FuManChu lions

[fidojoe]

Anyone ever had one? My lfs has them, and they are awesome, and I've been looking into getting a lion for my tank. I'm not too concerned about my clown, as she is slightly bigger than the ones that they have at the lfs, and she will be moved to a nano reef soon... hopefully.

Thanks

 

[ReefLady]

Be concerned.

They can eat swallow fish you never even imagined would fit into their mouths.

Also, be sure to do your research on lions before you get one, great fish but sometimes tough to convince them to eat anything but live food. And freshwater feeders are bad news.

Travis

 

[SaltyQueen]

The following was taken from this article:

http://www.tmc-ltd.co.uk/fish-invertebrates/lionfish.asp

"Lionfish will always try to consume fish and invertebrates which are smaller than themselves - even fish that look too big may be found to disappear! The best way to avoid loss of livestock, is to keep a Lionfish-only aquarium, and to make sure,when choosing a group of Lionfish, that they are all of a similar size. "

Also, Lions aren't always reef safe, so if you're got corals or inverts in your tank, they may get eaten/picked at as well.

 

[Craig Manoukian]

I watched in horror as my son's new lionfish ate two good sized and healthy Cardinal fish right before my eyes. An ornamental pistol shrimp befell the same fate!

Great advice from the article SQ quoted!

:smirk:

 

[SaltyQueen]

A firend of mine had one, and though it would be OK because his other fish were fairly large compared to the lion's mouth, but he lost 2 fish & had some damage to a lot of his corals before he removed the lion... IMO, they are just bad news in a reef tank & should be in a tank of their own.

 

[wooddood]

maybe in a fish only with larger fish then him.but not me.

 

[fidojoe]

Thanks for the info

I know their mouths are huge, can open as big or bigger that their bodies, but the ones I was looking at were smaller than my clown, which will be moving next month. My tank is going to be a FOWLR, and I will have a reef in the nano that I will be starting up here in the near future. Or, how would the lion do in the 10 gallon? The fumanchus only get to be ~7" when full grown.

 

[ReefLady]

Sorry fidoloe, JMO but a 7" fish in a ten gallon tank (10"x20") isn't going to be good for the fish's sanity, or for filtration. Now if the lion is 2-3" and the ten is a temporary home, that's a different story.

Aren't there dwarf lions that only get to 3-4" ? Maybe you should look into those if you want to put a lion in the 10-gallon.

Travis

 

[Maxx]

Radiata lions or Turkey fish stay smaller, but to be honest w/ you 10 gallons is WAAAYYY to small for a lion at all. The amounrt of waste they produce is going to overload the tank rapidly. I wouldnt put a lion in a tank smaller than 30 inches long...and thats as a sole occupant. Plan to do frequent, (weekly) water changes to keep the lion in a smaller tank like I described.
Nick

 

[fidojoe]

The lion would only be in the 10 untill I could get a 29, and I would make sure that is before it gets more thatn 3" because the fish are only ~2". But it is more than likely the clown will go into the nano, and the lion will go into the 50. I really like the looks of the fumanchu, but the fuzzy dwarfs, and other dwarfs are cool too, but I thought all dwarfs got about the same size.

 

[Maxx]

oh...thats a different story then....he'll get big in a hurry tho...
Nick

 

[cheeks69]

the largest is the Volitan which can grow to 1'3" and the smallest is the Fu Man chu at just about 4" everything else is between 7" to 10"

 

[mwrager]

:laughroll :laughroll :laughroll :laughroll

 

[fidojoe]

Whats so funny MW? Thanks cheks, I saw that a DR. F&S website that the fu only gets to be 4". Thanks everyone for your help, as always

 

[Witfull]

best advice, when you have the tank to put him in then get him. lions are delicate when it comes to transfers, there dorsal spines and pectoral rays break easily. when you do get him, ask your LFS to not use a net but catch him in a specimen container,,its SO much safer for them. spines and nets DO NOT mix.
JMHO

 

[zensaiyan]

hi everyone. i was curious about the fumanchu lion myself, and most of the information i find on the internet isn't that helpful. in my tank currently is a pair of perculas, two scooters, a mandarin dragonet, and a choc. chip star. is the fumanchu really aggressive? or is it just aggressive towards fish it can fit in its mouth? does anyone have any good sites that have a lot of information for this specific lion?

 

[Maxx]

Generally lions are only aggressive to things they can fit in their mouth. Other than that, I've found them to real laid back towards other fish personally.
BTW welcome to RS!
Nick

 

[BoomerD]

O.K., you want to keep lions, here's some good reading to get you started.
WWM/Lions

Don't forget to read all the FAQ's linked to the page.

 

[SaltyQueen]

I would think that the lion would get big enough to eat all of the tank inhabitants you listed, except for the starfish.