lion tank move?

[rayn]

I have a volitan lionfish. Currently in a tank that it will quickly outgrow, a 55. I'm working on upgrading my reef tank to a larger one and the the current reef will become the predator tank. Current reef tank is a 120 at 60*26*18 deep.
The lion has been weened from live food and eats silversides, pemysis, and krill. Only smallish fish in the reef are a chromis and a pair of clownfish, anything else would/should be big enough not to get eaten. There is more flow, but also more hiding or perching spots.
Would this work or would it be a disaster?

 

[rocking]

lion has been weened from live food and eats silversides, pemysis, and krill
it does not stop him from eatting live fish ! its nacher and u cant stop that

 

[StephLionfish]

Can you move it? Sure. Will it eat anything it can fit in its mouth? Most likely yes. I don't know a whole lot about flow and lions, but from what I've read/experienced, lions don't like bright reef lights. ( led/ metal halides). So I would get the reef out before you put the lion in. Also, remember don't use a net when you move him. The fish stores all used nets on my lions when I bought them, and all the lions got tangled/hurt. I'm gonna use a 1 gallon bucket for my Vol. when i move him.

 

[rayn]

Thanks for the light reminder, I forgot about that bit. Long term they can go blind. I'll porbably wait, I was just wondering. I had done a search on lions in reefs so I figured I would get told no, just thought I would ask in my scenario.

 

[StephLionfish]

The Vol in my avatar pic went blind after three days under LED in a 210 gallon tank. Only half the tank was lit, and it wasn't even that bright of LED( all the corals are mid/upper tank level). I'm moving all the corals to a 20 gallon, then putting my new Volitans in the 210.
How big is the Volitans? ( Just out of curiosity)

 

[rayn]

I just measured to be sure. From mouth to tip of tail fin, 4 1/2 inches. I don't necessarily think it is cramped yet, I just have to keep a eye on the situation. About the only other thing I could do right now is place it in a 40b I have laying around. That would give it its own tank with a slightly larger footprit to move around in, though not as much lengh.

 

[Jerry W]

With regards to the flow, the lion will seek out a spot where it is comfortable. Just so there is not crazy flow throughout the entire tank you should be good. As mentioned, the smal fish will be a snack. Lions in reef tanks are fine, just be sure to select tankmates/inverts carefully. Agree with the lighting too. Dimmer is better. I have the same 120 and used to keep a pair of med. sized volitans. Switched back to community fish but am contemplating going back to a lion tank with maybe a couple other compatible fish.

 

[StephLionfish]

I just measured to be sure. From mouth to tip of tail fin, 4 1/2 inches. I don't necessarily think it is cramped yet, I just have to keep a eye on the situation. About the only other thing I could do right now is place it in a 40b I have laying around. That would give it its own tank with a slightly larger footprit to move around in, though not as much lengh.

It's all good ( for the time being). I was just curious on how big he was. Hey, I'm a lion dork.

 

[rayn]

Thanks for the replies. I figured the lion is okay short term, but definitely not long term.

Reef safe, sure, but at what cost to the reef? Snails and hermits are in with it now and do fine. There is a cbs and cleaner shrimp in the 120, but both are 2"+ in length. They are my biggest worries. The smaller fish I don't want to loose either though.
I just need to get the bigger tank going and get the move done.

Curious, how quickly to lion grow and what is my time frame to get him moved without stunting it?

 

[StephLionfish]

I don't think you can stunt a lionfish. ( maybe I'm wrong) My first Volitans grew an inch ( more or less) every month till he got around the 7-8 inch mark. Then he slowed down. It all depends on water quality/feeding/ etc. I guess. But, my new Vol. has grown half an inch since I posted the thread about him. ( don't remember how long ago that was, two weeks?)

In my experience, hermits and snails don't get eaten. Shrimp, no matter the size will become a meal. The smaller fish, if they are quick like damsels, they may last a little longer, but eventually will be eaten. ( My last Vol didn't mess with the damsels, but kept an eye on them)

Any fish I have ever kept with my lions had to be at least as big as the lion it was kept with, or else it would be a snack.

 

[Mental1]

I have my lions - 2 fus and a fizzy under T5's and they are fine. There's just lots of places they can get out of the light if they need to.

 

[anbosu]

Plus they live on the reefs, so I don't think intense lighting would cause them to go blind given their environment in nature. Fish going blind usually means ammonia problems or some sort of infection.

 

[rayn]

Currently the lion is under t5, but the other tank is dual 250 watt MH. They are approximately 9 inches off the surface though.

Maybe stunting wasn't the correct term. But it can't be healthy or happy in a to small of tank. I just need to get something worked out like I said and get him in the bigger tank.

 

[StephLionfish]

The lionfish was perfectly healthy and everything was fine for a solid year. Big coincidence that he couldn't see after I put him in my LED reef. The reef had/has hard corals and clams in it. I checked the water, and everything was perfect. There are/where tons and tons of hiding spaces and shady spots. Moved him to a 75 gallon with t5 and everything started going well again. Still blind, but healthy otherwise. I have my dwarfs under t5, and so I've heard the dwarfs can handle the brighter lighting. I won't do it again, I just wanted to let you know.

 

[namxas]

Currently the lion is under t5, but the other tank is dual 250 watt MH. They are approximately 9 inches off the surface though.

Maybe stunting wasn't the correct term. But it can't be healthy or happy in a to small of tank. I just need to get something worked out like I said and get him in the bigger tank.

Actually, there is a phenomenon known as "tank stunting", and it can affect lions to some degree. A well-fed (good, varied diet), healthy lion will indeed grow pretty quickly, altho you could keep it a short time in the 40B.

IME, a lion that has enuff "turnaround"/swimming room and a properly-aquascaped setup will actually be out in the water column MORE than a lion in tight quarters or one with boisterous tankmates. Our P. volitans has outgrown 3 setups since we got her and is in her 4th tank. Each time, there has been a marked change in the fish's habits (just think about how you would react if you were in a small room and moved to larger digs...you'd be out stretching and exploring and feeling like moving around simply because it's possible.

As for lighting, we keep our lions under a variety of lighting, anywhere from room ambient to LED's to T-5's. The key is to acclimate them slowly, IMHO/IME. That being said, since we no longer keep a reef, we don't run anything that's super bright, altho we usually only run half of the T-5's on the volitans setup simply because it's unnecessary and cheaper.

 

[rayn]

I thought I remembered somethig about stunting. Current tank is the 55, but the 40b is available easy enough. Currently the lion has seemed happy enough out and about. Hasn't really hid and no real perching that I have seen. Goes all over the tank and eats very well, almost to well stealing food from other tank mates.