Keeping a Lionfish, what should I know

[blackcloudmedia]

So Im finding myself fascinated with groupers and lionfish. I currently have a baby percula and damsels. Obviously small fish are food for bigger fish. But what should I know before buying? I couldnt find any good articles on lions or groupers. :?:

 

[Anonymous]

Lions are very agressive fish. Your little damsel & clown might disappear one day to the demise of the lion. The lion's long fins are venomous so make sure to where gloves when handling.

the site for more detailed info on lions & groupers.

Look at Fishbase.org

 

[SnowManSnow]

NOT reef safe..

Little fishes die

Hurt if you get finned

Thats about it

B

 

[bleedingthought]

I've seen lionfish kept in reef tanks with no small creatures.

 

[blackcloudmedia]

So basically.....noone likes them????? Or at least they have to be by themselfes?

 

[Anonymous]

With aggressive fish only!

 

[blackcloudmedia]

Hmm, to avoid expensive casualties, what would qualify as Aggresive and "lion safe"?

 

[Anonymous]

Big agressive fish: puffer, angels (agressive ones), grouper, some wrasses.

Just do a search for agressive fish. You will find out.

 

[blackcloudmedia]

Cool thanks for the advice guys, Ill probably focus more on lighting and corals than fish. I love all the fish that I cant have. why is it that after paying off my tank.....I want a bigger one. :lol:

 

[Anonymous]

Groupers get huge BTW and need enormous tanks. of course nothing says you can't setup a 29 fish only and have 3 dwarf lions in it. They are lots of fun to have in a "school" and are great to watch hunt. I kept both large and dwarfs for years and loved them.

 

[cindre2000]

First of all, don't take "reef safe" at its face value. Reef safe usually means invertebrate safe (both sessil and mobile). Therefore, a lion can easily be kept in a full blown reef since the only invertebrates they normally eat are crabs and shrimp. So, don't plan on keeping any.

The second issue with lions is their fishy tank mates. Lions are not aggressive fish, they are peaceful and normally get along find with most other fish due to their poisonous spines. However, they will eat most fish that fit in their mouth. For this reason, many people keep lions with other large fish (these fish are usually aggressive).

However, as long as the other fish as too big to swallow (height can be very important when figuring this out), they can normally be kept with lions (unless they are too aggressive). Rabbit fish for example are good take mates.

If you want a larger selection of fish, a smaller dwarf lion might be the best choice. The fuzzy dwarf (which I have) preys mostly on crustaceons in the wild and does not get more than 6-7", making it much easier to keep with full grown non-aggressive fish. The dwarf lion gets a similar size and the fu manchu lion also (however, the fu manchu rarely takes to frozen food).

I would be more concerned about groupers than lions since they are more aggressive and less reef friendly.

 

[Anonymous]

I agree with cindre.
I have seen spectacular reef tanks with lionfish in them, you just need to carefully plan for their tank-mates if you decide to go that route.