So....what go with Volitans??

[StephLionfish]

I have a 210 gallon tank with a Volitans Lionfish in it. I'm going to add another Vol whenever I come across one of the same size, in a dark color.
Can I have anything else in my tank w/o it looking/ being full? I don't like the look of a bunch of fish in quick motion in a tank...( one of the reasons why I went lionfish tank)
If I can have anything else...what can I have that won't hurt my lions, and won't eat my snails/hermits?
I know I can't have Angels, Trigs, Puffers, I don't like Eels or Wrasses, and I've learned I can't have Tangs with lions.
I really like Harlequin Tuskfish....but $220+ is a lot of money to drop on a fish imo.
So, is there any kind of fish left?

 

[AlexS95]

If you want a Tusk for cheaper just don't buy one from Australia. LA has them for $90, and Large Aussie ones for $160 on sale this week.

 

[ashtree68]

Tusks are nice I'm looking to buy one, they will (from what I've read), eat your hermits and snails but not 100% sure on that.

there are larger scorps and such you can get, or other of the larger medium bodied lions, right now in my volitan tank I have a Radiata, a Marine betta, and a couple of damsels that have been in there forever and a half. Without thinking much into I would love to have 1-2 volitans, two radiata, antenata, and a mombasa, plus the marine betta, and a tusk and a killer skimmer, but that would depend on the sizes of all of em and aquascaping. Hopefully Greg/Renee will chip in and give you some good suggestions.

 

[StephLionfish]

Thanks for the replies, guys.

Alex, Hmmm......
Ashton, Dang, now that I think about it, I believe I have heard that too....
I thought Marine Bettas weren't all that...lively... I don't care much for fish that hide in the rocks...
I thought about making it an all scorp tank. But, all the scorps on say....DD for instance are taken by the time I can get them. ( Mostly cause all the neato stuff I've never heard of before...so I do tons of research on it...by then of course I'm too late) And the variety of fish really stinks in the fish stores in my area.
Harlequin Sweetlips are handsome....but of course get too big

 

[ashtree68]

Maybe I've just had good luck, but I've had two and they were shy at first and stayed in their caves (which most fish are at first) but I've slowly (2ish months) gotten it to come out through it being more comfortable. Also its stick trained so when its feeding time I slowly move the feeding stick farther and father out from its cave. Now it'll swim with my Radiata.

Do you get the sneak peak alerts? I usually scan those and if I see anything research like crazy and go from there. For the most part most of the scorps and such, have very similar care, just have to make sure there's nothing wrong with temperature, full grown size, and such.

 

[StephLionfish]

Hm....they are pretty... I don't really have anywhere for it to hide. My scape is a wall down the center of the tank, so that fish can be viewed from all sides....although I've been thinking of tearing it down to make more open space.

Nope, I don't get the emails from LiveAquaria. Guess it would be a good idea now though.

 

[ashtree68]

They're nice to get, sometimes, it can also be a huge temptation...


You should post some pictures of your setup

 

[MrTuskfish]

Every tusk I've owned (2 prior to moving, 3 now) will eat just about any invert or small fish. The pic at the LA site really shows the difference between the two varieties of tusk. Not only are Aussies much prettier & robust , IMO, they can be much healthier. IO fish are always questionable (IMO) because of the handling and possible cyanide use. Aussie fish are handled with real care. BTW, why can't you have tangs? IMO,they are ideal tankmates for Volitans.

 

[StephLionfish]

MrTuskfish, Thanks for the info on the tusks.
Every tang I have kept with any of my lions has gone right back to the store for being a bully. They are friendly to every other fish except my lionfish.

 

[ashtree68]

I have a mono, bright, colorful neat little fish, and I want to say its picking on my lions, I've never seen it, but just something tells me its not the model citizen i think it is.

 

[namxas]

Scorps/lions won't pay any attention to hermits and snails, so you're fine in that respect.

As for tankmates, we really like the look of lions and "ground-hugging" scorps and lions go together like coffee and doughnuts...we have several such setups.

Rhinopias make super tankmates for P. volitans, and are typically beautifully-colored. Larger species from the genera Scorpaena such as e.g., S. brasiliensis, Scorpaenopsis (e.g., S. venosa), or Inimicus make nice additions as well.

Here's a shot of a couple of happy tankmates before they were moved to a larger setup:

Rhinopias frondosa up close and personal:

 

[StephLionfish]

Greg, I am SO in love with your Volitans!!
Ha, lovely pic of the Rhinopias Frondosa...would love to have one....but their price range is just too steep for me. Where did you get it from?

Looking at the scorps you mentioned. To think I could have my own swimming rock they are cool.

 

[fish stalker]

I have a large v/ lion with a miniatus grouper and wolf eel ( which is a pseudochromis and not an eel but looks like one) in a 110 and all get on for about 1 1/2 years now. I have had the lion for longer so it's quite big I'll post some pics so you can see when I get home later.

 

[namxas]

Steph,

Greg, I am SO in love with your Volitans!!

Thanks! That's the same fish that is featured on the cover of Frank's book as well as in several places within the book.

Ha, lovely pic of the Rhinopias Frondosa...would love to have one....but their price range is just too steep for me. Where did you get it from?

That fish was on my "holy grail" fish list...when I saw it in the LFS, I just stood there with my mouth open. Surprisingly, that fish wasn't crazy-expensive (<$300 IIRC), and I even got "10% off, no tax" for paying cash. I've never seen another frondosa quite like this one.

As for the "tank full of rocks", as you know, we have several of those *grin*. What's funny is we have setups with the fish sitting right out in the open, and peeps look into the tank and ask "Where are the fish?"

 

[StephLionfish]

Fish stalker, Awesome, I love pictures of Volitans. But, I've always heard that Wolf Eels are aggressive?

Greg, $300 isn't bad considering what it could have been, and it sure is a beauty...
Haha, that's great. I've had people look at my Vol and say "Which end is the head?"..

What was that thing someone was talking about a while back ago? Ghoul? Are those big enough not to be Volitans food?....or vice versa..

 

[rayn]

I would think a ghoul or goblin would work with a volitan, but the feeding would be tricky.
Ghoul- choridactylus multibarbus
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+717+2878&pcatid=2878

Goblin- inimicus didactylus
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+46+248&pcatid=248

Here is my inimicus

I wouldn't think a volitan would eat them are they in the 5 to 8 inch range.

Oh, if you haven't gotten Franks book, GET IT!!! I finally picked it up over the weekend and have almost finished it. Very good info covered in there about all scorpion forms.

 

[StephLionfish]

Ha, its funny how they bury themselves. Aw man...LA says the Ghouls only get 5"....seems like a snack to me.
I'm actually about to get the book...what's it called again?

 

[rayn]

Title is
Lionfishes and other Scorpionfishes by Frank C. Marijuana

Well worth it. I got mine at Borders as amazon wont ship to Il anymore.

 

[rayn]

Oh, as for the wolf eel I have one in with my volitan. Biggest issue is making sure they both get food, other then that all seems good.

 

[namxas]

IMHO, an adult Inimicus would work with an adult volitans, but IME with three ghouls, I'd be afraid that a full-grown volitans would eat them. IME, a captive ghoul on reaches about 5" max. and that's lion food.

Ghouls aren't super rare, but they're rare enuff to where if you get a "good one" and it does well for you, personally, I wouldn't risk it.

Frank's Book: