NEW AGGRESSIVE TANK - Do these go together???

[chrisbenavides]

Well...I wanted a different tank for the house, since I have a reef tank with reef fish, but now I am looking into a aggressive tank (Iactually was toyingwith the notion of a seahorse tank, but many on RC are not favoring that idea), so I am now looking to see if I can have an aggressive tank with these fish:

Fuzzy Dwarf Lionfish - http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/....cfm?pCatId=227
Dwarf/Zebra Lionfish - http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/....cfm?pCatId=230
Leaf Fish - http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/....cfm?pCatId=238
Saddle Valentini Puffer - http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/....cfm?pCatId=250

So can these guys coexist? What do I need to take out? Only one Lionfish in a tank? Can I have a tank with more than one Lionfish, or with on ly Lionfishes? Anyone have a Leaf Fish? Can the Saddle Puffer exist with any of these combinations?

I went from wanting a Seahorse tank to an Aggressive tank. Good choice? What other recommendations and combinations could I have together? I don't want more than 3 fish in reality, maybe four if it is small enough and can coexist.

E-mail me as well at chrisbenavides77@hotmail.com or message too here on RC.

I would like some guidance in deciding what will go in this tank thats both unique and beautiful and compatable.

THANKS!!! - Chris

 

[marrone]

It wouldn't be a problem keeping all those fish together as long the puffer and leaf fish are large enough so the lions wouldn't eat them.

You can keep more then 1 lion fish together but with the large ones you need to take into account that they get pretty big and need space. As for other tank mates if you want to keep the lions fish just make sure that the other fish are large enough not to be eaten by the lion and the fish aren't aggressive otherwise they will go after the lion fish and either take picks out of it or cause it to stress out and die. Triggers and most eels don't make good tank mates with lion fish.

 

[chrisbenavides]

So basically all these four could live in the same tank?

yeah I decided that I wanted a small lionfish, which is why I asked about those two, since they are relatively smaller, but I will mostlikely go with one, the Dwarf with that Puffer I mentioned and maybe a Leaffish.

Do eels go well in this tank?

I would love a trigger, but they get to big. Whats the smallest trigger?

Does anyone have a picture of their leaf fish?

 

[stevebydac]

What size is your tank?

Lions can live ok with each other, provided they have enough room. I'd be leery of the puffer, as they are tempted to nip at fins of lions. You could try it, but realize that you may need to pull it out if that problem occurs.

An adult trigger, no matter the species, will get at least 8-9". So they need a 5'+ tank of 100g+ depending on species. If your tank is that size, you could try a niger, crosshatch, or blue chin trigger. But again, triggers can nip at lions' fins, so that's a tough call.

A moray can be a good choice, depending on size. For your lions, I suggest one of the echidna species, one of which is the snowflake moray eel, another is a chainlink. Another family type would be a zebra moray. Zebras get quite a bit bigger though. Both are unlikely to eat lions.

Good luck.

 

[stevebydac]

What size is your tank?

Lions can live ok with each other, provided they have enough room. I'd be leery of the puffer, as they are tempted to nip at fins of lions. You could try it, but realize that you may need to pull it out if that problem occurs.

An adult trigger, no matter the species, will get at least 8-9". So they need a 5'+ tank of 100g+ depending on species. If your tank is that size, you could try a niger, crosshatch, or blue chin trigger. But again, triggers can nip at lions' fins, so that's a tough call.

A moray can be a good choice, depending on size. You need a crustacean eater. For your lions, I suggest one of the echidna species, one of which is the snowflake moray eel, another is a chainlink. Another family type would be a zebra moray. Zebras get quite a bit bigger though. Both are unlikely to eat lions.

Good luck.

 

[marrone]

If you plan on keeping the lion fish I would pass on the trigger fish. A snowflake eel would work but most eels don't usually work with lion fish.

 

[chrisbenavides]

yeah I really don't want a Trigger...so I won't go with that....

I am looking more into the Saddle Valentini Puffer and one of the three Lionfish (Fuzzy Dwarf Lionfish, Dwarf/Zebra Lionfish, Antennata Lionfish), and possibly something else, like the Leaf Fish (which I know NOTHING of).

I choose the smaller aggressive fish since the tank that I am cycling now is a 40 gallon tall. So what do you all think?

What good combination with what I am asking for? Probably no eels as well. THANKS!!!

 

[marrone]

The Lion and Leaf fish will work together with out a problem. The puffer should also be good and actually it will be one of the only fish in your tank that is consistantly swimming around.

On the Antennata Lionfish, they get big and unless you get a very small one it will be to big for the 40gal tank in the long run.

 

[chrisbenavides]

What about a Dwarf Angel Fish (like the Lemonpeel Angel) with a Dwarf Lionfish and the Saddle Valentini Puffer?

Could those three co-exist? Any experience???

 

[chrisbenavides]

bump

 

[marrone]

As long as the Lion fish couldn't swallow the angel they would be fine together.

A dwarf angel for the most part does best in a reef tank or Fowlr tank so putting one a FO tank with little live rock probably wouldn't be the best chance for the angel to do good.

 

[chrisbenavides]

I guess I'll forget about the angel fish....and stick to the dwarf lion, saddle valentini puffer (and either Antennarius sp Angler, or the LeafFish). Which one is easier to keep?

