Fu Manchu Lionfish success stories wanted

[hotelbravo]

Looking for users who has kept Fu Manchu Lionfish in the past or currently. They are known to be finicky eaters and not adapt well to aquarium life as well as being a relatively shy fish. I want to try one but want to know if they adapt and live healthy lives in our aquariums

 

[Moort82]

If have kept a few in a lfs situation, so had to train them onto dead foods. The ones I kept were all very similar, fairly shy and a lot more tricky to get feeding than most other lions. I tended to get them small so live adult brine was a good starter food (so lion about 1.5-2" roughly). I knew a guy at another shop who got bigger ones and had much more trouble getting them to feed.
The ones who I sold to customers that I knew seemed to do well once they got going and were relatively hardy like other lions after you can supplement their diet and boost immunity. They were mostly quiet tanks and the guys put in an effort to spot feed them. They did seem shy and only one I can remember got more friendly begging for food like a dwarf of volitans does. I have seen a few vids where they actively come out for food but also a few where they just sit there and don't do much.
I'd be having more blue in the spectrum for the last few hours of the day so you see them when they become more active and I wouldn't want too big a tank, so they were easy to find and feed.

 

[cougareyes]

I have had one for over 3 years now, I originally got him as a room mate for my fuzzy in a 30g. About 1.5 years ago I put them in a 90g and added a zebra and an antennata. I feed my lions live food, mostly ghosties, sometimes molly babies, an occasional guppy, and once a month a peppermint shrimp.

Some people also suggest they like cooler water, although my tanks are 80.6 during the summer. I acclimated him from 76 to 80 over the course of 2 weeks. My fuzzy was a rescue and only ate live, I've had him 4 years now, the fu was only eating live when I got him. So now I keep a ghosties tank, gut loaded with marine pellets and soaked in brightwell aminomega before feeding.

I think they are best in a species tank, he is very active in the 90 with 3 other lions and eats like a champ. He will occasionally take a piece of dead food and will swim right up to me and take it from my hand. Although many people believe in weaning them to dead food, I believe they are more active and even satisfied when they are stalking and hunting. It also makes for a much more entertaining tank. I have also never met anyone in person nor have heard from one of my lfs of anyone ever keeping them long term on dead food.

 

[hotelbravo]

very interesting thank you both.