Lion fish tank mates?

SpartaReef

SpartaReef

New member
So what is a "well fed" Lion fish? I want one also and want to be sure that tank mates are not eaten.... I'm thinking of keeping a feeder fish tank.... read that freshwater fish aren't good for feeding to salty's though... 50-60% of lion fish size? what about a small species of lion fish? Is there such a thing as a "safe" lion fish?


Thanks :thumbsup:
 
I'm not sure you can keep a lion fish well fed enough to keep it from eating tankmates. They're predators by nature. If you don't want your other fish to get eaten (and keep the lion from trying and failing to eat them), they need to be no smaller than half the lion's size. That's minimum.
 
Well fed lionfish = LF that just ate your most expensive/favorite other fish.

Even if they are too big to fit a LF will try. I had one eat a wrasse that was about 1" bigger than the LF. They both died from the experience!
 
OK that's what I was looking for... I wanted to know if that was a potential concern...

next question, I read on wiki that some species only feed on inverts... is this true and if so which ones... also, given that, how would I keep inverts safe? i.e which ones get big enough to not get eaten or is it the same issue? am i doomed to not get a lion fish? I have a big tank, but not big enough to have all large fish and I want some of the smaller fish as they are welcome additions... and I want inverts in my tank... with minimal (pref 0) casualties...


Thank you!
 
I have a friend that does maintenance on a tank w/ a lionfish & a maroon clown. They are the only 2 fish in a 110 or a 150 sps tank.
 
Thx again... at this point might be finding an alternative fish...

kinda favoring the fu manchu if I do go lion fish... looks to be the smallest one.
 
I found some material on keeping guppies and gut loading them... They can be converted to saltwater as well and I was considering keeping them in the refugium in my sump... Hoping they will restock themselves and I could gut load them outside the tank system before transferring to the main tank. for genetic purposes I would add new gups every so often... This should take care of the feeding issue... right?
 
I think a long-term diet of any FW fish would lead to fatty liver problems. IMO, no lion should be on a diet that doesn't include a lot of shrimp, scallop, an other SW foods.
 
SpartaReef said:
I found some material on keeping guppies and gut loading them... They can be converted to saltwater as well and I was considering keeping them in the refugium in my sump... Hoping they will restock themselves and I could gut load them outside the tank system before transferring to the main tank. for genetic purposes I would add new gups every so often... This should take care of the feeding issue... right?
Click to expand...

I would avoid any live food if possible as this just gets the lion more used to eating other fish. I keep a fuzzy dwarf lion in a 75 gallon he has been in there for about a year now with a Clarkii clown, engineer goby, and I'm about to add a kole tang thats in QT. He has never shown any aggression towards fish although I believe he has eaten a hermit or 2. I feed him every other day and has grown from about a 1" and a half to about 3". The dwarf's natural food are crustaceans so as long as you avoid any inverts that you mind being eaten and keep fish above half his body size they are well behaved.
 
A fuzzy dwarf has only gone from 1 1/2" to 3" in a year? He should be much bigger. He hasn't shown any aggression because lions aren't really aggressive. They are predators that usually ignore what they can't eat. I don't think you'll be able to stop any lion from eating small fish. When he gets big enough, he'll eat the goby for sure.
 
MrTuskfish said:
A fuzzy dwarf has only gone from 1 1/2" to 3" in a year? He should be much bigger. He hasn't shown any aggression because lions aren't really aggressive. They are predators that usually ignore what they can't eat. I don't think you'll be able to stop any lion from eating small fish. When he gets big enough, he'll eat the goby for sure.
Click to expand...

Well about that he is probably a little larger then 3". And doubling in size in a year is a normal growth rate on a fish that will be full grown at 5-6". I doubt he is going to eat the 8" engineer goby.
 
Excellent, thx for the advice. I can totally see how I would want to avoid giving him the impression that fish are the menu....

So... whats the availability of sw feeder shrimp and how likely would it be I could keep a colony in the refugium to self replenish (with the occasional addition to mix the gene pool)?
 
SpartaReef said:
Excellent, thx for the advice. I can totally see how I would want to avoid giving him the impression that fish are the menu....

So... whats the availability of sw feeder shrimp and how likely would it be I could keep a colony in the refugium to self replenish (with the occasional addition to mix the gene pool)?
Click to expand...

I would avoid relying on live food of any kind. What you will want to do is keep the lion in QT and get him eating prepared food. Some species can be more difficult than others but I had no issue getting my fuzzy dwarf on it. If they refuse to eat you may have to get some live ghost shrimp then slowly start trying to feed him some dead ghost shrimp then try some regular food(I use fresh fish and scallops from the supermarket). You will most likely have to hand feed the lion as they aren't quick enough eaters to eat prepared food from the water column.
 
Is the avoidance of live food due to the whole if it moves its food idea or just because its live food? <--- not directed at anyone in particular... seems everywhere I look everyone is trying to avoid live food but not really saying why

advice on type of feeding apparatus?

Thanks
 
SpartaReef said:
Is the avoidance of live food due to the whole if it moves its food idea or just because its live food? <--- not directed at anyone in particular... seems everywhere I look everyone is trying to avoid live food but not really saying why

advice on type of feeding apparatus?

Thanks
Click to expand...

It is just easier for you to control and manage. It also lets you offer a varied diet which is good for the health of the fish. Live shrimp is fine once in awhile but I would stick with mostly prepared.

I use some long tweezers. Some use plastic feeding sticks and some with finicky lions use fishing line.
 
SpartaReef said:
Is the avoidance of live food due to the whole if it moves its food idea or just because its live food? <--- not directed at anyone in particular... seems everywhere I look everyone is trying to avoid live food but not really saying why

advice on type of feeding apparatus?

Thanks
Click to expand...
I admit that I feed some live food on occasion. My Lions get green or red bettas at Christmas.Some reasons to avoid live foods. The #1 FW feeder fish are very fatty and can cause fatty liver problems. Some lions refuse to eat anything but live if they are constantly getting it. Good live foods are not always available. Never feed small SW fish from the LFS to lions, or other fish, with out quarantining them. I know someone on this forum who bought a herd of damsels for his large predators and they brought velvet that wiped out his tank in no time. All this being said; I love to see lions hunt and i don't think a few FW feeders (say once a month) is going to hurt. But my lions are totally used to dead food and have no trouble getting back on their diet.
I think Greg & Renee (namxas & seahorse dreams on RC) cover their feeding stick magic on this site (http://www.lionfishlair.com/); if not, I'm sure his homepage does.
 
Thx for the info guys... what about gut loading the SW shrimp? is that not enough variation? are we talking fishy boredom eating the same looking meal every time?

The fishing line is up my alley... trout season opens soon here in Wisconsin and I'm getting spring fever....

LETS GO FISHING! hahahaha
 
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