I will be setting up a 10 gallon tank for live shrimp. Do they breed in the tank, and how do I go about doing this?

 

[Patchy]

never had any problems with eels and lions. of course i havent kept any of the 5 foot+ eels. dwarf eels and invert eating eel IE (SFE) are fine with lions

We keep many different lions in tanks together.

250g- 2 volitans

125g 3 fuzzy lions

75g fuzzy and zebra

some of the dwarf species are known to hunt in loose groups.

 

[MI0706]

My 125g has the following in it:

1 yellow head moray
1 radiata lion
1 pink tale trigger
1 niger trigger
1 porcupine puffer

All have coexisted together for over a year now. I hesitated on the triggers together. But both are very friendly and they have been together about 1.5 years now.

HTH

 

[chrisbenavides]

Ok...the Saddle Valentini Puffer, the Dwarf Lionfish, AND a Lemonpeel Angel??? Any chance here???????


And if the Lemonpeel Angel doesn't work (which it probably won't BUT I wished it did), could I have the Fuzzy Dwarf Lionfish or the Antennata Lionfish?


Which get bigger in the aquarium - the Antennata Lionfish or the Fuzzy Dwarf Lionfish???

 

[marrone]

The Antennata Lionfish is going to get bigger than the Fuzzy Dwarf Lionfish as a matter of fact it will be hard find a Antennata that isn't alreay larger than the Dwarf.

You should be able to have both the Lion fish without a problem. As for the Lemon Peel they're are not that easy to keep and really should be placed either in a reef tank or a FOWLR tank.

 

[LisaD]

IME leaf fish can be outcompeted for food by lionfish. The fu manchu is the only lionfish I would keep with leaf fish on a long-term basis.

Leaf fish are best kept in a very peaceful, low flow, "lagoon" sort of set-up. They are actually great tankmates for seahorses. I have two Hawaiian leaf fish in a 55 along with a longspine waspfish, a green wolf eel blenny, and temporarily, a juvenile blue jaw triggerfish. I had seahorses in the tank until the wolf eel blenny starting looking at them with a certain twinkle in its eye, so I moved them.

Anglers really belong in tanks by themselves. I used to have my 3.5 inch yellow pictus angler in the 55, and it did fine for months, ate frozen, never bothered the fish. Then I saw the tail of a 5 inch fish going down its throat a few weeks ago... It is now in my 29 gallon clam/coral tank along with another angler (which I hope it doesn't eat) and a damsel (which I'm okay with it eating). Anglers often attempt to eat fish much larger than they are, with a common result being that both fish die. Anglers are NOTORIOUS for eating lionfish, apparently the venom doesn't bother them. Read the Frogfish chapter in Reef Fishes, volume 1 by Scott Michael, it will tell you all you need to know.

Why were you discouraged from keeping seahorses? I've had good success with them. They have specific requirements, but if you are successful keeping a reef, you have the skills to keep seahorses. You just need to be aware of their needs, and certainly buy captive bred animals that are trained to eat frozen mysis. I'm a moderator on seahorse.org, I'd be happy to help you if you are interested in keeping them.

 

[LisaD]

I forgot to mention that leaf fish rarely if ever accept frozen food. Mine eat ghost shrimp and guppies/gambusia. If taking frozen is important to you, I'd leave leaf fish off the list. Same is true of anglers. I have one angler that eats frozen, another that will not.

BTW, seahorses ARE predators, they are just very slow and wimpy ones, like the leaf fish.

I found one fish that can't compete with my leaf fish for food. It is a multi-banded stingfish. The leaf fish actually BULLIES it! Which if you know anything about leaf fish, is almost inconcevable.

 

[chrisbenavides]

Well I got discouraged because many on RC were telling me that Seahorses are very very delicate animals and are also somewhat boring. I thought they were pretty cool.

Other than http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=286 where else can I get a good price online????

If I do not get the Seahorses (which you just made me want them again), I will definitely go with a Dwarf Lionfish and a Saddle Valentini (as these do not get too big). If I add a third fish, what would be a good compatable fish that does not get bigger than these other fish, but that is basically smaller or equal in size????

Thanks for your help and feel free to message me or e-mail me as well at chrisbenavides77@hotmail.com

 

[LisaD]

Chris,

DanU, who is a member here, and started out as a hobbyist, started a company, www.seahorsesource.com . I can tell you from personal experience that his seahorses are healthy, eating frozen mysis and active. I would not hesitate to recommend his company.

Another online source (that I have no personal experience with) is Draco Marine. I have heard nothing but good about the quality of his seahorses. You can buy direct from him, and I think Dr. Mac also carries his seahorses.

While I like liveaquaria, I strongly recommend you buy seahorses direct from the breeder. Seahorses aren't "easy" but they aren't especially hard either IF you do your research and provide them with what they need in the way of tank environment, water quality, nutritious food and appropriate tankmates. One of the most important things is to start with healthy stock!

For the third fish (if you don't get seahorses) I would consider an adult gold head sleeper goby. Mine is very active, sifts the sand, eats everything, and is good sized and a really engaging fish. I got this fish from my mom when I took her 210 gallon tank. I would not have selected it on my own, but now that I have it, I love it!

What size tank were you looking at putting the fish into? And how much live rock would you use? If you have a decent amount of live rock, I don't see why you couldn't have a lemonpeel dwarf angel. You don't need a reef tank, though some nice live rock would be great.