Lionfish

[rodmarine]

Hi to all, need some advice...! Is it difficult to rear lionfish? I have a 2 ft tank, thinking of having 2 or 3 lionfishes in it. Will the poison kills?? Kindly give some advice....

[iewnehz]

It's a hardy fish la..but i thing it only eat live food..

and ya, you won't want to touch them

[ryz]

will there be any problem keeping them with other fishes like tangs or butterflies?? will they sting them?

[nim75sg]

Here is my 2 cts:

To my classification, the Lionfish is the exotic "villian" of the aquarium.

Reason being they are very predatory in behaviour being carnivores ie taking small fishes with their large mouths.

You can train them to a diet of frozen mysis or live brine shrimp.

Take note that their fins are not just there for show as they have poisonous stinging cells and will inflict a very painful wound. They are there for a purpose!

My Take: Avoid this fish even though this fish in your tank is a talking point for any visitor who sees a Lionfish in your aquarium!

[angry]

Avoid the volitans if you are planning to house three in a two feet tank. Lions are not as dangerous as everyone is overating it. They are pretty docile and they definitely do not emit poisons into your tank:) Volitans are the easiest to wean to frozen compared to their cousins. I've seen dwarf and even fu manchu being weaned which makes it possible. I have three giants in my tank, all weaned to frozen and living happily with a yellow tang and a tomato clown. They do have heavy waste so get the skimmer handy and partial water change once every fortnight is good.

[buckwheat]

angry's tank is da bomb!

[rodmarine]

Tks for all the advice and comments.... More pls....

[DeepBlue]

if you want to keep lionfishes...try the dwarf lion..the fuzzy looking kind.

Used to own one..a lot of personality...will wack tail and hover ard the front of the tank when see me walk past.

I feed him freshwater shrimps...decided to avoid feeder fish as they are very durable and may carry dieases that might kill the dwarf.

Lionfishes tend to have greater bioload...a good skimmer is recommended. As long as you are careful..no problem. I used to put my hand in to do minor scaping....

[FuEl]

a 2ft tank would house 1 lionfish.

[Volitan]

a 2ft tank would house 1 lionfish.

Yes, a small lion, i.e. < 3" (Assuming it's a 2 x 1 x 1.5 ft tank). I suggest a zebra dwarf - beautiful and "compact". Only problem is that it does not readily accept non-live food.

[rodmarine]

I guess i have to drop the idea as it sounds so "beautifully" unfriendly... anyway tks for all the comments and advice...

[Volitan]

It should be ok if you intend to house only 1 lion (perhaps a dwarf). They are really very docile and peaceful (except for food), and this makes them really nice centrepiece in the tank.

If the lion is small enough, you can also keep other fishes, or even big (and I mean really big) shrimps. I have a 3" boxer living with my dwarf zebra, and guess who's the boss? Definitely not my lion.