Lionfish in a reeftank?

[ryder11211]

Still trying to figure out what kinda livestock im gonna have for an upcoming 75 - 90 g tank.

Im Looking for anyone who has had experience with lions in a reef tank. I've done a bunch of reading and there doesn't seem to be a consensus on whether this is a good idea or not. It seems that lions would be likely to eat invertebrates, which is a serious downer cuz I would want some cool shrimps and crabs and stuff, but wouldn't pose any harm to corals.

Would I also not be able to house clams? Cuz that would be another major reason not to get a lion.

I'd really like to have a fish that kinda stood out in a reef. I think a lion satisfies that desire, but I haven't seen too many people here with them, and im thinking there must be a reason.

 

[scarf_ace1981]

they arent so popular in reefs because like you stated earlier they eat inverts. not only that they will eat smaller fish.

lionfish are usually kept in FO tanks w/ large fish.

 

[Josh]

Ask Hitsnorth, he has had a volitan in his 120 for a while.

 

[thepudge]

A lion wouldnt hurt corals or probably clams, but would devour anything it could fit in its mouth (shrimp, small fish, etc)

Other thing to keep in mind - you will probably have your hands in your reef tank constantly, moving things around picking things up etc. A lionfish makes this a little hazardous -- accidentally stab yourself and it will hurt.

 

[DEEPWATER]

I use to have 2 dwarf lion fish in my reef tank ,and i had cleaner shimp and fire shrimp ,they never bothered them at all.guess i was lucky .

as far as crabs ,they never ate them .

 

[Dmitry]

I've had a Mombasa Lion in my tank for 6-8 weeks. So far he hasn't eaten anything that I haven't fed him. I have 2 Skunk Shrimp, 1 Blood Shrimp, plenty of hermits and snails. But I don't know what will happen down the road. One can't control them!

He doesn't bother any corals. And likes to sit on top of Mushrooms and Zoos.

 

[tangerine]

another reason why we seldom see a lionfish in a reef tank cud be due to it's messy eating habits. makes it a bit harder to control nutrients level.

 

[leoskee]

I wouldnt put a volitan lionfish in a reef due to its size. But I would consider trying out one of the smaller, pygmy versions.

The key thing that would keep me away from them in a reef is exactly what thepudge said: always having move things and frag things because a bit hazardous with a lionfish in the picture.

 

[Dmitry]

I'm not sure the risk of being stung is a good enough reason! Not if you wear gloves when your hands are in the tank. Which we should all be doing without poisonous fish in the tank anyway! In any case, I've had my hands in the tank plenty of times, to pick up this coral that fell, etc. You just keep an eye on the Lion. They're not swimmers; generally they just sit there and stare at you.

 

[andylee]

I'm pretty sure the consensus is that it's not that great an idea for the reasons mentioned above: knocking stuff over, eating reef inhabitants, high nutrient loads.

 

[jenniebutterfly]

i had a dwarf and a fu man chu, they were fine with my coral banded shrimp and the mean little false perc i had. never bothered my corals. i had my hands around them, they don't swim much unless there is food in the tank. they really are not messy eaters. they eat everything offered. well once you get them onto frozen anyways. my bioload did not seem to go up anymore after adding them to my tank.

 

[Dmitry]

I'm with Jennie about my Lion not being a messy eater. He takes the items offered him whole. Krill/Silversides/Prongs. He doesn't spit anything out. The only issue becomes when the piece floats too far away from him and he's too lazy to swim after it. But then the other fish or the Shrimp get a second helping for the day!

 

[jawwad2004]

The lionfish was probably one of the biggest reasons why I actually got into this hobby exactly two years ago. But for me, the fish didnt live up to its hype. They are definitely beautiful, yet so inactive, so it makes it kind of boring. I had a dwarf lionfish for about 3 months in my 55, died, then a volitan, it died. They were housed with snails, and never bother them.
If I had a huge system, like a 1000 gallons, then I think I would def. go with one. The presence of these fish in a reef tank is so exotic in my view.

 

[Hitsnorth]

Ive had lionfish in my reef tanks.. I would say an antenna, radiata, fu manchu or a dwarf are best because they stay smaller. A volitan will REALLY limit your choices on other fish because he will devour anything.

I woudlnt worry about nutrients being a problem because lionfish arent messy eaters. They swallow the whole piece of food rather then nip at it.