Fu Manchu

[scuba kid]

Walked into an LFS today to get some dog shampoo and of course I had to look at the fish. They actually had a nice selection of saltwater fish which is a little rare for this shop.

Anywho, they had a really nice 4-5 inch Fu Manchu lionfish with amazing colors and a nice fat belly. The owner told me he's been there about 3 weeks and eating frozen krill nicely. He's $80.

My questions are, how do they get along in community setups? I have a 150 gallon all nicely set up with about 100 pounds of liverock and 120 pounds or so of livesand. Coralife 220 protein skimmer and the tank houses a pathetic variety of soft corals which I plan on building up later. Its been set up for about 6 months now.
How would a Fu Manchu lion get along in a setup like this with a small community of fairly docile fish? Its pretty unstocked right now, but I do have a 4 inch sixline soapfish that I've had for a year or so and who pretty much sticks to himself. He's never bothered any other fish. Waddya think? Would it make a nice Christmas present to myself?

 

[jcopp24]

IMO only I would say that is a very high price for a Fu Man Chu... also 4-5 inches sounds like it might be something other than the Fu Man Chu... Maybe not... salt water fish dot com 40 bucks...

But anyway... not the fish I know the most about... I do know that they are prone to getting whiskers caught in pumps/filters

 

[scuba kid]

I know it was definitely a Fu Manchu and full grown they reach about 5 inches.
I know $80 is more than a lot of online places sell them for, but they are notoriously bad shippers and if I know it is doing well and eating prepared foods already, I'm willing to spend an extra $40.

Anyway, I'm asking, how would it get along in my setup?

 

[LisaD]

I always thought they were more suited to a smaller species tank, but with not too aggressive feeders, it might be okay. If it is a full grown Fu Manchu, eating well, I'd be all over it for $80.

 

[scuba kid]

Alright thanks!

Does anyone else have some thought on it?

 

[cyclops23]

How small are the rest of your fish? from everything i've read on lions, they will eat anything that fits into their mouths. and they have big mouths

 

[scuba kid]

As I said, I only have the 4 or so inch soapfish. All other fish would be added after the Fu Manchu, so I'm not too concerned about him snacking on tank mates.

I'm really just wondering about him being in a community setup, but I was thinking since he is doing well and eating frozen foods, is it really a concern to keep him in a species tank?

 

[LisaD]

I think it depends on how aggressive the tankmates are as to their feeding. Is it by itself at the LFS? Fu Manchus are not like other lionfish, to me they are more like other scorps. They stay along the bottom and stalk or ambush prey.

 

[scuba kid]

Yep, he's by himself at the LFS. Only because he would eat the other fish they stock though, i think. lol

If necessary, I would be willing to target feed.

 

[LisaD]

If I were you, I'd get him, but be prepared to set up a small tank just for him if necessary.

 

[DamnPepShrimp]

Sounds like a deal to me. If you chose all your other fish wisely after adding the lion, go for it. Take pics too, I love those lions, guess it's the name lol.

 

[scuba kid]

Well, I called the LFS and they're gonna hold him for me until the 26th. Now I just hafta do a little tank maintenance and it'll be ready to go for him. Can't wait.


Thanks for the help all! I will be sure to get some pics. :rollface:

 

[FMarini]

Scubakid--
heres some lionfish husbandry reading while you wait for your new Fu
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-11/fm/feature/index.php

frank

 

[scuba kid]

Thanks very much! I have read through your article several times already. Great information.

By the way, I saw you speak at the Northeast Council of Aquarium Societies meeting last March in Connecticut. It was great, and I certainly learned a lot.

 

[scuba kid]

Well I picked up the little guy today. His color was nice, no signs of stress or disease, and he had a full belly. He was also very aware of me standing in front of the tank gazing at him and he gave over to the front when he saw me. He's acclimating to the tank now, so I will have pics soon!

 

[scuba kid]

Crappy camera + bad lighting = terrible quality pics.

I couldn't get any decent pics of him (especially sincehe wouldnt stop moving) so I took a terrible quality video instead so he can be seen a little better.

Here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n32SHprd1Vk#GU5U2spHI_4

His colors are much more amazing than shown too. He colored up nicely in my tank and is even displaying some pink/purple along with the bright red and orange.

Let me know what you think!

 

[LisaD]

That is one of the nicest Fu Manchu lionfish I have ever seen. I hope it does really well for you.

 

[scuba kid]

Good news!

After trying to feed him some market shrimp, squid, silverside, scallop, and frozen krill, he rejected it all. I kind of half-expected this even though the lfs was sure that he had been eating krill.
Anyway, after a week of not eating anything, I went out and bought about 2 dozen live ghost shrimp. He devoured these! I fed him these shrimp for a couple days with long feeding tongs and in no time he started to eat frozen krill. He loves it!
Now that he's eating well in the tank and is nice and settled (and REALLY knows where the food comes from...whenever he sees the feeding tongs, he comes scurrying over) I'm going to introduce the soapfish and see how they get along. I'm sure they'll be fine and excited to get him back in the tank.

I'll get a video of him eating soon. He's vicious.