Fuzzy Dwarf lionfish couple questions

[Clown-lover]

Ok I am planning on getting a fuzzy dwarf lionfish for my 12 gallon in about 2 weeks. Yes I know that a 12 gallon is too small. It's only for short amount of time. I am planning on upgrading to 90 gallon. I am getting the 90 gallon tank next week then cyle it going slow.

Anyway I have my eyes set on this small red 1in fuzzy dwarf lionfish. He will be the only one in my 12 gallon. I have heard that they could be pickly eaters. I ask the fish store guys what they feed him. One person said frozen krill, of fact I saw one hanging out of the lionfish mouth. However anothor guy told me goldfish. Now I am pretty sure the lionfish is pretty used to live goldfish. So my first question is how do I train the lionfish into frozen food? I know you're suppose to shake it around. Should you shake it far away or close by? What movement? Up down? What kind of food?

Also could you die from getting stung? What should you do if you got stung?

Second, is it reef safe? I know they eat shrimp, and clams. How about coral?

[AQTCJAK]

First I will say this nice choice of lion, LIons can be picky eaters. If this one has been eating gold fish the life span has already been shortened drastically.
Gold fish cause kidney failure in lions.

As for training the to eat other foods it can be done it takes patience but it will happen. I have a lion that I sold to a customer that eats HBH super soft Krill pellets it was rather easy to train him to eat them. I let him go a few days without eating after aclimation then when I approached the tank he came to the top. I had him I dropped the pellets in 1 or 2 @ a time & he attacked them & has stopped yet. This has been several months now he has grown & the tank stay alot cleaner than live or frozen.

[prow]

all the lions i have seen take to prepared foods pretty well or die fast. if its taking frozen krill already i think the learning curve on his eating is in your favor.

yeah you can die from getting stung by a lion. if your allergic its possible, but unlikely. for most its more like a really really bad bee sting. hot water and a topical steroid will help if stung.

reef safe?? maybe, you picked the type that gives you the best chances.

here is a article about them. The Lionfish Info Sheet: Captive Care and Home Husbandry by Frank Marini, Ph.D. - Reefkeeping.com

[Clown-lover]

Also what is a good cleanup crew for an lionfish? Do dwarf lionfish eat snail?

[lcstorc]

Even for a dwarf I really think you should hold of until the 90 is up and cycled. You never know how your plans could change and I would hate to see one stuck in a 12g for any length of time. Also during his time there you are going to have to do a lot of water changes and keep a very close eye on water parameters. From what I understand they are very messy eaters with lots of waste so you 12g will likely not be able to keep up on the bio-load.
JMO

[Melanie]

I kept a large lionfish for about 4 years in a tank that was severly neglected. That guy just grew and grew and grew. When he finally died (my fault) he was nearly the size of a volleyball (including fins). Guess what I fed him? Frozen cubes. Not thawed frozen cubes mind you. Seriously, I saw hubby drop a frozen cube in the tank (he was helping) and lionfish gulped it up. I am NOT reccomending this!!!

I never ever gave him goldfish because they can cause liver damage. I also kept a small 5 gal. freshwater tank full of livebearers that I would occasionally drop (1) in the there for him as a treat. He also loved live brine shrimp.

Come to think of it, he ate pretty much anything I put in the tank. Including the tadpoles my son fed him, the piece of crab left over from our dinner, and every other living creature I ever bought for the tank.

[DrPepperAddict]

Its been 3 days and mine hasnt eaten but it had a huge krill right before i got it. im hoping it will eat within the next three days, im going to get some ghost shrimp. I think if yours isnt eating frozen foods, live ghost shrimp are irresistable to lionfish.