pliskin1432
New Member
Can anyone tell me what all CAN be put in with a Dwarf Zebra Lionfish?
Lionfish Compatibility
- Thread starter pliskin1432
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GeeWizzItsMe
Well-Known Member
Fish that won't fit in his huge mouth.
pliskin1432
New Member
So would Clown Fish be out of the question?
Techno-Vicki
Well-Known Member
Ditto. And just count on a very large mouth and it willl grow.
pliskin1432
New Member
So basically, a Lionfish would be a bad idea for a tank that one would want a variety of fish (colors and sizes), right?
GeeWizzItsMe
Well-Known Member
Right... Probably not a full blown reef either.. But they are VERY beautiful in a more aggresive Fish Only W Live Rock!
pliskin1432
New Member
so... Which would be more worth the time and money... A lionfish and one or two other large aggressive fish, or a mixed variety of smaller peaceful fish such as Clowns and Damsels and things like that? Also inverts. and so forth... I heard Lions will eat most types of those.
GeeWizzItsMe
Well-Known Member
depends on tank size.
GeeWizzItsMe
Well-Known Member
oh and believe me, damsels aren't peaceful!
Techno-Vicki
Well-Known Member
And just remember, feeding them is VERY costly! Just think, you have to buy live fish for them. Hummmmm.......that would be about 2 fish a week at 3 bucks a fish, so about 25 bucks a month to feed one fish! Yes, mine was very costly and he wouldn't eat anything else.
Reefreak
Member
Hi and welcome!
Lions are great fish for full blown reefs with the exception of them being a large waste producer, if you have the water volume and filtration for it they will be fine. They definitely don't need to be kept with fish only larger than themselves, and as a rule they can often be picked on by other reef safe fish such as some "fin nippy tangs...like Blue"
Most of the time they can be enticed to except prepared foods, feeder fish are almost never needed if the lion is properly quarantined and trained to except other foods like frozen Formula foods or frozen silver sides. Feeding a lion live feeders is playing Russian roulette with its life and any other fish living in the same tank.
They are customarily not overly aggressive and will ignore most fish that are not considered food. The clowns you are considering would not be a good tank mate do to their size. However, Lions will do best in a peaceful community tank with fish that are at least 1/3 to 1/2 half thier size. They can survive in a more aggressive tanks with fish like triggers but often become tattered, stressed and short lived. The people that keep them in these conditions should just raise Oscars.
Do your research on them and if you decide to get one you will enjoy their personality, inquisitiveness and intelligence "for a fish"
PS: they will often eat any shrimp in the tank. I have kept many Lions with shrimp, if the shrimp were in the tank prior to their introduction and you keep them well feed. If you add shrimp after the Lion... its dinner!
Good Luck
Lions are great fish for full blown reefs with the exception of them being a large waste producer, if you have the water volume and filtration for it they will be fine. They definitely don't need to be kept with fish only larger than themselves, and as a rule they can often be picked on by other reef safe fish such as some "fin nippy tangs...like Blue"
Most of the time they can be enticed to except prepared foods, feeder fish are almost never needed if the lion is properly quarantined and trained to except other foods like frozen Formula foods or frozen silver sides. Feeding a lion live feeders is playing Russian roulette with its life and any other fish living in the same tank.
They are customarily not overly aggressive and will ignore most fish that are not considered food. The clowns you are considering would not be a good tank mate do to their size. However, Lions will do best in a peaceful community tank with fish that are at least 1/3 to 1/2 half thier size. They can survive in a more aggressive tanks with fish like triggers but often become tattered, stressed and short lived. The people that keep them in these conditions should just raise Oscars.
Do your research on them and if you decide to get one you will enjoy their personality, inquisitiveness and intelligence "for a fish"
PS: they will often eat any shrimp in the tank. I have kept many Lions with shrimp, if the shrimp were in the tank prior to their introduction and you keep them well feed. If you add shrimp after the Lion... its dinner!
Good Luck
Ditto to Shaun. I had an antenatta lionfish in my reef for a few months but had to remove it when I couldn't find my small male clownfish one day 
He would eat thawed foods and had a great personality!! I miss him SOOO bad! One day I will have another one but I will need to remove my smaller fish...
Here is a video of mine:
He would eat thawed foods and had a great personality!! I miss him SOOO bad! One day I will have another one but I will need to remove my smaller fish...Here is a video of mine:
GeeWizzItsMe
Well-Known Member
Wow! Do you still have all those tangs and fish in the 120?
nasek718
Member
I've never heard damsel and peaceful used in the same sentence before. Lions tend to eat anything that can get in their mouths. I've yet to see one eat a snail but I'm sure it has happened before. I'd suggest if your dead set on the dwarf lion, either go fish only or don't plan on having anything it's size or smaller in the tank. Fu Manchu lions have even smaller mouths but still will eat anything smaller then it. I've seen them in reef tanks but they were kept w/ tangs and a few non destructive Butterfly's and an Angel. You'd enjoy the tank more, IMO, if you set up a reef w/ an assortment of different fish/invert species
Humahuma
Member
if u want a lion fish and have clown fish aswell then i would recomend a fuzzy dwarf lion fish thats wat i have they are great they look awsome and can be keept with a verrioty of fairly small fish. Fuzzy dwarf lion fish grow to a full size of 6.7 in (17cm). the fuzzy dwarf is one of my favorit fish in my tank they sure have alot of personality.
Kazzy
Active Member
Still too big. Unless he wants a fully grown female with all her big bad habits already in place, he cannot keep ANY clownfish with ANY lionfish. Besides, a mean female would pick on the poor fuzzy. Anyways, you have to remember that lionfish not only have big mouths, but big mouths that can stretch to nearly half their original size again.
Oh yeah, and live foods are completely unnecessary, not to mention that every lionfish that lives off of live goldfish are doomed to a miserable experience, maybe even an early death. It's a little thing called Excessive Feeder Goldfish Syndrome. Not only are goldfish not nutritional, their large skulls can block the throats or stomachs of the lionfish in question, killing them.
reefjitsu
Active Member
I prefer to keep lionfish with tankmates that are non-territorial, non-aggressive and are larger than the lionfish. Most lionfish species can succesfully swallow something that is 3/4 their own size. However, I have seen lionfish that choked to death by trying to swallow tankmates that were as large as them. This is why I prefer to keep them with tankmates that are larger, so there is no temptation.
