HHIreefer843
New member
Hey yall i have a 55g mixed reef with a coral beauty, mandarin, and a sixline wrasse and a pretty big cleaner....i am want one more fish until i upgrade...are there any down sides to a dwarf lion??
Dwarf lion of a reef
- Thread starter HHIreefer843
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namxas
Things With Stings R Us!
any lion will eat any fish that will fit into its mouth as well as any ornamental crustaceans (except hermits).
other than that, dwarf lions are super reef fish. personally, i prefer the dwarf fuzzy (Dendrochirus brachypterus) or the Green/Hawaiian Lion (D. barberi) over the zebra (D. zebra).
fuzzy on left, barberi on right:
other than that, dwarf lions are super reef fish. personally, i prefer the dwarf fuzzy (Dendrochirus brachypterus) or the Green/Hawaiian Lion (D. barberi) over the zebra (D. zebra).
fuzzy on left, barberi on right:
namxas
Things With Stings R Us!
lions are more prone to being bullied than most other fish. as long as the fish isn't "prey-sized", the lion will pay no attention to it. in fact, our male blotched anthias tried to get nasty with the lion during feeding time, and the lion just looked at it as if it was saying "you're 'tude is writing a check your body can't cash" and the anthias never bugged it again, and that was all...no chasing, no fright, just normal fish activity. the anthias still bicker among themselves tho...
here's an "oldish" pic showing a 60 gal community tank, complete with an adult male fuzzy (a couple of other fish are now in the tank as well):
this tank is one of my fave setups we currently have.
here's an "oldish" pic showing a 60 gal community tank, complete with an adult male fuzzy (a couple of other fish are now in the tank as well):
this tank is one of my fave setups we currently have.
Last edited:
HHIreefer843
New member
awesome guys thanks!!! im thinking about picking up one next tuesday!!!
Newreeflady
New member
You've inspired me, too. I have 3 fish it can't eat, lol!
Question:
How long can they go without eating? I've trained one of these fish to eat frozen silversides before, but I never left it for any vacation or anything- what do people do when they go on vacation?
Thanks!
Angela
Question:
How long can they go without eating? I've trained one of these fish to eat frozen silversides before, but I never left it for any vacation or anything- what do people do when they go on vacation?
Thanks!
Angela
Newreeflady
New member
^^^
namxas
Things With Stings R Us!
an adult lion in good condition can easily go a week with no feedings at all. they can actually go much longer (lions use food very efficiently), but i wouldn't want to go over two weeks, as they will begin to lose body mass (the average Dendrochirus will lose about 12% after 2 weeks, according to a 1997 study by Fishelson). if your fish is a juvie, i'd try to keep it down to a week, as they need the caloric intake for proper growth.
an easy way to deal with exdended vacations would be to have somebody pop by and drop a few ghost shrimp into the tank a couple of times a week.
anyhow, that's the way i'd roll...i'd hate to have 19 hungry, PO'd scorps meeting me at my door when i returned home.
HTH
an easy way to deal with exdended vacations would be to have somebody pop by and drop a few ghost shrimp into the tank a couple of times a week.
anyhow, that's the way i'd roll...i'd hate to have 19 hungry, PO'd scorps meeting me at my door when i returned home.
HTH
HHIreefer843
New member
ahhh now im sooo excited to pick him up tues...my LFS is awesome and he knows his stuff so he ordered me three, 2 fuzzys and one green/hawaiian and he said i can choose the best one!!!!! soooo pumped
I trained one to eat frozen, Not brine, but hunks of squid, clams and such
I had had the fish for over a year when I first tried. And it took about a month with me breaking down once and feeding it live.
I would take a pipe cleaner tied to the end of fishing line and thread the pipe cleaner(end bent into a 90 to hold the meat) through some meat and jig it through the water like you would fishing. He was interested in it instantly but woudl hit it and spit it out. Eventually recognized it as food and would eat.
great fish. very personable
Newreeflady
New member
Thanks, Greg, I think they don't sound so prohibitive now. I will qt until I get him to eat frozen, and won't get one until after my long vacation. Beautiful fish you have there, btw.
