I'm not new to the hobby, just new to the site. I have a 46 gallon reef, and a 44 gallon planted marine tank that I built specifically for predators and venomous fish. I recently lost a Fuzzy Dwarf Lion that I bought for my son as he's been asking for a Lionfish for years, and now I'm having trouble finding a good source for all things venomous to put in this tank. I like LiveAquaria.com and have heard very good things about them from anyone I've asked, but they don't always have the best selection of the standard community fish. I'm wondering if there's another source, or multiple sources that you guys use when you're looking for the oddball fish that most people wouldn't be interested in.
A little background, so you don't think I'm just randomly picking venomous fish for a small tank... I'm a biologist and high school teacher of Environmental Science and Biology. I've been keeping fish for over 25 years, and currently run 3 freshwater tanks, 2 saltwater tanks, and a 500 gallon aquaponics system. I have no plans to ever bring venomous fish to school because I have students who would stick their hands in the tank even if I had a sign on the tank that said "This Sea Goblin can kill you!" However, I do want to have a few of the smaller venomous species of fish in this tank, and plan for a future upgrade to a much larger (125g) system once the fish outgrow this tank. I'd like to stay with the dwarf varieties and species that just don't get that big, because small fish make the tank look much bigger than it is. I have no interest in owning a lionfish that will grow to more than a foot in length, nor any other venomous fish that would eventually be too big to house in the 44 gallon by itself.
I'm looking for things like Scorpionfish, , Leaf Fish, Sea Goblins, Lions, Rabbits, etc., but all of them must be in the 5-7" full size range, and they are difficult to find. I plan to order the two dwarf lions available on LiveAquaria.com, and may eventually get a Mobosa, but that will be when I upgrade the tank, as I don't want a tank full of lions with no room for anything else. Also, the tank is topless, so while I'd like to have some of the faster predators like a green wolf eel or one of the smaller eel species, I can't because I'm cautious of jumpers. Non-venomous predator suggestions are acceptable, as long as they meet the length requirement above, and are not likely to jump out of a perfectly good fish tank.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
A little background, so you don't think I'm just randomly picking venomous fish for a small tank... I'm a biologist and high school teacher of Environmental Science and Biology. I've been keeping fish for over 25 years, and currently run 3 freshwater tanks, 2 saltwater tanks, and a 500 gallon aquaponics system. I have no plans to ever bring venomous fish to school because I have students who would stick their hands in the tank even if I had a sign on the tank that said "This Sea Goblin can kill you!" However, I do want to have a few of the smaller venomous species of fish in this tank, and plan for a future upgrade to a much larger (125g) system once the fish outgrow this tank. I'd like to stay with the dwarf varieties and species that just don't get that big, because small fish make the tank look much bigger than it is. I have no interest in owning a lionfish that will grow to more than a foot in length, nor any other venomous fish that would eventually be too big to house in the 44 gallon by itself.
I'm looking for things like Scorpionfish, , Leaf Fish, Sea Goblins, Lions, Rabbits, etc., but all of them must be in the 5-7" full size range, and they are difficult to find. I plan to order the two dwarf lions available on LiveAquaria.com, and may eventually get a Mobosa, but that will be when I upgrade the tank, as I don't want a tank full of lions with no room for anything else. Also, the tank is topless, so while I'd like to have some of the faster predators like a green wolf eel or one of the smaller eel species, I can't because I'm cautious of jumpers. Non-venomous predator suggestions are acceptable, as long as they meet the length requirement above, and are not likely to jump out of a perfectly good fish tank.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
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