's anything that'll fit in it's mouth it's gonna. they get up to like 4 inches I believe so they stay pretty small.

[motorslave]

Have not heard of them bothering coral. They are relatively calm as they are ambush hunters, they will lay in wait and pounce. They are however messy eaters and create alot of detritus so keep that in mind. If you have a sand bed they can add alot of junk to it and the rest of your tank.

[Doug1]

Originally Posted by luvmylo

perfectly harmless on a reef. rule of thumb if there's anything that'll fit in it's mouth it's gonna. they get up to like 4 inches I believe so they stay pretty small.

Oh contrare, mon frere, most of the Dendirochirous dwarf lions attain around 6-7"
The Pterois are much larger 12+ not uncommon. They are ambush hunters and not apt to mess with corals but anyting they can get in their mouth, they will usually eat, fish, shrimp, crabs, etc. They do not eat daily in the wild, but feast when the opportunity arises, being carnivorous they create a lot of excrement, that can create a maint nightmare for a coral tank, often the hardest task with any of the lion fish is getting them to take frozen food, feeding them feeder goldfish and guppies is not a good thing, they are marine fish and need marine based foods
FW fish will not supply the neccessary nutrients needed by marine predators, at the very least one could supplement the feeding with saltwater acclimated mollies that have been fed with Selcon fortified brine or mysis shrimp

[Loverotties]

They are reef safe.I had a volitan in a FO tank I kept him full all the time and he never went after the small fish.The secret is to keep him full.

[Casey]

Great little fish just be careful and keep your hand out of the tank,I have my hand in the tank cleaning and moving stuff way to much to have one of these fish but I like them lot's.

[jenajet]

I love mine, yeah they can get to 6-7 inches, but I think mine has stopped growing at about 4. He hasn't grown any in a year, other than fatter. I am in my tank quite often and he is cool with it. I usually feed him first and he leaves me alone. He has taken to my arm reciently but he likes to lay with his belly against it not the back where his bite is! I have some pretty small snails and crabs but he doesn't bother them either.