Best,
Angela
Best,
Angela
jarrod13
New member
Fuzzies are my favorite reef fish!!(except for my new rhinopias)
one thing anyone wanting to put one in a reef needs to consider seriously is the fact that it is a reef tank which in my expierence requires a lot more "hands on" attention. The problem with this is once your fuzzie associates you with being the food god, they WILL start begging, meaning when your around, they are up front and hungry. You have to make sure you have a spotter to keep an eye on them when your hands are in the tank to avoid an accident
another tip I have found helpful when putting one in a reef is to buy them as small as possible, this way they get used to crabs, shrimp, small fish being too big to eat while their young, I'm not saying they won't eat them when they get bigger, but it's worked for me plenty of times
other than that, like I said they are my favorite reef fish, tons of personality
one thing anyone wanting to put one in a reef needs to consider seriously is the fact that it is a reef tank which in my expierence requires a lot more "hands on" attention. The problem with this is once your fuzzie associates you with being the food god, they WILL start begging, meaning when your around, they are up front and hungry. You have to make sure you have a spotter to keep an eye on them when your hands are in the tank to avoid an accident
another tip I have found helpful when putting one in a reef is to buy them as small as possible, this way they get used to crabs, shrimp, small fish being too big to eat while their young, I'm not saying they won't eat them when they get bigger, but it's worked for me plenty of times
other than that, like I said they are my favorite reef fish, tons of personality
Just because no one has mentioned it, dwarf lions can still grow to approx 7 inches. This makes them poor canidates for tanks as small as 55g and 46g. If you lion out grows another fish, it will eat it as long as it fits in its mouth. Regardless of how long they have been together. These fish are entertaining eaters and graceful swimmers, but I would not recommend on in less than 75g. Good luck!
jdthomas24
New member
i got a blue fin lion last week, its nice but sits at the bottom all the time. will not eat frozen yet but im still trying. he eats it and then spits it out. scared to use live ghost because he may think my cleaner shrimp are food later one even thought they are 3 times his size. does the fuzzy dwarf swim around, i may trade him in for one of those if they don't just stay at the bottom.
Newreeflady
New member
They are slow swimmers and many keep them in smaller tanks. 55g is supposed to be big enough. Who is to say it isn't enough space. Size is not the only indicator. A small tang requires a hell of a lot more space for swimming than a larger lionfish.
jm2c, I will be getting one for my 56g.
Regards,
-A
They will not eat anything that will not fit in their mouth. I kept a dwarf fuzzy with a pair of cleaners, a pair of coral bandeds, a pair of harlequin and a fire shrimp and he never bothered them because of thier size. I used to feed ghost shrimp all the time, then I would mix frozen mysis in when I added them and eventually he took to frozen.
Lionfish are big messy eaters and create a lot of waste which creates a toll on the bioload. It is not a swimming space issue. You are right about one thing, there are several issues to consider other than size when figuring if a fish is appropriate for an aquarium, you just didnt figure all of them in (size, swimming space, coinhabitants capatablity, eating habits, waste produced). However, it is your aquarium, and your money. You get to choose how you stock. I just prefer to give advise that will allow people to be successful, but in the end it is ultimately thier call.
small alien
The fungus is among us.
That.......is funny.
namxas
Things With Stings R Us!
IME, i've never seen a fuzzy that didn't come in as a 7" fish reach that size, even with an excellent, varied diet. besides, i believe that figure is TL vs. SL. a 55 gal is plenty large, and i'd even keep a trio in a 55. of course, how one stocks their tank, and how it's set up speaks to how much maintenence is required. of course, as we all know bigger/more water volume is better when it comes to ANY setup.
for those reading this thread who haven't done so, give yourself a treat and read Frank Marini's excellent article on lionfish and their care here: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-11/fm/feature/index.php
also, Frank has a really nice book due out in May-ish called Lionfishes and Other Scorpionfishes. it's a must-have.
i don't get that one...we've had them for 14 mos now.
for those reading this thread who haven't done so, give yourself a treat and read Frank Marini's excellent article on lionfish and their care here: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-11/fm/feature/index.php
also, Frank has a really nice book due out in May-ish called Lionfishes and Other Scorpionfishes. it's a must-have.
i don't get that one...we've had them for 14 mos now.
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