Antennata Lionfish in a 29 gallon?

T

twintrades

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Antennata Lionfish In a 29 would it be to small for the fish?

Im trying to fuigure out what kinda fish to have in our softy tank....

We really like the look of the fish. Somthing to have some WOW factor for our 16 month old. ( Tank is eye level for her.)

So what do yall think ? Would it be comfy in our tank ?
 
Wify wants one that wont die. So far the Antennata is the only one that will take frozen foods.... Also we might be up gradeing our 75 to a 125-150 so it may end up in there.
 
Dwarf fuzzy (Dendrochirus brachypterus) would be your best bet, they are small and come to the front of the tank to greet you when your around. They're also probably the easiest to train to frozen food IMO
 
I had a dwarf lionfish 2 years ago when I still had SW tanks, he was very easy to train for frozen food. Took to it the first day and he would come and greet you. Very nice addition IMO.
 
I had a small P. radiata in a 29g reef for three years before I sold it to someone with a bigger tank. It was a great fish and never a problem. I fed it by hand (with tweezers) and it ate frozen all the time, either silversides or chunks of frozen Formula 1.

The radiata was a showcase fish as it was very beautiful and very interesting in how it moved. It was a WOW fish. Everyone noticed it first. It is my favorite of the lionfish. It would have been fine in the 29 long for quite a while.

Now the downsides: 1) It often spent most of the day upside down in a its cave, not a lot of swimming except at dinner time. 2) As we were considering starting a family. I worried about a kid sticking their hand in the tank. It probably couldn't kill (unless allergic) but it can really hurt.
 
Yea the Lion would be the Show fish for us also. The tank would house prolly 2 asure damsels as well. Possibly a Manderin fish as well. (colloration should deter the lion i think ???)

But the tanks main purpse would be a soft coral tank.
 
P. antennata will end up being in the 8"-ish range, which is too small for a 29 gal. I'd go with at least 50 gals for a medium-bodied Pterois sp.

Any of the Dendrochirus sp. would be OK, but IME, the fuzzy dwarf would be your best bet as an "out and about" fish, and they really aren't all that hard to wean. They come in several color morphs, so you can pick your fave.

Give THIS ARTCLE on weaning fish a read. I heartily recommend using the "super sleuth" feeding stick method. We use it exclusively for all of our lions, including our adult P. volitans.
 
Size Q's

Size Q's

Where are you getting your info on the sizes ?? Im seeing the dwarfs being the same size as the Antennata. Maxing at 7"
Or some show theres only a 1 inch differance. BTW In a yr or less were prolly setting up a 125 0r 150. So if need be i would have a larger house for it...
 
The sizes for the fish you see are actually "wild caught" max TL sizes. You will rarely find a TR juvie that hits those marks (think 75% and you'll be about right), altho there may be a few exceptions. We grow out all of our lions from juvies, and that has been our experience.

HOWEVER, there's a lot of "old" info out there regarding the amount of space most lions require. IME, they do indeed appreciate some room to swim (think of them trying to turn around with those long, lovely fins of theirs in a tight setup). Beyond that, lions generate a LOT of waste and much of their food can be on the oily side, so the volume really helps there.

Since you're planning an upgrade, it may be a moot point, but I've seen the difference in lionfish behavior in my own specimens when they have a bit of room to swim, and you can never go wrong with a larger, wider (front-to-back) setup.

That being said, an antennata that's already weaned is a real bonus, as they can be a bit "touchy".

HTH
 
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