Who HAS or HAD a lion fish in your reef tank?

[KAW750SS]

Preferably dwarf lions, who has had any of these guys in your tank? What did your tank community consist of?
I tried a baby fuzzy dwarf and once I turned out the lights, he ran the tank trying to eat EVERY fish. However, Ive seen a number of tanks that are reef tanks with pretty large lions in there tanks. Anyone have any suggestions on making this work? Or is it like every other fish and just depends on there personality, or in this case, if he wants to eat live food or dead food?

 

[JR719]

Say bye to your cleanup crew, and anything small enough to fit in its mouth.

 

[cakemanPA]

I had one in a fowlr and it tried to eat a decent sized angel fish. Not sure how it could work in a reef tank with any smallish critters

 

[snorvich]

Lions eat other fish. That is the way it is.

 

[KAW750SS]

I know they eat other fish, but Ive seen them in reef tanks with community fish. Next time I see one Im going to ask the owner.

 

[MrTuskfish]

I know they eat other fish, but Ive seen them in reef tanks with community fish. Next time I see one Im going to ask the owner.

The only answer that makes sense is that he just hasn't caught them yet. I've heard many times that if you keep a fish well fed, it will not go after tankmates. IMO & IME: that's ridiculous. You cannot change the genetic make-up of a fish.

 

[snorvich]

Yes, I endorse MrTuskfish's answer. If you don't care if they eat your other fish, go for it.

 

[patrick28]

I had a Fuzzy Dwarf Lion fish in my Reef tank for a year and a half. In the tank at the time I had a large cleaner shrimp, ORA Cleaner Goby, Tail Spot Blenny as well as a bunch of fish that were as large or larger then the lion. In the time that I had him he never chased or attempted to eat any of his tank mates. He for the most part was a model tankmate. With this being said, when I got him he was 2" when I got rid of him he was 3.5" so he was pretty small. The reason that I got rid of him was because no matter how much you fed him he would always go through after I spot fed my corals an pick the food out. Then just spit it out because he couldnt fit anymore food in his gut.
If your thinking of adding one to your tank I would try to obtain the smallest one you can find. If you look you can usually find them around a inch or so. This will give you some time to observe his behavior while he grows. If you keep LPS corals and spot feed trust me you wont keep him long.
If you decide to add one good luck there cool but high risk, theres lots of fish in this hobby to choose from that are the sure bet for a reef and this isn't one of them.
Hope this helps.