Stocking advice needed

[DewDropPony]

I have a 29gallon right now. In three months I will be getting, at minimum, a 75gallon.

The 29gal has only been set up for a month and a half. Today I just bought my first fish for the tank, with the advice of LFS attendant. It was from a independent store that specializes in only saltwater.
So today I got a pair of maroon clowns.

Anyhow, I told them that the fish in this tank would all eventually be transfered over to the new tank when I get it. And I told them I eventually wanted a lionfish to be apart of the stock list at some point.

With this in mind, they suggested the maroons while mentioning other fish also. I decided on them because I like clowns, I know the maroons are the most aggressive of the clowns, and I couldn't find a whole lot about what other fish can be kept with dwarf lions. At the store they showed me a dwarf lion they had. I asked which type of dwarf it was and they said "It's just called a dwarf lion." She said it wasn't a fuzzy dwarf, and it didn't look like one. The spines were too long. They had gotten it to eat once at the store. It was $20. It looked like the "stereotypical" image you think of when anyone thinks of a lionfish, only it was smaller.

So my questions are what type of lion could that be? Would that lion be fine to keep in my 29 for 3 months? Would any lion work in my 29gal with my maroons for 3 months?

 

[Wolverine]

I always advise to wait. A lionfish will eat anything that can fit in its mouth; that goes for full-size and dwarf lionfish. That mouth is also a heck of a lot bigger than you think it is.

In general, I recommend to anyone waiting until you have that tank upgrade before getting a fish to fit in the new tank. It's a rare situation when a tank upgrade gets off the ground and ready for fish on schedule. Dwarf lionfish are not rare, and you'll have plenty more opportunities to get one.

Dave

 

[DewDropPony]

Ok, well do you think my maroons will get eaten by a dwarf lion?
What other fish can you stock with a dwarf lion? I'm having a hard time finding information on this subject. I also would like to keep some shrimps but are there any that a lion won't eat?

 

[Wolverine]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11855201#post11855201 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DewDropPony
Ok, well do you think my maroons will get eaten by a dwarf lion?
What other fish can you stock with a dwarf lion? I'm having a hard time finding information on this subject. I also would like to keep some shrimps but are there any that a lion won't eat?

As for the maroons, possibly. Maybe not right away, but lionfish tend to grow more quickly than clownfish, so they can make up the difference faster than you'd thiank.

As for what else you can keep with one, for big fish, it's best to avoid large angels, some large tangs, and large triggerfish, since they all tend to pick on lionfish spines, and can pick them to death. For small fish, you want to make sure that all of your fish are larger than what the dwarf lion can swallow at it's full size.

Lionfish love live shrimp.

Dave

 

[reeferaddiction]

shrimp will be done for as well as the maroons if they are not big enough. i would advise against getting any fish with plans on upgrading, if you dont have the proper enviorment for it now then pass. plans to upgrade dont always work out, and be sure you want a lion because it will greatly limit tank mate options especially in a 75g.

 

[DewDropPony]

I won't be getting the lion right away. It will be awhile.

I realize it will limit my stocking options, but what can I keep with them?
So far I know, no shrimp, no large tangs, no large angels, no triggers.

What does that leave me with, damsels? Smaller angels? Smaller tangs?

My female maroon is large. The male is significantly smaller.

 

[ladyshark]

I have a 75 gallon tank with a

dwarf lion,
a foxface,
a yellow tang,
a blue damsel and
a white ribbon eel (very slender but very long).

These tank mates all seem fine. Every once in a while, the eel exhibits what looks like a small injury on its body, and I suspect the dwarf lion, since it has the biggest mouth and is probably the most aggressive fish, but have never seen the lion act aggressively to the eel or any other fish in the tank. The dwarf lion just hangs out motionless on or under a rock, or flutters about slowly -- he's pretty fun to watch, actually.

My yellow tang and foxface are the ones that go after each other, with their tails and fins--but they are always together, so it seems they can't make up their minds whether to school or to compete for the biggest baddest yellow fish in the tank.

Anyway, these fish do ok with the lion, but I keep a close eye on the eel. I would feel nervous putting anything less aggressive, like chromis or cardinals, however. As for maroon clowns, I don't have much experience with them---as long as they are big enough, they should be ok.

My .02