lion fish question

[DebsSisterFlo]

I didn't want to hijack the other thread, but I saw loverotties had a volitan lion in a 30 gallon tank which got me wondering...

when I upgrade to my 38 gallon tank, what kind of lion would be best for me? I've been fascinated with them since I was little, and I'd love to build that tank around a lionfish. Something that is affordable and hardy.
Any suggestions on how to set up the tank to make it homey for the lion? Any suggestions of good tank mates? Feeding? Lighting? Any other requirements to keep a lion happy and healthy?

Thankies!!!

[Geoff]

i do not have my books with me over here, so i am doing this from memory.

there are a couple of lionfish that could fit in a 38, but they look a little different from the one you are thinking. a P. volitan is a large lion and should not be put in a tank smaller than a 75. they can reach over 14" in length and finspan! those that can live in a tank that small are the more rock dwelling lionfish. those of the Dendrochirus genus will work in that tank. most of these grow to only 7".

my wife has kept a P. antennata (it was suppose to be a P. radiata) in a 75 reef. she kept only zoas in it. they do not mind high DOC water so it worked fine. this was her plan from the beginning.

as for tankmates, i would say none in a tank of that size. lionfish are messy eaters. they produce a lot of wastes. it is difficult to keep water quality up. another problem is that any fish that goes in with a lionfish needs to be bigger than the lionfish. i do mean bigger, they are not as bad as frogfish about eating items bigger than them, but they have been know to try. water quality in a 38 with 2 fish of this size in it would be challanging. are you also planning on keeping corals in this tank? if it were a FOWLR than you could prolly get away with it.

i hate it that it always sounds like we are trying to keep you from keeping what you think is neat. there are a lot of neat critters out there for SW, but they all have their specific needs/problems. it is not like FW where it is pretty much mix and match. i am really glad you keep asking before just buying. this is why the first question anybody asks is "what do you plan on putting i the tank?". as long as a system is designed from the beginning for a certain critter it has a much better chance of success.

[DebsSisterFlo]

Thanks for all that info! I would keep it a FOWLR. I would want to build the tank around the fish.
I remember when I fell in love with lions... *wavey flashback sequence* I was not even 6 years old, and I was in some office for some reason. Well there was a fish tank with two lionfish in it. I was immediately drawn to it, and the adults must have told me that the tank was "hot", or maybe the fish would bite, or something, (so that I wouldn't touch or tap on the tank) so I remember being scared of them but completely in awe of them. I couldn't stop staring.
The prices of salt fish being what they are and the fact that even in a 38g I couldn't have more than 2 or 3 fish I think that I would be very happy to have a prized lion fish to showcase in his own tank.
I have to go research now, I have page 207 opened up in front of me, you guess the book! lol!

*edit to add*
Well I found a really nice website here: http://http://www.reefkeeping.com/is...ture/index.php

but now I wonder if a 38g would be big enough for a pterois antennata? Apparently the radiata get bigger. The dwarf zebra also intrigues me. I want a lion that looks like a lion, you know?

I'm off to research Dendrochirus zebra... here kitty, kitty, kitty...

[Loverotties]

I did that but I did a lot of work to do that.I changed alot of water cause I had to keep(LION) feed well so he wouldn't go at the other fish exspecialy any smaller fish like the blue velvet and the big water change for the quality of the water,but most people wouldn't want to put that type of time in it!If you want I'd start with the lion small and get one bigger fish and stay with that for a while.

[dobejazz]

Sorry to butt in Jess! I plan on one of the smaller Lions in my 95g I can't recall if Lions are ok with shrimp and crabs? Did you see anywhere in your research if they will eat shrimp? or does anyone else know.

[Doug1]

Kelli, unless the shrimp hide alot like peppermint shrimp a lion will prolly snag them as a snack

A Dendrochirous zebra is a nice small lion, not quite as feathery but still got the "look" , hady, hardier than the "Fu Manchu" lion.

These are venomous fish, watch hands in the tank and kidproof!!!!!!!!!!!!

[DebsSisterFlo]

Kelli look here
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...0&js_enabled=0
it says that you should start them out on live saltwater feeder shrimp. Another one of their lions suggests buying ghost shrimp.
I'm surprised, these guys are very affordable!

Yep, for the antennata it says to provide ghost shrimp, see here:
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...cfm?pCatId=225

[DebsSisterFlo]

hmmmm....
I'm going through past threads and I'm very curious as to how people are pulling this off:

I ran a 75 gallon with a very large Panther Grouper, Volitan Lion, Clown and Undulated Trigger, Stars and Stripers Puffer, Moray eels and a Bamboo Shark

I had this happen to my volitan lionfish. I used to have a 29gal setup with a Humu Trigger, the Lionfish, and a Porcupine Puffer

To me I'm picturing fish stacked on top of each other! Aren't those two tanks WAY overstocked? And then if not, what could I add into my 38g with a dwarf zebra lion?

[Geoff]

Originally Posted by DebsSisterFlo

hmmmm....
I'm going through past threads and I'm very curious as to how people are pulling this off:





To me I'm picturing fish stacked on top of each other! Aren't those two tanks WAY overstocked? And then if not, what could I add into my 38g with a dwarf zebra lion?

i would be very skeptical of these claims. those tanks are crazy small. first of all a large grouper would not fit in a 75. some groupers are bigger than i am!!! i would call this a large grouper. a small grouper is about a foot long!

the next question is, how long has this system been running? in one year each of those fish would outgrow a 75.

now after saying that, my wifes system consisted of a zebra moray, P. antennata, and a panther grouper. this was in a 75. massive skimmer. plus a 20g viewable sump, and a true 10g sump. so it was actually a 105g system. the grouper would have outgrown the tank in a couple of years.

G~

[DebsSisterFlo]

I did a search on these forums and found a few posts and the quotes were taken from those posts. Nuts!

Hey! Check out my sig, I now have a link in red so you can read my plans for the big tank switch for my future lion!!!

[dobejazz]

pretty soon you'll be drilling thru the floor and adding sumps in the basement!!

[DebsSisterFlo]

oooh no! lol!

[Loverotties]

I know lions eat shrimp!I use to have a tank full of glass shrimp to feed him.He loved them and it was easy for me to go to the beach and catch them.

[DebsSisterFlo]

crap, that link I posted didn't work. Well that is the website www.reefkeeping.com and it's awesome! The lionfish are in the back issue, November 2002. A wonderful resource and I will be lurking there for a while.
I figure as far as shrimp I can buy a bunch of whatever's cheapest, glass, ghost, etc, and toss them in the 20g with the kribs. The shrimp are about as big as those fish anyways, and so what if the kribs make a meal of one or two, that's what they're there for!

I am still worrysome about those spines. I don't handle pain well... so I'm thinking I may have to get an L-shaped piece of plexiglass to corral the fish into one corner while I'm rooting around in the tank. I think that will keep both of us safe!

[Spongebobsquarepants]

Lions are kick butt fish i lovem, I think a dwarf fuzzy is smallest ithink...one side note they are lazy fish very lazy. But with small tank you kind of rasie the risk of getting stung .Sounds dumb But i had one in 180 ...one day i was messing with rocks next min my volitan brushed right up my arm i about pooped my self lol he was about 7 inchs .